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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2011)
. X f-Ti s Spirit Mountain . I resorted std s ' 7 c h o u s' POSTAGE PAI Xj-3aaSvVA- Nriil'IrunTiliiqiilHil'I'i'iUri'inu'li"1 "SKRJ" (fatA. Vi ' 'S wT"" , SERIALS DEPT. - KNIGHT LIBRARY ZTlr- 'Sw " 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON '"V ,U N."" ' EUGENE OR 97403-1205 8ll AUGUST 1,2011 moke y Signals A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe )f " VNw ViL- S WWW.grandronde.org TjnsTPQXJA. ca MOLALLA ca ROGUE RIVER ca TCAT. APTTVA C3 CHASTA PGE meets Tribal lamprey collectors at Willamette Falls By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer During this year's lamprey harvest at Willamette Falls, a Portland General Elec tric video crew interviewed Grand Ronde Tribal representatives for a short history of the Falls. "AH we can do is scratch the surface," said Jeff Gersh, owner of Portland-based NarrativeLab Com munications and producer of the upcoming PGE video. "I'm 50 and I could spend the rest of my life on this project." "One of the most historically rich places in the Pacific Northwest," in Gersh's words, the Falls also are a marvel of cultural, biological, geological and, of course, electrical history. Following the long Native expe rience of collecting lamprey at the Falls, the area became "a labora tory for electric power generation," Gersh said. "When Westinghouse sent his turbines to the Falls (at the end of the 19th century), he didn't guarantee they would work. He didn't know. Obviously, they did work and Westinghouse had an ongoing business and electric ity in this country was changed forever." See LAMPREY continued on page 12 IVtfr 'i4rr my: c i ill II PBl - "-v Grand Ronde Tribal member Tina Lara waves to the crowd as the Grand Ronde Canoe Family enters the Swinomish Channel on Landing Day of the "Paddle to Swinomish"' Canoe Journey on Monday, July 25. Tribal Elders Julie Duncan, left, and Claudia Leno take photos as the Grand Ronde Canoe Family arrives at Swadabs Park via the Swinomish Channel on Landing Day of the "Paddle to Swinomish" Canoe Journey on Monday, July 25. Mon photos on page 8. VJ) 0 fi Photos by Michelle AlalmoGraphic by George Valdez IVlercier was a one-of-a-kind Tribal leader I : . ) ' 1TV ' y ji Photo by Ron Karten Kelly Dirksen, Fish and Wildlife Coordinator for the Tribe (right), dumps a bag full of lamprey into an ice bucket as Tribal member and Cultural Protection Coordinator EirikThorsgard (left) and Tribal member and Youth Crew Supervisor Torey Wakeland (center) watch. 'They destroyed the mold when he was bom' By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer Tribal member Joann Mercier remembers her uncle, Dean Mercier, as charming, and otherwise. "Anyone who knew Dean Mer cier, 'Running Bear,' knew with no doubt in their mind exactly where they stood with him (good or bad . . . they knew). "Maybe the most memorable event that sticks in my mind is when Aunt Velma (Hudson Merci er, Dean's mother) passed away." Within a day or two, Sharon Palanuk Mercier (Dean's aunt, married to former Tribal Elder Hu bert Mercier, Dean's uncle) passed away also. "There was only a two-hour differ ence in the funeral services," said r iyf 4 Dean Mercier Joann. "Sha ron's was the first one, at the Nazarene Church, and Auntie's was the second at the Catholic Church. "I don't per sonally know very many people who could or would attend two funerals in one day, especially when one of them was your own mother. "Dean walked into Sharon's fu neral that day with every bit of compassion and respect that he could muster up, "I remember looking at him during the service, and wondering, 'How? How was he able to do this?' "Dean oftentimes danced to a dif ferent beat, and sang to a different tune. But no matter how he danced or sang, he did it because that was .Of. 'Mn-.'ti & -'! if just the way he was." "I've got lots of memories," said Doug Colton Sr., Dean's son-in-law. "It's hard to put them into small words because they're huge memories. He'd do anything for anybody." "Dean was a man who spoke his words," said Tribal Council Chair woman Cheryle A. Kennedy, one of Dean's many relatives in the community. "I'd always tease him. I'd tell him, 'How are you?' and in all the years his answer never changed. 'Average,' he'd say." Tribal Elder Ed Larsen remem bers, "When he was quiet, you'd ask him, 'What's going on, Dean?' and he'd say, 'Just payin' attention.' " See MERCIER continued on page 10
