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intype J reasures
Tribal Elder Barbara
Danforth hopes
Elders develop new
stories from her
family's photos
omoae 01
Ti
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
he photographs,
holding court in a
classroom at the
Cultural Resources De
partment, brought back
memories of a time gone
by.
, "I didn't even know they
existed until my parents
. naooo1 rn " aaifl TViVial Rlrloi" TtarVtirQ Tlon-
. . forth of Tigard. She inherited the treasures
some two years ago trom her mother, lormer
Tribal Elder Bernice McEachran.
"These are some of the oldest photographs
f t, and tintypes we've ever seen," said Tribal El-
F. der June Olson, for
mer manager of the
Cultural Resources
Department.
Along with a hand
ful of other Tribal
Elders, Olson poured
over the treasures -originally
from the .
estate of former Trib
al Elder Victoria Howard, Danforth's great
' grandmother. ,,
' They looked for people and places they
recognized. They were awed by the age and
rarity of what they saw. ' ,
- "I; really think that might be (former
" Tribal Elder) Mose Allen," said Olson of
one picture.
f The intriguing cache of almost 150 pieces,
1 fitter
i
. Photos by Michelle Alalmo
Tribal Elders Peachie Hamm, left, and Kathryn
Harrison look at a tintype photograph to see
if they recognize the person in it during a
photograph identifying session at the Cultural
Resources Department on Friday, March 25.
Tintype photographs are laid
out for people to look at and
hopefully identify the people
in them during a photograph
identifying session at the
Cultural Resources Department .
on Friday, March 25.
including some 20 letters and a huge basket, -date
back as far as the late 1800s and as!
close as the 1950s. They include pictures
of people for whom the Tribe has no other
photographic record, Olson said.
Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison had never
See PHOTOS
continued on page 11
jr -vtF . alar A
Cultural Resources
installs canoe
exhibit at The Mill
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Months of work in a cold steel shed are
about to pay off for Grand Ronde Cul
tural Resources staff members and
volunteers.
The first river canoe carved in Grand Ronde
since Restoration and probably much earlier
will go on display Friday, April 8, at the Wil
lamette Heritage
Center at The Mill
in Salem.
Three canoes,
including the river
canoe, the Tribe's
Tillamook canoe,
which is usually
on display in the
Governance Cen
ter's Atrium, and
a historic Kala
puya canoe owned
by the Heritage
Center will be
part of the upcom
ing Grand Ronde
Canoe Journey
exhibit at the
Heritage Center,
1313 Mill St. S.E.,
Salem.
The exhibition, with curator credits spread
across the entire Cultural Resources Depart
ment, "explores the importance of canoes to the
Native Peoples of the Willamette Valley," accord
ing to the Heritage Center Web site.
"(David) Lewis (manager of the Tribe's Cul
tural Resources Department) and his staff use
the canoe as a means to share aspects of Native
history and culture, including: how the canoe
has been a tool of cultural revival for the Grand
Ronde community, canoe styles, features and
See CANOE
continued on page 6
If you go
Grand Ronde Canoe
Journey exhibit
When: Friday, April 8,
through Monday, May 30
Where: The Willamette
Heritage Center at The
Mill, 1313 Mill St. S.E.,
Salem
Cost: Free with Mission
Mill Museum admission,
which is $6 for adults, $5
for seniors 55 and older,
$4 for students with ID
and $3 for children 6 to
17 years of age.
More information:
www.missionmill.org or
503-585-7012.
Longtime Tribal friend Mike Piropes walks on
Smoke Signals file photo
Polk County Commissioner Mike
Propes spoke inside the Tribal
Governance Center Atrium in
November 2009.
Polk County commissioner
dies March 1 9 at age 56
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
When the Grand Ronde
Tribe officially dedicated
the $6.4 million Grand
Ronde Road improvement project
in November 2009, the only elected
official to attend the ceremony was
Polk County Commissioner Mike
Propes.
His attendance not only honored
the Tribe's effort to make Grand
Ronde Road safer, but was symbolic
of his decades-long relationship
with the Tribe and its members,
as well as his concern for the West
Valley area.
Sadly, Propes walked on Satur
day, March 19, at the age of 56.
Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe
said deputies were called just
after 7 a.m. to Propes' home on
Gooseneck Road in the Sheridan
Willamina area.
Propes was in his sixth term on
the three-member Polk County
Board of Commissioners. He had
served since 1988 with a brief break
in 2003-04 after heart surgery.
Propes reportedly had battled
through health issues, including
joint pain and diabetes, but ran
successful election campaigns in
2004 and 2008.
He was a familiar face at the
Tribal Governance Center, often
meeting with Tribal Council to of
ficially, and sometimes unofficially,
discuss the county's government
See PROPES
continued on page 9