Smoke Signals 9
FEBRUARY 1 5, 201 1
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
During the third annual Gathering of Oregon's First Nations Powwow, vatarans wara invited to introduce themselves
and share their years and branch of service. Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., right, shakes hands with Tribal
member Deitrich Peters after Bobb introduced himself as a veteran of the U.S. Marines who served in Vietnam. After
the introduction, each veteran shook hands with Peters, who was the Arena director.
POWWOW continued
from front page
and U.S. flags. Following were the
rest of the veterans in attendance,
Royalty and other guests.
Tribal member T.J. Lafferty car
ried the Grand Ronde flag. Vernon
Kennedy (Burns Paiute), retired
Grand Ronde staff member and
husband of Tribal Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy, carried his
Tribe's flag. And Christian Tinney
(Lower Eastern Cherokee), man
ager of the Grand Ronde Tribal
Convenience store and an Army
veteran, carried the U.S. flag.
Grand Ronde Royalty included
Senior Miss Grand Ronde Nakoosa
Moreland, Junior Miss Makenzie
Aaron, Little Miss Iyana Holmes,
along with princesses Madison
Aaron, Amelia Mooney, Isabella
Grout and Kallie Provost all
members of the Tribe.
Members of the western Oregon
Tribes lined up according to their
Restoration dates: Siletz, 1977; Cow
Creek, 1982; Grand Ronde, 1983;
Coos, 1984; and Coquille, 1989. Mem
bers of the four other Oregon Tribes
Klamath, Umatilla, Burns Paiute
and Warm Springs followed.
Twenty-one drums spread out in
front and beside the stage at the
Salem Pavilion on the State Fair
grounds where the event has been
held since 2009. Master of ceremo
nies Nick Sixkiller (Cherokee) of
Eugene announced them as they
played. Among the drums were The
Woodsmen that accompanied the 1
p.m. Grand Entry.
The eight Woodsmen included
Indians from seven Tribes, includ
ing Grand Ronde Tribal member
Bobby Mercier, who also gave the
invocation for the event. He was
one of many Grand Ronde Tribal
members playing important roles
during the day.
Tribal Council Vice Chair Reyn
Leno joined Secretary Kathleen
Tom and Tribal Council members
Steve Bobb Sr., Jack Giffen Jr.,
Wink Soderberg and Chris Mercier
at the event. Giffen and Mercier
also helped at Grand Ronde infor
mation tables. .
The information tables were
covered by Tribal member Greg
Archuleta and Elders Dorothy
Parmenter and Don Day, along
with Day's wife, Delva, and Tribal
member David Lewis, manager of
the Cultural Resources Depart
ment. Tribal Elder Connie Graves
had items that she has weaved
on display and demonstrated her
craft. They all provided information
about the Tribe and its history.
Day demonstrated the process of
chipping chunks of obsidian into
arrowheads and blades of many
kinds, and had a number of finished
pieces for sale.
"People asked how they could do
it," Day said. "I had one gentleman
I made a blank for him so he'd have
a pattern that he and his daughter
could work on."
Of interest to some visitors, said
Lewis, was the history of different
areas where the Grand Ronde Tribe's
forebears lived, like Tualatin.
"People are looking for the history
of their region," said Lewis.
Tribal member Eric Bernando,
Public Affairs Director Siobhan
Taylor and Public Affairs Admin
istrative Assistant Kristin Ravia,
also a member of the Tribe, staffed
the booth at the pavilion entrance.
Ravia registered drum groups for
the event.
Tribal member Deitrich Peters
served as Arena director. Grand
Ronde Tribal Council Vice Chair
Reyn Leno joined Siletz Tribal
Council Chairwoman Delores Pigs
ley in welcoming some 2,000 to 2,500
people in attendance to the event.
Leno wore a vest made of the
Pendleton blanket that once cov
ered his father's Tribal Elder
Orville Leno casket. Tribal Elder
Evelyn Seidel and her husband,
Leo, just finished the vest, Leno
said, and this was the first time he
had worn it.
"From now on, I'll wear it for
every powwow no matter how hot
it is," he said.
"Standing Strong," the video
story of the five western Tribes in
Oregon, played as it has at each of
the previous two gatherings in the
Hospitality Room off the entrance
hall.
Tribal member Perri McDaniel
came with 16 members of her fam
ily and enjoyed both the dancing
and helping in a vendor booth.
Alan Fussell of Salem came with
his wife and some of his three chil
dren and six grandchildren, who all
are members of a California Tribe.
"We've never been to one and my
wife wanted to go," he said. "So here
we are."
Wanda Martinez of Keizer said,
"We've come every year." Asked
why, she said, 'The food, the danc
ers and we get to connect back to
the Native peoples."
Grand Ronde Tribal Elder and
former Tribal Council Chairwoman
Kathryn Harrison sat for a time
with former Cow Creek Band of
Umpqua Indians Chairwoman Sue
Shaffer.
"We're just having a nice visit,"
said Shaffer.
Also enjoying the time out were
Tribal Elders Chip Tom and Kathy
Provost, Rose Peters, wife of Deitz,
and many others.
The event booked some 75 ven
dors, according to Ravia. The Public
Affairs Department also took a lead
role in promoting and organizing
the event, Taylor said.
The Oregon State Fair provides
this facility for the five western
Tribes every year in exchange for a
cultural program developed by the
Tribes to be presented at the State
Fair every summer. B
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