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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2012)
1S!!7"""TT PRESORTED 1 .i v i'''ih.'.i.iim'.".iiii''im''-t'i'I.i-i-i'''"'ii Rsp L AJ . , V OK NtWSPAPfcR PROJ. UO LIBRARY SYSTEM PRE PERMIT NO. 178 I r - , . T-Sw 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON U fef AW'' I ' EUGENE OR 97403-1205 8fl N O MARCH 15, 2012 , moke y fe ignais A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe wXaaiX Vfe, gy WWW.grandronde.org TJTVEFQTJA. ca MiOIiALLA ca ROGUE RIVER fl ICAJLPXJA. a CHASTA CaaGftDirDgj SlhKSDGT 0s? Businesses potentially responsible for Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup are working to limit liability without seeking Tribal input By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moves closer to assigning respon sibility for cleaning up the Port-, land Harbor Superfund site in the Grand Ronde Tribe's ceded lands, companies responsible for the pol lution have been busy without Tribal input mount ing a public cam paign that appears aimed at reducing their potential joint and individual costs. Last October, 45 businesses that are "potentially responsible" for the cleanup who have become known as "the Gang of 45," pitched a 21-page white paper called "Risk Manage ment Decisions Required" to the EPA. The white paper challenges the EPA process as well as the risk as sumptions and assessments that have been aired in the process of evaluating the site. The white paper's conclusions encourage a less rigorous and less expensive cleanup. There have been suggestions that no cleanup is needed at all. Not surprising since the stakes are high. Current industry esti mates for the harbor's cleanup range from $440 million to more than $2 billion although the EPA says those estimates might be on the high side. "They are kind of steering and framing the questions before EPA gets their hands on it," said Mi chael Karnosh, the Grand Ronde Tribe's Ceded Lands Program manager and Tribal point man on the cleanup. The Grand Ronde Tribe has been See HARBOR continued on page 9 Special report 1 v v$sm r v Photos by Michelle Alaimo Tribal member Greg Archuleta, right, rolls a poster of the "Chinuk Wawa: As our elders teach us to speak it" dictionary cover for Tribal Elder Dorothy Shortt during the General Council meeting in the Tribal Community Center on Sunday, March 4. Waiting in line behind Shortt is Tribal Elder Marcella Selwyn. Tribe fetes release off dictionary By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Tribe officially has a new Chinuk Wawa dic tionary titled "Chinuk Wawa: As our elders teach us to speak it." At the Sunday March 4, Gen eral Council meeting held in the Tribal Community Center, Cultural Resources Department employees choreographed a cel ebration that included drumming and singing, thanks to those who assisted in the decade-long proj ect, honoring of Jackie "Chicha" Whisler's family and, finally, Chinuk Wawa bingo. The new dictionary is almost 500 pages long and includes about 1,000 core words and about 3,000 compound words docu menting the Northwest Indian trade language as it was spoken by past and current generations See DICTIONARY continued on page 8 tea ft The new Chinuk Wawa dictionary is dedicated to Tribal Elder and Chinuk Wawa teacher Jackie Whisler, who walked on in December 2007. Whisler's family members in attendance at the General Council meeting received a copy of the dictionary. They included her sister, Tribal Elder Cheryl Carl, who is shaking hands with Tribal member and Cultural Resources Program Manager Kathy Cole after receiving her dictionary. Whisler's other family members included, from right, granddaughter and Tribal member Justine Colton, son and Tribal member Mike Colton, and grandchildren and Tribal members Jade and Nick Colton.