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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2012)
Smoke Signals 10 NOVEMBER 1,2012 Youth Center seeks volunteers The Tina Miller Community Center Thrift Store, 110 H. St., Willamina. which helps fund the after-school and weekend youth community center lo cated in the old high school gym, is seeking volunteers who can help run the store, in addition to donated items and customers. The store accepts clothes, books, knickknacks, etc., as donations. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday. Donations also can be left at the Wild wood Hotel and Restaurant in Willamina. For more information on volunteering, call 503-876-7897. The youth center and thrift store that funds it are nonprofit and 100 percent self sustaining and volunteer-run. iiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiii i iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiHiimi iMiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiimimim u. Free online learning source ( The information includes: Everyday life Math and money Computer training Online classes Work and career information Check it out at www.gcflearnfree.org IHIIIIlim IIMIMIIIMIIIII I IIIIHIHHI Illlllllll iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiimiiiiiiiiiihimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiinrf ENCAMPMENT continued from front page The first communities in the area were settled by ancestors of the Grand Monde Tribe. They lived in encampments along what has be come Clackamette Park in Oregon City. To highlight that history, the Tribe was on hand at the opening to contribute to the historical re cord. A modern-day Grand Ronde encampment on Saturday offered lessons in Indian history and cul ture. "We still have the connection," said Tribal Attorney Rob Greene. Tribal members keep it alive through events like these, through the Tribe's annual lamprey collec tion at the falls and participation in the cleanup efforts on the Wil lamette and Columbia rivers. Clackamette Park is not much more than a stone's throw from Willamette Falls where, from time immemorial, Tribal peoples have harvested lamprey. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde have made growing use of heritage- and community centered celebrations to tell the Grand Ronde story, through the Chinuk Wawa trade language of Northwest Indians, through the many crafts that Natives have developed over millennia in the area, through stories of the Native peoples who lived here and the foods they ate. The Tribe also has been a mem ber of the coalition for two years and participated on the planning committee for the Willamette Falls Festival. On Saturday during the Tribal encampment, Chinuk Wawa teach er Eric Bernando showed one of the language maps the Tribe has developed. He explained that Na tive languages that barely exist today might be gone entirely in the future. Jordan Mercier showed baskets he had made and he gave one away. I If ;hll.i 1 J a - - " Photo by Michelle Alaimo Tribal Council member Jon A. George gives a brief talk about the Willamette Falls area and its historical importance to the Grand Ronde Tribe at the Arch Bridge re-opening ceremony in Oregon City on Sunday, Oct. 14. There was discussion about soaking and drying basket-making materials, and about how Greg Archuleta leaned strips of salmon against wires stretched by the side of the fire in the traditional way. "There used to be encampments all along this park," said Archuleta to an assembled group of festival goers. Other bands found homes along Eagle Creek, about 20 miles up the Clackamas River. Many Portland-area Tribal mem bers are direct descendants of those Tribal peoples who once lived in the area, Archuleta said. "The Tribe is putting our footprint out here, to educate the community about the ceded lands of the Grand Ronde people," said Tribal Council member Jon A. George. "It's very nice to see the member ship involvement, putting out who we are and how we are interacting in the interest of the larger commu nity. I'm so proud of our Portland group. They're always stepping up to the challenge." George, before being elected to Tribal Council in September, worked in the Portland office and participated in many cultural ac tivities in the area. On hand from the Portland of fice were Greg and Lisa Archuleta and their mother, Elder Bernadine Shriver, and her husband, Doug; Elder Debi Anderson and her son, Eric Bernando; Jordan Mercier and his mother and father, Elder Michael and Tammy Mercier; Elder Dolores Parmenter; and George's sons, Trey and Tynan, all who per formed in the Tribal drum group that played and sang often through the Saturday afternoon event. The drum group also performed the night before at the Oregon Territory Museum. The Tribe spon sored the Willamette Falls Locks Benefit Dinner, which featured a four-course affair for 140 featur ing Native foods gathered by Greg Archuleta and prepared by chef Matt Bennett of Sybaris restaurant in Albany. On Saturday night, the coalition presented the premiere of "Wil lamette Falls: Where the future began," a documentary produced by Portland General Electric, at the Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City. The film features Greg Archuleta and Tribal Cultural Pro tection Coordinator Eirik Thorsgard, who talked about early Tribal family connections that filled in Native de tails about the history of the falls. George returned to the festival on Sunday to welcome a large group to the official bridge re-opening. He spoke about Tribal history and culture in the area. Also helping from the Tribal of fices in Grand Ronde were Public Affairs Assistant Chelsea Clark who, with Portland Tribal Services Representative Lisa Archuleta, co ordinated volunteers at the event, including Colleen Payne and Bev erly Mayorga, in addition to assist ing Public Affairs Director Siobhan Taylor with the early planning stages. B ""VILVf. r w L 1 1 Tribal Elder Debi Anderson talks about Grand Ronde Tribal history with a visitor to the encampment at Clackamette Park in Oregon City on Saturday, Oct. 1 3. Behind her are her son, Eric, and Elder Dolores Parmenter. . Photos by Ron Karten The Grand Ronde community drummed for guests at the Willamette Falls Festival at Clackamette Park in Oregon City on Saturday, Oct.1 3. The Tribal encampment for the afternoon offered information about Tribal crafts, foods, languages, culture and history. Drumming, from left, are Eric Bernando, his mother, Elder Debi Anderson, Tynan George (son of Tribal Council member Jon A. George), Lisa Archuleta, Tribal Council member Jon A. George, his other son, Trey (hidden), Jordan Mercier and Greg Archuleta (his back to the camera).
