NOVEMBER 15,2013
Smoke Signals 1 5
3. The Indians are still located
in their aboriginal territory or on the
former reservation.
4. They have maintained their
customs and language.
5. The Tribal group is poorer
than the surrounding adjacent non
Indian population.
"So, there you had it," Kimsey
said. "The five or six steps toward
Restoration. It seemed so simple,
but it wasn't."
And AuCoin was the first person
to tell them that.
"When we first dealt with him, he
told us about all the work," Kimsey
said. "And he told us, "You've got to
do the work. I'm not going to do it
for you.'"
They had to hold meetings, to
prove governmental functions. They
had to hold powwows and other
rituals to demonstrate the upkeep
of culture. They had to certify the
blood quantum of members, docu
ment those who still spoke jargon,
research families and collect num
bers on income. They had to pursue
grants for funding. Fry bread stands
and peddling homemade (by Tribal
Elders) jam were some of the no
table fundraising activities.
At one point, Mercier said, the
Tribe had an unsigned deal with
United and Southwest airlines to
provide them with huckleberry
jam. That is until they realized the
quantity demanded was way beyond
their means.
Community support also had to be
garnered. They contacted churches,
clubs and scores of organizations,
and just about anyone who would
give support. They went through
all manner of tedious bureaucratic
work just to fulfill those obligations.
Before steady funding arrived, Kim
sey had to quit his job just to devote
more time to the effort.
"It was like chasing a rainbow,"
Kimsey said. "It seemed closer, but
it wasn't."
But the group got plenty of help
from Tribal Elders; either through
bake sales or money. Their support
was monumental, Kimsey said.
"Ha (Dowd) and Velma (Mercier)
helped us," he said. "And Wilson
Bobb and Esther LaBonte, they
donated money.
"It made you feel pretty good that
someone believed in you," he added.
"Sometimes I think the Elders just
wanted an excuse to get together,"
Whisler said. "To them, Restoration
hopefully meant their medication
was paid for."
But even with all the backing, the
goal still seemed unreachable, just
always out of grasp. More than once
they felt like quitting.
'The hours were long and tedious,"
Kimsey said. "And there were times
I wondered if it was worth it."
"I can remember once I wanted
to quit because we didn't get this
Association for Native Adminis
tration grant," Whisler said. "We
thought we had it. But Marvin told
me we didn't get it and I cried. It
just seemed like this would never
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From left, Marvin Kimsey, Jackie Whisler, Frank Harrison, Karen Askins and Kathryn Harrison prepared to
testify before the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee about restoration for the Grand Ronde Tribe
on Oct. 18,1983.
happen."
They got over it, and pressed
on, taking solace in the slightest
sliver of hope. As Whisler said, the
encouragement came sporadically,
and when it did, it worked.
"We would be so down sometimes,"
she said. "But all it took was one
phone call from somebody in Salem
or D.C., telling us we had to do this
or that and it would have us all fired
up and working for another week."
The occasional workshop would
happen, or a conference out of state,
and they would have to decide who
would go. Funds were that limited.
"We didn't have enough money,
so we just sent one person and
they would take notes for all of us,"
Whisler said.
Ultimately, another ANA grant
came their way for $60,000, enough
to fund the whole operation for a
year, and enough for the core mem
bers to quit and go full-time into
Restoration.
"At that time, it was enough for all
of us," said Kimsey, smiling.
More help materialized, as Eliza
beth Furse, Don Wharton and
Oregon Legal Services jumped on
board and really got the effort go
ing. In a clear reversal of fortune,
at one point Kimsey and the others
were actually turning down grants.
And slowly but surely, with their
newfound aid and finances, they
were building up toward a date in
D.C. with Congress.
But other obstacles loomed, among
them opposition from Oregon Steel
headers and commercial fisheries,
who feared that the special fishing
rights likely given to a newly re
stored Tribe might encroach upon
their business. Timber organiza
tions worried federal lands loaded
with troves of timber might go to
Indians for reservation land. Even
the Bureau of Indian Affairs proved
difficult.
"Geez, you'd think the BIA would
be your friend," said Whisler. "But
they demanded so much from us."
Through political maneuvering,
they were able to neutralize oppo
sition or turn it into support. With
AuCoin gathering support in the
House and Hatfield in the Senate,
plus the aid of then-Oregon Gov.
Vic Atiyeh and assorted Polk and
Yamhill county commissioners, the
Tribe was only a hearing away from
reality.
In 1983, Kimsey, Whisler, Kath
ryn Harrison and her son, Frank,
and her daughter, Karen Askins,
along with Elizabeth Furse made
the legendary trip to Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C. Neither Kimsey
nor Whisler have forgotten that.
As funds were still nowhere near
the abundance they are now, the
intrepid group stayed at the Davis
House, not exactly a mission, and
pretty far from being a hotel.
"My room, as near as I can tell,
was a converted closet," Whisler
said. "And I had one towel for the en
tire week. I had to ask for another."
The big day was truly, well ...
big. Whisler wasn't really prepared
for what lay ahead. The plan was
originally to have Marvin and Frank
speak before Congress and aides,
with her looking on not uttering a
peep. But Furse had other plans,
telling Whisler it was imperative
that she spoke.
"I freaked out," she said. "I told
her there's no way I can speak in
front of all those people. I told her I
wasn't going to do it.
"She just looked at me and said,
'Jackie!' " Whisler said, imitating
Furse with a voice similar to the way
a parent might speak to a petulant
child.
Later on, while walking down the
halls of Congress, Whisler peeked
into a side room. Mike Wallace of
"60 Minutes" was conducting an in
terview with some political bigwig.
They also met with a senator from
Minnesota. She remembered vividly
how he explained that some Tribes
in Minnesota considered Termina
tion one of the best things that ever
happened to them.
"We didn't know what to say," she
said. "I just said, 'We can't speak for
other Tribes.' "
They all spoke on behalf of their
Tribe. Ronald Reagan signed HR
3885 and it was passed with 57 let
ters of support and none opposing.
And on Nov. 22, 1983, the inception
of the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde began, 2,200 members in all.
"The truth is, I've no interest in
being back there and part of those
politics that go on today," Kimsey
said. "But I'm glad I was part of
Restoration, and like I said, I don't
know what would drive a person to
do it. But if it had to be done again,
I suppose I could muster up the
strength."
Whisler reflects rather fondly on
it as well.
"As good as we're doing now, when
I think back to all the struggles
then, it was so much fun," she said.
"It was so ... innocent."
If Kimsey himself has any hard
feelings, they are well concealed.
He just hopes that someday the
recognition due to his crew will
come, particularly Whisler, who he
thought had been largely omitted in
appreciation.
"Not enough is said about Jackie,"
he said. "I can't even begin to tell
you how important she was. What
ever we needed, she always got it
done."
Reprinted from the Dec. 15,
2001, Smoke Signals.