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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2013)
Smoke Signals 9 8 DECEMBER 1, 2013 DECEMBER 12013 HMm ft (SSfjMKSD Smoke Signals KKSTORATION continued from front page the import a net of our past, connect ing in our present and laying the foundation of hope for our future. The Atud.ship Memorial will remain a place to honor our old traditions and provide an opportunity for con tinued healing of our community, with each other and ourselves." Following the ceremony, a light lunch was served in the Trihal Community Center. Later on Friday, a 30th Restora tion Celebration I'owwow was held at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center. About 200 Tribal members and guests attended the four-hour pow wow. Master of ceremonies was Nick Sixkiller and powwow director was Tony Whitehead. Plankhouse event Saturday events started at 9 a.m. inside a brisk Achaf-hammi, the 3-year-old Tribal plankhouse whose Tualatin-Kalapuya name means "house built of cedar planks." About 150 Tribal members and guests hud dled together inside the plankhouse to watch an ever increasing number of Tribal members drum while Tribal girls and young women performed numerous dances during an approxi mately 100-minute ceremony. Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr. welcomed those in at tendance. "I am honored to be in the pres ence of our cultural leaders," Giffen said. "I am proud of where they have brought us in 30 years." Tribal Cultural Outreach Spe cialist Bobby Mercier led the drum group, which included Gregg Leno, Travis Stewart, Brian Krehbiel, Jade Unger, Jeff Mercier, Eric Bernando and Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, among many others. Kre hbiel and Unger tended and stoked the two cedar log fires burning inside the plankhouse. Among the songs performed were a shawl song, a salmon song, a blessing song, a song honoring Tribal canoe Stankiya and "New Beginnings." In between songs and dances, Bobby Mercier spoke about the A V t. j CY 3 3a " 5 I Noah Gerbrandt carries on of five banners with the names of the five major Tribes that make up the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde during Grand Entry for the 30th Restoration Celebration at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. Five Tribal youth, including Madison Ross, left, were picked to carry the banners. history of the Tribe and its plank house. "This plankhouse is a statement to our Elders and our ancestors that we will never forget our culture," Mercier said. "We are honoring the work of our ancestors." In addition to Giffen, Tribal Council Secretary Toby McClary and Tribal Council member Denise Harvey attended, as did former three-term Tribal Council member Chris Mercier, who is currently attending law school at Michigan State University. Restoration Celebration At noon Saturday inside the casino's Event Center was the big event the 30th Restoration Cel ebration meal and concert featuring multiple Native American Music Award-winner Jan Looking Wolf Reibach. The Event Center was prepared for more than 1,100 people and was filled to capacity by the time events started shortly after noon. As Tribal members checked in, they were gifted with a Tribal bag that contained a booklet of histori cal articles written by Tribal His torian Dr. David Lewis. Veterans, current and former Tribal Council members and Elders .- n " Tribal Council Secretary Toby McClary, middle, gifted necklaces to former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts, left, and Antoinette Hatfield, widow of former Oregon Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, second from right, during the 30th Restoration Celebration at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. The ladies sat with Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison, right, at the celebration. Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr., left, holds a proclamation for the Tribe that was presented by Yamhill County Commissioner Allen Springer, middle, on behalf of the county's Board of Commissioners during the 30th Restoration Celebration at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. Tribal Council member Jon A. George, right, then gifted Springer with a necklace. whose names appeared on either the Termination or Restoration rolls received cedar rose lapel pins. As Tribal members and their family members waited in line, they had an opportunity to buy raffle tickets to benefit the new Tribal cultural center and museum, Chachalu. One of the first Tribal members to arrive was Pearl Lyon, the Tribe's eldest Elder at 101. She was ac companied by her son, Harold Lyon, who serves on the Tribe's Fish & Wildlife Committee and Rodeo Special Event Board. Spirit Mountain Casino Execu tive Chef Richard Burr was busy checking out the three serving sta tions before the event started. Burr said that his sous chef un derwent quadruple bypass surgery earlier in the week, which forced him to come out of retirement and sculpt the three Tribal logo ice designs that graced each serving station. At about 12:15 p.m., the program started with Grand Entry as Tribal veterans brought in the colors. Wayne Chulik and Alton Butler carried in eagle staffs followed by former Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. carrying the U.S. flag, Tribal Chair Reyn Leno car rying the Grand Ronde Tribal flag, Elder Raymond Petite carrying the MIAPOW flag and Tribal member Michael Lang carrying the state flag. The U.S. flag flew over the Capitol in Washington, D.C., dur ing the Tribe's 29th Restoration celebration. Flag bearers were followed by banners created by Tribal children denoting the five major Tribes of the Grand Ronde Confederation Umpqua, Molalla, Rogue River, Kalapuya and Chasta. The Grand Entry procession also featured Tribal Royalty past and present and Elders whose names appeared on either the Termination or Restoration rolls. Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council member Val Grout gave the invocation while Tribal Council 7 2 I 1 .11 : JUL Jan Looking Wolf Reibach plays "Amazing Grace" on the flute as Jolanda Catabay waits to sing the song during the 30th Restoration Celebration at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. 30th Restoration Celebration Planning Committee Darlene Aaron, Lisa Archuleta, Betty Bly, Goldie Bly, Linda Bran don, Julie Brown, Cherie Butler, Chelsea Clark, Kathy Cole, Louise Coulson, Sam Dala, Kristy DeLoe, Cheyanne Fasana, Jon A. George, Laura Gleason, Val Grout, Violet Folden, Sharon Freund, Leonette Galligher, Gladys Hobbs, Kathryn Harrison, Jocelyn Huffman, Brandy Humphreys, Darlene Jones, Mike Karnosh, Cheryle A. Kennedy, Lin da LaChance, Claudia Leno, Reyn Leno, David Lewis, Stacia Martin, Perri McDaniel, George Mc5achman, Reina Nelson, Margaret Pro vost, Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, Kevin Simmons, Wink Soderberg, Siobhan Taylor, Eirik Thorsgard, Kathy Tom and Stephanie Wood. member Jon A. George performed the duties of master of ceremo nies. After a Canoe Family song and a performance of "The Lord's Prayer" by past and current Tribal Royalty, Tribal Council Secretary Toby Mc Clary gifted necklaces to former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts and Antoinette Hatfield, the widow of former Oregon Sen. Mark O. Hat field, who were sitting with former Tribal Council Chair Kathryn Har rison. As governor, Roberts signed the gaming compact with the Confeder- (a i j ated Tribes of Grand Ronde in July 1993 and Hatfield was instrumen tal in shepherding the Grand Ronde Restoration Act through Congress in October 1983. In Leno's keynote speech, which included recognizing current and former Tribal Council members in attendance and thanking them for their leadership, he said, "As we gather here today for our celebra tion of 30 years of Restoration, we must always remember that our story is centuries old. We have been here since time immemorial. Our ancestors inhabited this valley and we continue to carry on their traditions today. We need to teach our children and grandchildren these traditions so that they can carry them on with them into the future. "I am proud to be Grand Ronde and thankful to all the Elders who believed we could survive Termi nation and laid the groundwork for taking care of our membership. The saying 'We were here first and we're here to stay' pretty much says it all, except I always add the word 'forever.' We will always be here forever in this valley. Through all the hardships and all the struggles, we are still here." Former Tribal Royalty participates in Grand Entry for the 30th Restoration Celebration at Spirit Mountain Casino's Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. Photos by Michelle Alaimo Ieno recalled the rounding up of Native Americans during the 1850s treaty era and the Tribe's 1856 Trail of Tears march from Table Rock near Med ford to Grand Ronde in February and March. During the forced march, eight Tribal members were born and eight died. "I believe this is a sign that it is our destiny to remain in this valley; that we would never go away," Leno said. "We must never forget their struggle. Like those who have walked on before me, I remember Grand Ronde, what it was like in 1950. Our land base was small, our natural resources were many, but jobs were scarce to come by. It wasn't easy growing up in Grand Ronde. My dad, like many others, had to travel long distances from home to work while my grandma and my mom, brothers and sisters and many of the other Tribal families here traveled out to the fields. ... It was pretty bar ren around Grand Ronde and then everyone would come back for the wintertime. "In 1954, the Western Oregon Termination Act tried to strip Grand Ronde of everything. When we were Terminated, the federal government left us with nothing but our name, a cemetery lot and a building, but they haven't created a pen yet that can strip us of our identity and our history." Leno acknowledged the ap proximately 350 surviving Tribal members who were listed on the Termination Roll. "These people come from the families that only had a name, a cemetery and a belief in being Na tive American and a belief in being Grand Ronde, and I think that is something we need to encourage in our young children," he said. Leno then recognized Margaret Provost, Merle Holmes and Marvin Kimsey, the three Tribal members who started in the 1970s what would become the Grand Ronde Restoration effort that finally suc ceeded on Nov. 22, 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed the Grand Ronde Restoration Act into law. "They were the ones who carried the message to Washington, D.C. They were the ones who worked re ally hard. They gathered and kept people on the right track to get this recognition done. "The work for Restoration was hard. Having testified in Wash ington, D.C, I know that you have to believe in what you are saying to make an impact. I would like to recognize Kathryn Harrison, Karen Askins Harrison, Frank Harrison, Jackie Whisler Mercier and Marvin Kimsey, and any of their families. They were the ones that actually went and testified, and made people believe this was a doable thing. "Thirty years ago, President Ron ald Reagan signed the Restoration See RESTORATION continued on page 10
