7V ' " 'I ' PRESORTED STO
P-l Pt26 U.S. POSTAGE PAID
i nfi iXff V fi 0R NEWSPtfFO? PROJ. UO LIBRARY SYSTEM PRE ""nlia
, ; II.M.II..I.III....I.I.I.(..lll.n..lll
8 O JANUARY 1,2011
, moke y fe) ignals
A Publication of the Grand Rondo Tribe JJTK VVw Va! WWW.grandrOnde.org
XJIVrPQTJA. a MOLALLA a ROGUE RIVER n KALAPUYA a CHASTA
IPDaifi)l!dfoM
s iraairaDa
-mm
Photo by Michelle Alalmo
A naming caramony for the Tribal plankhousa will take place on Jan. 30. Tha plankhousa will ba namad "Achfa
hammi," a Tualatin-Kalapuya word moaning "a houso built of cadar planks," translating to simply "plankhousa
'Achfa-hammi' honors ancient Kalapuyan village
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The project that Tribal
Elders had been waiting
more than 40 years for,
that finally began the develop
ment phase 10 years ago and
went through dozens of work
ers and a handful of managers
before its grand opening in
September 2010 will get a name
on Jan. 30.
"Achfa-hammi," a Tualatin
Kalapuya word meaning "a
house built of cedar planks,"
translating to simply "plank
house," was finalized in Decem
ber, said Tribal member Bobby
Mercier, the Tribe's Language
and Cultural specialist.
Henry Zenk, an anthropologist
and friend of the Tribe, helped with
the translation, said Mercier.
"It was decided by a commit
tee," said Mercier, including
himself, Carol Logan, Dolores
Parmenter, Eirik Thorsgard,
- Lenny Logan, Brian Krehbiel and
Travis Mercier.
Logan and Parmenter are Tribal
' Elders and the others are Tribal
members. All have been involved
with the plankhouse project for
many years.
When the Grand Ronde Tribes
were marched here in the Trail
of Tears of 1856 and 1857, a Tualatin-Kalapuya
village existed
on a site around the corner to
the north from where the plank
house now sits near Fort Yamhill
State Park, said Bobby Mercier.
The use of a Tualatin-Kalapuya
name honors that village.
"It took three to four months
(to settle on a name)," he said.
"We've been working on it, talk
ing about it and looking at the
area where the house sits. We
were looking for just a traditional
name, in Kalapuya. We wanted
to recognize our Kalapuya people
who also were brought here."
The Jan. 30 event, still being
planned with detailed announce
ments to come, will include a
giveaway and a noon meal, and
will honor as many as 35 to 40
people who worked on the house
over the years. B
Tribal Housing
Authority
erects Welcome
Center
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
A Welcome Center, the lat
est addition outside of the
Tribal Housing Authority
office, will hopefully serve two
functions, says Executive Director
Carina Kistler.
The building is the most concrete
result to date of the 2009 spate of
gang activity in the area. Commu
nity and police efforts already have
reduced gang activity almost to noth
ing, said Sgtn Kevin Haynes of the
Polk County Sheriffs office.
The new 18-by-8-foot structure
is located on the roadway into the
Tribal Family Housing develop
ment known as Chxi Musam Illihi.
Fitted with a computer, phone
and cameras, the structure was
installed in early December and op
erational questions were still being
evaluated before the anticipated
opening in January.
"We call it a Welcome Center, to
welcome people to the community,
to give information, directions and
be a presence for assistance to resi
dents," says Kistler. "Of course, we
also want to monitor suspicious ac
tivity to deter criminals from caus
ing trouble in the community."
While the Tribally funded se
curity service patrols are a 247
operation, manning of the Welcome
Center will likely be targeted to
high traffic hours.
"The intent is not to create a gat
See WELCOME CENTER
continued on page 8
Washington Tribe plans to build casino 15 miles north of Portland metropoliton area
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The U.S. Department of Interior granted
the Cowlitz Tribe in Washington state
permission to acquire property north of the
Portland metropolitan area as reservation land on
which to build a casino.
The announcement from the Department of In
terior, released two days before Christmas, allows
the Cowlitz Tribe to acquire 152 acres to serve as its
initial reservation near the town of La Center.
The Cowlitz Tribe was federally acknowledged in
2000 and currently is headquartered in Longview,
Wash.
The current Cowlitz plan is to build a 134,150-square-foot
casino on its new reservation immedi
ately west of Interstate 5 about 15 miles north of
the Columbia River.
The Cowlitz originally envisioned a larger casino
resort including an eight-story, 250-room hotel, but
scaled back its vision because of the economy and
the financial problems of one of its primary back
ers, the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, which is
dealing with $1.6 billion in debt.
Now, the Cowlitz plan an initial two-story build
ing with room for 135 gaming tables and 20 poker
tables, and a 5,000-seat convention and meeting
venue. Cowlitz Tribal leaders say the casino could
be open in two to three years.
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council is working with
its staff and consultants to evaluate appropriate
courses of action. B
1 V LA CENTER
-S-4V "
WASHINGTON J
MUUMMMH fM
Map created by George Valdez