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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2011)
SI 2 P4 SERIALS DEPT. - KNIGHT LIBRARY 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON EUGENE OR 97403-I ZOS PKf SOflTFD STO U.S. POSTAGE PAIO PEMMT NO. 17 SAUM. OR tfr..if nf f tut t-t i!!iliiii'Min'i'l'lllnli'lii''ill' MAT 1,U11 A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe www.grandronde.org TJ3NDPQTJA. IVIOLAT.T.A C3 ROGUE RIVER KALAPUYA CHASTA TiribaB Government Day honors Fiirsti Foods By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Camas, lamprey, salmon, deer and elk probably will be among some of the food items discussed during Tribal Govern ment Day on Friday, May 13, in Salem. The annual event will include a "First Foods" presentation between 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. in Hearing Room C of the State Capitol. In addition, there also will be a Tribal leader panel presentation and discussion from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on "Sovereignty and Resources" and Tribal government information tables will be set up in the State Capitol Galleria between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Starting at 1 1:30 a.m., there will be a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the executive order that directed state agencies to operate on a government-to-government basis with the nine federally recognized Tribal governments in Oregon. The ceremony also will fete the 10th anni versary of the passage of Oregon's state-Tribal government-to-government law and there will be the signing of the 2011 proclamation declar ing May 9-15 the 15th American Indian Week in Oregon by Gov. John Kitzhaber. After the ceremony, a lunch buffet hosted by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Spirit Mountain Casino will be held at noon outside the Senate Chambers. On Thursday, May 12, representatives of state agencies will have a chance to learn about Na tive First Foods from 2 to 3:30 p.m. or attend a discussion entitled "Tribal Governments: The Role of Tribal Values, Traditions and Relations with Other Governments." The event is sponsored by the state Legislative Commission on Indian Services and endeavors to teach state employees about Oregon's nine federally recognized Tribes. The Friday event is open to the public. B - i-'airasw""'""": - " Photos by Michelle AlaimoGraphic created by George Valdez Tribal Council member Jack Giffen Jr. reads a marker that sits between Upper and Lower Table Rocks stating that the location of the treaty signing between the Rogue River Indians and U.S. government representatives, led by Gen. Joseph Lane, was believed to have happened near that spot between the two rocks on Sept. 10, 1853. Giffen was on a stop during a tour of the Table Rocks area near Medford on Tuesday, April 26. Behind him in the background is Upper Table Rock. The area is significant in Grand Ronde history because it is the starting point of the 1 856 Trail of Tears, during which Tribal ancestors were force-marched to the Grand Ronde Reservation during February and March. Members of the Grand Ronde group that took a trip to Table Rocks near Medford take in the view from the mesa of Upper Table Rock during the visit on Tuesday, April 26. A part of the view included Lower Table Rock. Story and more photos on page 12. Tea u ma tDn trough She ages Effects of past injustices continue to be passed down through Native generations, experts say By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer Life has been tough in Grand Ronde. From the 1856 Trail of Tears onward, just about every generation has faced a trail of broken promises; law after law that told Indians they were not just different, but somehow not worthy of the same rights as the European settlers; and with that came a run-of-the-mill prejudice that affected almost every aspect of life. "We were just those damn Grand Ronde Indians," said Tribal Elder and Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. of his early life in Grand Ronde. "In Willamina and Sheri dan, that was their attitude. "As a kid, I remember every weekend there were wrecks out here. All the time. They were pretty much all alcohol-related, so I think that was a contributing factor, for sure." Dottie Greene, an Elder of the Grand Ronde Tribe, remembers that when her father, former Elder Gus LaBonte, would be away on the job overnight, he made sure his wife barred the door for safety; and on the other hand, when he was at home, the slightest infrac tion, or the slightest perception of an infraction, brought on a painful and unjustified punishment. "I had to go a quarter of a mile for water," Greene recalls, "and at See TRAUMA continued on pages 10-11