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JANUARY 1, 2012 y
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www.grandronde.org
MOLALLA
ROGUE RIVER
CHASTA
TcrSlbe holds ffinrsti SaDinrnOuD CeDebcratlinoin)
Idea spawned to honor staple of Northwest Tribal peoples
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The first ever Grand Ronde
Salmon Celebration on Fri
day, Dec. 16, provided an
opportunity to say thanks to many
state and federal partners for their
support, to show off the results of
Tribal rehabilitation efforts and
to use the teachable moment to
show how important salmon are in
Tribal life.
The celebration started at the
Tribal fish weir mid-morning on a
chilly, overcast day. It was better
weather for fish than for celebrat
ing them.
Still, almost all of Tribal Council
attended and shared fishing stories
and some nonfishing tales with
staff and guests.
Staff members from Natural
Resources and Cultural Resources
described their roles in Agency
Creek's rebirth. Tribal members
Greg Archuleta and David Lewis
grilled ceremonial salmon at the
side of an alder fire. They spoiled
everybody's appetite for a lunch
that was to follow at the Tribal gym
with fresh salmon grilled right on
the spot. More than 50 met at the
weir for the occasion.
"Part of our culture," said Tribal
Council member Steve Bobb Sr., "is
to share the abundance."
Salmon aren't what you would
call abundant yet in Agency Creek,
but the day's events trumpeted
Tribal improvements to habitat be
cause the fish are definitely making
a comeback.
"We are three one-thousandths of
the Willamette Basin," said Fish and
Wildlife Program Manager Kelly
See CELEBRATION
continued on pages 8-9
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member and Spirit Mountain Community Fund Director Kathleen
George takes a piece of traditionally cooked salmon during the Salmon
Celebration at the Tribal fish weir on Friday, Dec. 1 6.
Sogun project moves ahead
More and more will be erected
in Tribal ceded lands in 20 12
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The sign project from the Natu
ral Resources Department's
Ceded Lands program is ready
with a new sign describing the
history of the Grand Ronde people
that will soon be erected at the
Tribal convenience store in front of
Spirit Mountain Casino.
Tribal members Brian Krehbiel
and Don Day created the frame for
the sign, and Julie Brown, also a
Tribal member and Cultural Inter
pretive specialist, made the sign.
This is just one sign among many
that are in stages of completion, said
Tribal member David Lewis, manager of the
Cultural Resources Department.
"The Tribal signs project was initiated by
Tribal Council three years ago," said Lewis.
"In that time we have worked with dozens
of potential partners throughout western
Oregon. The original concept of the project
was to populate the Tribe's ceded lands with
information to help educate the public about
the Tribal history of western Oregon, and tell
how many of the Tribes were removed to the
Grand Ronde Reservation.
"The signs are meant to convey this infor
mation at a time when many people assume
that Tribal people disappeared and went ex-
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
This is a mock-up of the interpretive
sign about the Grand Ronde Tribe and
the Kalapuyan people that was recently
completed and installed at the Scio Depot
Museum in Scio.
tinct, and there is almost no education about
our Tribal history taught in any way to the
Oregon public."
The project, directed by Mike Karnosh,
Ceded Lands coordinator, in collaboration
See SIGNS
continued on page 5
Cultural Resources
seeks traditional
donations for exhibit
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
In April, the Willamette Heritage Center
at the Mill in Salem opens a new exhibit,
"shawash ill I LuchNfn nstayka ikanuN, "
or in English, "Grand Ronde Women Our
Story."
The Cultural Resources Department project,
led by Tribal member and Cultural Interpre
tive Specialist Julie Brown, has set its sights
on items like photographs of Tribal women who
served in the armed forces, wearing traditional
regalia and carrying cradle boards.
Specifically, said Brown, "We're looking for
old photos of Tribal women who filled positions
that men typically held during WWII. Examples
include shipyard, welders, machinists, etc.
"We're also looking for old cradle boards, or
photos of cradle boards; old regalia, beads and
accessories or pictures of them; old clothing
made from hides or fur; old canning jars, crates
or other items used in the cannery in the mid
19003; and stories of courage, perseverance of
our Tribal women.
"The exhibit is an opportunity for the Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde to educate the
public that Native American women have always
been leaders and visionaries to their people and
to the success of their Tribes," said Brown.
"We have been stereotyped as followers and do
mestic workers in society, inaccuracies that still
prevail in our history books and media. Through
See DONATIONS
continued on page 7