Smoke Signals 7
APRIL 1,2009
Wellbriety Journey for
Forgiveness starts
Nationwide trip starts at Chemawa to visit 23 boarding
school sites, seek apology from U.S. government
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Baylee Lafferty DuMarce, 1, second from right, is led
by her cousin Tribal member Shilo Fechtner, right, in a dance during
the 7th annual Agency Creek Round Dance in the Tribal gymnasium on
Friday, March 20. The dance also took place on Saturday, March 21.
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Tribal member Bobby Mercier, middle, drums and sings along with
other drummers and singers during the Round Dance.
Unmarked grave sites
We need your help If anyone knows the location of an unmarked grave
or knows the name of someone who was buried at the Grand Ronde Cemetery
and their grave has not been marked, contact Mike Larsen, Facilities Manager,
at 503-879-2407. B
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Photo by Mkhelfe Alaimo
Tribal member Veronica Gaston pets Vader, a 3-year-old German
shepherd with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, during his visit to
adult foster care's Black Bear Lodge on Wednesday, March 1 1 .Vader
lives and works with Deputy Gregg Cauditl, who brought the dog
for the visit. In the background are residents and Tribal Elders Bob
Gregg, left, and Clarice Ellison.
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
A 40-day, cross-country journey
to bring awareness about the Na
tive American Boarding School era
in U.S. history kicks off Saturday,
May 16, at Chemawa Indian School
in Salem.
The Wellbriety Journey for For
giveness, organized by White Bison
Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., will
promote healing from the intergen
erational trauma that still affects
many American Indian and Alaska
Native people.
The journey to boarding school
sites will conclude on June 21 at the
site of the former Carlisle Indian
Industrial School in Carlisle, PA.
The journey itself will end at the
National Museum of the American
Indian in Washington, D.C., on
June 24.
The Wellbriety Journey for For
giveness will offer presentations
at each of the 23 sites and each
presentation will include learning
material, ceremony and the oppor
tunity for local and regional com
munities to share their knowledge
of the issues and history of their
particular site. Some of the board
ing school sites are still in operation
as upgraded modern schools while
others ceased operation during the
20th century.
Another objective of the Wellbri
ety Journey for Forgiveness is to
request an apology from the U.S.
government for the abuses and
atrocities to American Indians and
Alaska Natives committed on its
behalf during the boarding school
era. Both Australian and Canadian
governments made such an apology
to its indigenous peoples in 2008.
People feeling strongly about the
need for an apology by the govern
ment can sign the petition at www.
wellbrietyjourney.org. The petition
also is being circulated throughout
Native American communities so
that individuals may express their
feelings by signing copies. The peti
tion will be presented to President
Barack Obama on June 24.
The boarding school era began in
1879 with the opening of Carlisle
Indian Industrial School. Although
U.S. government policy about the
culturally repressive nature of In
dian boarding schools changed in
1934, the destructive practices of
boarding schools continued into at
least the 1960s.
Both Bureau of Indian Affairs'
schools and those run by diverse
church denominations continued
to suppress free expression of Na
tive culture and spirituality until
about 1970. The resulting histori
cal trauma is now understood to be
a root cause of most present-day
problems affecting Native Ameri
can individuals, families, communi
ties and Tribal nations.
Chemawa Indian School opened
in 1885 and the school had its peak
enrollment in 1926 with almost
1,000 Native students. Today, it
is the oldest continuously operat
ing boarding school in the United
States, according to the school's
Web site.
In addition to Chemawa, the
Wellbriety Journey of Forgiveness
will visit the Warm Springs Agency
Boarding School in Warm Springs
and the Fort Hall Indian Boarding
School in Fort Hall, Idaho, before
heading east and south across the
country D
r
Vouttlh) Canoe Ginfo
Every Wednesday 4- 5 p.m.,
Youth Education Building
Contact Lisa Leno at 503-879-1471 or Travis Mercier
at 503-879-2143 for more information.
2009 Tribal
Marketplace dates
B April 4 &5
B May 2 & 3
B June 6 & 7
BJuly 4 & 5
(Possibly 73 for the three-day holiday weekend)
B Aug. 1 & 2
B Sept. 5 & 6
B Oct. 3 & 4
B Nov. 7 & 8
B Dec. 5 & 6
iXitcs subject to than fie due to conflicting Tribal or SMC events,
located ucroHH from Cedar IHank Iluffel.