Smoke Signals
'Fdt me, tft 5s (sgaflDte weirwIhieOmiiinig'
14 AUGUST 1,2013
JOURNEY continued
from front page
of Indians, sponsored Northwest
Shells & Cedar, an educational
and community-focused program to
highlight Tribal crafts and language
programs.
Eric Bernando, a Chinuk Wawa
language teacher at the Portland
satellite office, described the alpha
bet to onlookers.
"We've been living on the reserva
tion for so long," he said, "some of
the language is influenced by Elders'
conversation melded into the Oregon
coast Athabaskan language."
Greg Archuleta staffed a booth
with necklaces and cedar hats, and
his own carving of two sides of a
rattle that is yet to be put together.
Ceded Lands Program Manager
Michael Karnosh had his eye on a
particular necklace adorned with a
necklace-sized paddle.
Connie Graves sat at a cedar
weaving booth, where she kept busy
answering questions and showing
how she weaves cedar, baskets and
her current project, 1,000 cedar ros
es for the Tribe's 30th anniversary
of Restoration set for November.
One of the big draws at the booth
was some of her tiny creations,
baskets about half the size of fin
gernail. She made them, she said,
because she couldn't bear to waste
any of the well-prepared cedar bark
traditionally used for baskets.
Annette Ingram, Debi Anderson
and Veterans Queen Savannah In
gram showed bone necklaces. There
also was a graduation cap made of
cedar bark.
Jordan Mercier demonstrated
how he makes cedar hats.
Tribal members and staff joined
a traditional game of shinny. Coos,
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Tribal
members Doug Barrett and Jesse
Beers brought the sticks and toggle,
made from tennis balls tied together
with a leather strap that are used in
the game. Traditionally, said Kar
nosh, the balls were made of wood.
A group from the Native American
Rehabilitation Association made and
sold fry bread. With three buckets
of dough, the group was prepared
to make 300 pieces, said Sande Bea
Allman, who has a rich mix of Native
American ancestors and is develop
ment director for the group.
Later in the afternoon, Grand
Ronde's two canoes, gtankiya (mean
ing coyote), and a new canoe, tilxayu
(meaning seal) and on its maiden
journey, arrived at a Champoeg dock
below the Shells & Cedar event.
Joining the Grand Ronde canoes
was one that the Coquille Indian
Tribe shared with members of the
Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
Tribe, who have their first on order
from Quinault carver Guy Pullman.
A Suquamish Tribe canoe also
met in Champoeg and made its way
north with the group. In addition, a
hand-carved canoe made by Siletz
Tribal member Willie Towner made
the first leg of the journey.
All the canoes fought the wakes
from motor boats pulling water ski
ers up and down the Willamette Riv
er. Towner's canoe took on so much
water that it was immediately pulled
, tv . c ';
I';.
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Grand Ronde Canoe Family member Zocy Holsclaw helps her nephew Red Sky Clawson into ulxayu, meaning seal, the
Tribe's newest canoe as they prepare to depart on this year's Canoe Journey, Paddle to Quinault 2013, from Rogers
Landing in Newberg on Saturday,
July 20.
The Grand Ronde Canoe
Family sings a blessing song
at their first stop on this year's
Canoe Journey, Paddle to
Quinault 201 3, at Champoeg
State Heritage Park in St. Paul
on Saturday, July 20.
to the land of the Grand Ronde
Tribes, "to see Tribal people bond
ing together and to see Tribal cul
ture strong in this country."
Most Tribal Council members and
many Elders and staff and their
families attended. Also, the Aurora
Volunteer Fire District pitched in
before the day was over with a cook
out of hot dogs and hamburgers.
On Monday at Willamette Park in
John's Landing, Secretary of State
Kate Brown joined the journey.
She traveled in one of the Grand
Ronde canoes down to the south
waterfront where she disembarked
at the River Place marina.
'The canoe journey was a great op
portunity for me to get a sense of the
strong commitment to honor Tribal
customs," she said. Brown is a board
member of Spirit Mountain Com
munity Fund. "I also think it's an
important reminder to the citizens of
Oregon about our state's heritage."
Land and Culture, Public Affairs,
Social Services Manager David Ful
lerton, Youth Prevention Specialist
Lisa Leno and many others did the
hard work of making this year's event
possible. Youth Prevention provided
chaperones for youth 14-18.
Five Tribal members set out on
their first canoe journey this year,
including Osprey and True Gib
bons, Michaela Gonzales, Goldie
Bly and Ferrell DeGarmo.
"New beginnings," is how Mar
cus Gibbons, father of the Gibbons
boys, described their coming ad
venture. R
from the river when it arrived.
"We were bailing from way down
the river," said Towner.
"We were fighting motor boats,"
said Brian Krehbiel, Cultural Edu
cation specialist for the Tribe, who
was skipper of tilxayu. "You have
to be perpendicular to the waves or
they come over the sides."
Bobby Mercier, Cultural Out
reach specialist for the Tribe and
organizer of the Tribe's canoe jour
neys since the first one for the Tribe
in 2005, was skipper of gtankiya.
Crowds filled the dock as the ca
noes arrived about 10 minutes apart.
They also filled the steps down to the
dock and across the landing at the
top of the stairs. Drums and song
pulled everyone together as they
honored the coming canoes.
When all had landed and mount
ed the steps to higher ground,
Tribal Council member Cheryle A.
Kennedy gave the welcome.
"Come ashore," she said. "We wel
come you. Eat with us. Sing with
us. Dance with us."
Also honoring members of the
journey were State Parks Director
Tim Woods and two chaplains from
the Aurora Volunteer Fire Depart
ment chaplain.
Tribal GIS Coordinator Volker
Mell created maps of the voyage,
including one through which view
ers could follow the canoes' progress
in real time.
Sky Hopinka (Ho Chunk) and
Myron Lameman (Cree), operating
under the name Meewa Cinema,
filmed the day. They were con
tracted by the Land and Culture
Department to make a film promot
ing lifeways activities for the Tribe
planned for use during the Tribe's
30th anniversary of Restoration.
World War II veteran Harold Ja
cobs, part Seneca, of McMinnville,
attended with his wife, Louise.
He has been involved with Native
Americans since 1990, he said.
"It's about feeling when I get
around Native people," he said.
Among guests of the Grand Ronde
Canoe Family was Tai Mamaku,
37, a Tribal relative from the Maori
people of New Zealand. He teaches
Maori history in addition to having
extensive canoe experience. He has
studied celestial navigation for
more than five years, he said. The
Maori have been a seafaring people
for the last 1,200 years, he added.
Two other Maori sailors were
expected later in the week.
"For me, it is quite overwhelm
ing," said Mamaku of his first visit