Smoke signals., October 15, 2008, Page 9, Image 9

Smoke Signals 9
OCTOBER 15, 2008
Sept 30 gathering seeks input from Tribal staff and members on facility
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The preliminary phase in a po
tentially years-long process of
creating the Grand Ronde Museum
and Cultural Center continued on
Sept. 30 when about 30 Tribal staff
and Tribal members attended an
information gathering session in ;
the Governance Center Atrium. '
Representatives of Jones & Jones,
the project architect, and Andre &
Associates, a Victoria, Canada
based interpretation and design
firm, briefed those in attendance
on initial conceptual ideas for the
facility, which would be located
north of Fort Yamhill State Park
and south the new Uyxat Powwow
Grounds. A forested knoll separates
the powwow grounds from the mu
seum site.
At the outset, Tribal Director of
Operations John Mercier cautioned
that the museumcultural center
project is a "long work in progress."
Mercier said the Tribe will be
faced with finding funding to com
plete the project, and that funding
will depend on the lagging economy
and community interest, among
other factors.
So far, surveying, soils, geotech
nical, wetland and archaeological
studies for the museumcultural
center have been prepared. The
preliminary draft schematic de
sign includes collections storage,
exhibit space, a small classroom,
small craftgift shop and a welcome
hallrotating gallery that connects
the other spaces and can be used
for visiting exhibits and cultural
gatherings and events.
Michael Fiegenschuh, an ar
chitect for Seattle-based Jones &
Jones, said the current conceptual
idea is to keep the museumcultural
center to a "modest size" about
20,000 square feet. The initial de
sign respectfully nestles the build
ing into the hillside with an upper
level mezzanine area to welcome
visitors and a downstairs area for
gallery displays. Windows would
look out to an impressive northern
view of sacred Spirit Mountain.
"We are here to try and get more
ideas," Fiegenschuh said. "More
input, which will speak to what
the Tribe wants. ... We're looking
for ideas."
Andre & Associates President Bi
anca Message and Design Assistant
Amy Willson then walked attendees
through a possible interior layout
of the museumcultural center that
would begin with a display telling
the story of "Ikanum: The Beginning
of When People Became People."
Willson said the entrance to the ex
hibit gallery could be a semi-circular
area that is "welcoming, but mysteri
ous." Stylized petroglyphs mixed with
recorded animal sounds would invoke
the feeling of a world before people.
From there, museum visitors would
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Grants Developer Bob McElderry looks over a site concept drawing of the
proposed Grand Ronde Museum and Cultural Center with Tribal member and Tribal Librarian Marion Mercier during a
Grand Ronde Museum Development Community Lunch Workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The Tribe and its architectural
firm were seeking input on the conceptual design of the project in the Governance Center Atrium.
proceed to a sunken map showing the
traditional lands of the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde, as well as the
Tribes' trade routes.
Other display areas would contin
ue telling the Grand Ronde Tribe's
story, including pre-contact years,
relocation to the Grand Ronde Res
ervation and the story of the Trail
of Tears of the Rogue River Tribe9
and Bands, Termination of the
reservation in 1954 and the Tribe's
Restoration in 1983.
Message said that three different
display scenarios were created in
2007 and, with Tribal community
input, the fourth scenario, which
was presented Sept. 30, was de
signed. "This is all conceptual," Message
said. "We are still coming up with
different ideas."
Message offered other ideas, such
as establishing a blog on which to
collect Tribal members' stories to
be included in the eventual ex
hibit and having a venue within the
museum to show films created by
Tribal youth about their culture.
After the meeting, attendees were
asked to fill out comment cards
with their suggestions on possible
alterations to the conceptual plan.
Twenty-five cards were collected by
museum project coordinator Lindy
Trolan, who is collections coordi
nator for the Cultural Resources
Department.
Tribal Council members Cheryle
A. Kennedy and Val Sheker were
briefed on the conceptual design
following the public meeting.
Tribal Planning and Grants Man
ager Kim Rogers said that a fund
raising campaign is tentatively
planned to start in 2009 with 80
percent of the funding to be ob
tained from foundations and other
outside sources. The Tribe would
not complete the museum final de
sign until it has the funds to build.
Construction is tentatively slated
for 201 1, depending on the economy
and fundraising success.
The Tribe is currently in the
process of creating an architectural
schematic design for the planned
museum and cultural center. The
process is primarily funded by a
two-year, $371,952 grant from the
Administration for Native Ameri
cans. Tribal matching funds include
$52,000 for architectural costs
and the Tribe provides staff time
to work on the effort. The grant
project also includes documenting
items in the Tribe's current col
lection and some added funds for
cultural classes.
Rogers said the second year of
the grant project will complete the
schematic design, perform more
interpretive design work and com
plete a traveling exhibit. Projected
completion for those items is March.
Additional Tribal community meet
ings are planned in 2009.
"Once the current project's sche
matic architectural design and in
terpretive drawings are completed
and approved by Tribal Council,
they will be used in the upcoming
fundraising effort," Rogers said.
As part of the site plan, land ad
jacent to the museum is planned
for future buildings, including ad
ditional collections space west of the
museum and an auditorium east of
the museum. The entrance road and
parking areas would be on the south
of the facilities near Fort Yamhill
State Park with special attention
to elder parking space. Additional
building is not expected to occur
for several years after the museum
is constructed and is not being de
signed in the current effort.
As part of a two-year grant award
in 2005, the Tribe, with Jones &
Jones, reviewed three potential
sites owned by the Tribe for the
future location of the museum and
cultural center.
With Tribal community input, the
property adjacent to Fort Yamhill
State Park was selected as the best
site and approved by Tribal Council
resolution.
Mercier said the museum and
cultural center, part of the Tribe's
gonl of re-establishing its culture,
is complementary to the Tribe's ef
forts to restore its government and
membership services after 1983's
Restoration.
"This effort has been going on for
many years," he said.
"There is a lot of planning still
ahead of us," Fiegenschuh added. D