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