4 OCTOBER 1, 2011
Smoke Signals
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GOVERNMENT DAY
continued from front page
area, said Warren Jimenez, who is
chief of staff for Mayor Sam Adams
and a member of the Chumash
Tribe in California.
This is very important to Sam,"
Jimenez said, "that city staff learn
about the government-to-government
relationship with Grand Ronde."
For the Grand Ronde Tribal con
tingent, led by Tribal Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy, Tribal Gov
ernment Day was an opportunity
to educate about 25 Portland staff
members mostly departmental
directors about the Tribe's his
tory and connection to the area that
is now Oregon's largest city.
It also was an opportunity to
let city personnel know that Port
land is sitting in the Grand Ronde
Tribe's ceded homelands, given
up in the 1855 Treaty of the Wil
lamette Valley.
Kennedy pointed out the Tribe's
ceded lands map, which was pinned
to a wall by Tribal staff members.
"The message we're conveying
today is that the connection to
this land is with the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde," Kennedy
said. "Although there are urban
Indian programs in Portland, they
do not represent us and they do not
speak for us."
Tribal Public Affairs Director
Siobhan Taylor also brought the
point home in a humorous homage
to "Ghostbusters."
"If it has to do with Native Ameri
cans in Portland, who are you go
ing to call? Grand Ronde," Taylor
said.
Kennedy led a Tribal Council con
tingent at Tribal Government Day
that included Tribal Council Sec
retary Jack Giffen Jr. and Tribal
Council members Chris Mercier
and Kathleen Tom.
Tribal staff who attended includ
ed Executive Officer Chris Leno,
Cultural Resources staff members
David Harrelson and Julie Brown,
Ceded Lands Manager Michael
Karnosh, Tribal members Jon
George and Greg Archuleta from
the Portland office, Public Affairs
Secretary Kristen Ravia and Tribal
youth Destiny Bishop.
George and Archuleta staffed a
table, where they demonstrated
basket making and other Tribal
crafts.
"We are thrilled to be here," Tay
lor said at the start of Tribal Gov
ernment Day. "The Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde is the Tribe
of record in the city of Portland and
in the Willamette Valley. We hope
this is the beginning of a wonderful
exchange of information."
Much of the Tribal portion of the
program was aimed at educating
Portland's elected officials and
high-level employees about the
Grand Ronde Tribe's history and
connection of the land since time
immemorial.
Kennedy briefed city represen
tatives about the Tribe's seven
ratified treaties that ceded most
of western Oregon to the federal
government in the 1850s, including
the Willamette Valley Treaty.
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Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal mimbw Jon George talks about weaving baskets with Jan Betz,
second from right, a city attorney for Portland, and Eva Huntsinger, senior
engineer for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, during the first ever
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and City of Portland Tribal Government
Day at the Portland Building in Portland on Friday, Sept. 23.
"We are the descendants of those
treaty signers," Kennedy said, "and
some of them gave their lives after
signing those treaties."
Kennedy also related 1954's
Western Oregon Termination Act,
the work that started in the 1970s
to regain federal recognition and
1983's Restoration.
"Since 1983, we have been in the
throes of building a nation from the
ground up," Kennedy said. "If you
visit Grand Ronde, you'll see that
everything is new.
"What we're doing now is educat
ing people because education is a
powerful tool. ... Our job here today
is to build a good relationship. You'll
find that the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde is a good partner."
Kennedy then gifted copies of the
Tribe's treaties to Portland City
Commissioners Dan Saltzman and
Amanda Fritz.
"Our grandfathers signed these,"
Kennedy said.
After a showing of the Tribe's
25th Restoration video, which re
inforced the Tribe's history, Tribal
staff made brief presentations.
Harrelson, who is also a Tribal
member, said Cultural Resources
personnel would be willing to work
with Portland city staff when it
comes to appropriate Native place
names.
"Our ancestors were very vibrant
people and Grand Ronde has a
connection to this place," he said.
"We're available to talk about this
connection."
Giffen talked about the Tribe's
efforts in natural resources, concen
trating on successful efforts to clean
up waterways on the Reservation
and the phenomenal fish returns
to Agency Creek.
"Our staff has created a clean
water atmosphere on the Reserva
tion. I challenge you to utilize our
folks," Giffen said. "They have a
good understanding of how Mother
Nature wanted it to be."
Karnosh discussed ceded lands.
"Ceded lands are directly related
to a treaty," Karnosh said. "Ceded
equals treaty. ... These ceded lands
areas remain extremely important
to the Tribe today. In the past,
Tribes have not directly influenced
the management of land in the
ceded lands, but they seek contin
ued access and use of the resources.
The Tribe is interested in working
with its government partners to see
those promises are kept."
Tribal Attorney Rob Greene add
ed that, from the Tribal perspec
tive, "Ceded lands are home."
"The people who were here are
still here, and they actually never
left," Greene said.
After the Tribal presentation,
seven Portland department direc
tors briefly provided overviews of
their missions and discussed ways
the Grand Ronde Tribe could be
involved.
For example, Mathew Sinclair,
Community Relations manager of
the city's Bureau of Parks and Rec
reation, noted that approximately
8,000 acres of the city's 1 1,000-acre
parks system are natural areas.
"This would be a great opportu
nity to participate and be involved
in the management of these areas,"
Sinclair said.
Eva Huntsinger, a senior en
gineer with the city's Bureau of
Transportation, said that Native
American Tribes "set the bench
mark for sustainability" and Tribal
input is sought in the development
of a new bridge to be built over the
Columbia River.
Kaitlin Lovell, manager of the
city's Science, Fish and Wildlife
Division, noted that every fish
that returns to Agency Creek on
the Tribal Reservation must pass
through the city of Portland twice.
"We all want the same thing,"
Kennedy added. "Clean rivers and
clean water."
As Tribal Government Day drew
to a close, the educational effort
appeared to have had a deep effect
on some attendees.
"I hope this is the start of a new
and more aware relationship," Fritz
said.
She said that she had a Grand
Ronde Tribal pin on her desk that
she did not wear because she did
not feel it was appropriate because
she is not a Tribal member.
But, Fritz said, after Tribal Gov
ernment Day, she will start wear
ing it daily.
"I have a responsibility to wear
the Tribal pin because I have been
elected to make decisions about this
land," Fritz said. "And this land is the
home of the Grand Ronde Tribe."
After the meeting, attendees were
served a lunch prepared by Spirit
Mountain Casino. George and Ar
chuleta performed the honor song
before lunch. B
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Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy gifts a copy of the Tribe's Willamette Valley Treaty to Portland City
Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Dan Saltzman during the first ever Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and City of
Portland Tribal Government Day at the Portland Building in Portland on Friday, Sept. 23. Also joining her in gifting
are Tribal Council members Chris Mercier, left, and Kathleen Tom, second from left, and Tribal Council Secretary Jack
Giffen Jr., right.