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moke y Signals
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe )f " VNw ViL- S WWW.grandronde.org
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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.
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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