12
S moke S ignals
june 15, 2014
‘This opening is very heartfelt’
MUSEUM continued
from front page
dy, who gave the invocation. “For a
long time, people have talked about
artifacts that they would donate
when a place was built.”
Tribal Elder Annabelle (Peachie)
Hamm said she intended to gift a
traditional deer skin dress to the
museum.
“It was made as a copy of my
grandmother’s dress,” said her
daughter, Cultural Exhibits Su-
pervisor Julie Brown, who made
the dress years ago with sister
Khani Schultz and friend Norman
Peters.
They stretched the leather for
three weeks. Brown, who is also
a seamstress, matched it to her
grandmother’s dress and sized it
to fi t her mother.
“We cleansed ourselves every day
before working,” said Brown, “with
a good heart.”
Chachalu’s opening was “every-
thing and more” to Brown.
Guests to the partially remodeled
building, which was once Willamina
Middle School, walked through a
breezeway enclosed by the build-
ing on one side and a model cedar
plankhouse on the other. The model
followed the design of the Tribe’s full-
sized plankhouse sitting just north of
Uyxat, the Tribal powwow grounds.
Guests stopped at the model de-
signed to approximate the plank-
house experience. It was built by staff
from the Land and Culture Depart-
ment. A fi re burned in a pit inside,
while Tribal drummers and singers
worked their magic behind the fi re.
Then guests moved on to the opening
celebration on the other side.
The ceremony started at 4 p.m.
with chairs on the grass facing east
at Chachalu and the sun warming
their backs from the west.
Land and Culture Manager Jan
Looking Wolf Reibach described
Chachalu as “a place to continue
to express our culture and share
our story; a place to properly take
care of our sacred things; a place
for historical research of the over
27 bands and Tribes of the people
of Grand Ronde; an opportunity to
proudly exhibit the Tribe’s cultural
collection; a dedicated facility for
cultural education; a place to pass
down important traditional ways
to our children; a platform to honor
Tribal Royalty, veterans, Elders
and ancestors; a place to help con-
tinue to strengthen community and
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Former Tribal Council members, including Tribal Elder Val Grout, left, were
recognized during the opening of Phase I of the Chachalu Tribal Museum
& Cultural Center on Thursday, June 5. Senior Veterans Queen Savannah
Ingram presented the necklace to Grout.
provide a foundation for the further
progression of Tribal culture; it re-
sides in the hearts, minds and spir-
its of our people, their practices and
connection with Mother Earth.”
Chachalu is a Tualatin Kalapuya
word meaning “place of the burning
timber.” It was suggested during a
meeting to name the Museum and
Cultural Center by Cultural Educa-
tion Specialist Brian Krehbiel.
“The name is from this valley,”
said Tribal Historian David Lewis.
“There is always a rebirth after a
fi re, like the Tribe going from Ter-
mination to Restoration.”
Planning for development of
programs for the public, as well as
for working with academics to help
with continuing research about
the history of the Tribe is already
underway, Lewis said.
“We’re writing our fi rst history
now,” he said. “We will be publish-
ing many papers. We will have
interactions with other universities
and the British Museum (that holds
many Grand Ronde artifacts). All of
us deserve to have that history.”
Willamette University anthropol-
ogy professor Rebecca Dobkins has
worked on class projects with the
Tribe and had interns working at
the Tribe. She called the facility “in-
valuable.” In this facility, she said,
Tribal Elder June Olson, former manager of the then-Cultural Resources
Department, walks through the fi rst exhibit of the Chachalu Tribal Museum &
Cultural Center during the opening of Phase I on Thursday, June 5.
“People are seeing themselves in the
stories told here about the Tribe’s
past, present and future. This is so
big. It is without measure.”
Hamm said she was most im-
pressed by the photos of her family
members, especially in the section
on logging. Photos included many of
her relatives; some photos she had
seen before, some she had not.
“This has been a dream for years,”
said Elder Val Grout, who previously
served on Tribal Council. “I’m hop-
ing to see some of my grandmother’s
work. (Maude Warren Hudson) was
a great basket maker.”
“I’ve seen pictures of my mom
(Elder Joyce Ham) as a little girl
that I had never seen before,” said
Elder Alan Ham, “and of my great-
grandpa, John Mose Hudson, and of
my grandmother, Ila Dowd.”
“I can’t speak highly enough of
our staff that put this together,”
said Tribal Elder June Olson, for-
mer manager of what was then the
Cultural Resources Department.
“This opening is very heartfelt.”
Olson remembered the long span
of time and work that made the
building possible. “There were
many renderings, and the build-
ing was going to be very costly. We
knew it would have to be built in
stages,” she said.
“I can’t say how proud and for-
tunate I am to be a part of this
Tribe,” said Tribal Council mem-
ber Kathleen Tom. She also added
her gratitude to previous Tribal
Council members who foresaw and
worked for this day.
“You’ll be very happy that I’m los-
ing my voice,” said Tribal Council
member Jon A. George. “This spot,”
he added, “was the old BIA school
that I went to until sixth grade.”
Of two emotional times in his
life, McClary said the fi rst was the
opening of the plankhouse and the
second is “the opening of this Mu-
seum and Cultural Center.”
“Reclaiming this place as a site
of cultural teaching and sharing
and affi rmation is extraordinarily
inspiring,” said Dobkins.
Though so many people have
worked so hard for so long to bring
this facility to life, she added, “In
25 years, the kids here will think it
was always here.”
Exceptions may be youth from
pre-kindergarten to age 5 who per-
formed songs during the opening.
Steve Holmes brought his 4-year-
old granddaughter, Angelina, to
show her the new Museum and
Cultural Center.
After it was all over, Kathy So-
derberg, wife of former Tribal
Council member Wink Soderberg,
said, “That was pretty impressive,
wasn’t it?”
The list of those who made this
project possible is almost endless
and includes Tribal Council, staff
from Land and Culture, Tribal En-
gineer Jesse White’s offi ce, and staff
from Public Affairs, Grants, Plan-
ning, Legal, Finance, Education,
Procurement, Public Works, Facili-
ties, temp workers, contractors and
the Capital Campaign team.
“Without these people,” said Trib-
al Planning Director Rick George,
“we wouldn’t have a Tribe, no less
a museum.”
Granting agencies for Phase I
included Lewis and Clark National
Historic Trail, the National Park
Service, Oregon Cultural Trust, Or-
egon Humanities, Spirit Mountain
Community Fund, USDA Rural
Development and Willamette Na-
tional Forest.
Granting agencies that already
have contributed to Phase II in-
clude the Three Rivers and Wild-
horse foundations.
Add to those funders the Oregon
Community Foundation, which
made a $35,000 contribution during
the opening event.
Willamette National Forest gifted
cedar for the plankhouse replica
and more to sheath part of the
building. The national forest has
also promised to gift the Museum
and Cultural Center enough cedar
to complete the job.
For the opening, the University
of Oregon loaned the Museum and
Cultural Center two baskets made
years ago by Kitty Tom. Elders,
including Chip Tom, had not seen
them before.
“It’s an emotional day for us,”
said Brown. “There will never be
another day like this.”
The celebration scheduled for 45
minutes started at 4 p.m. After all
the speeches, it was 5:15 p.m. when
the doors to Chachalu opened for
the fi rst good look for the fi rst time
for many of the fi rst 200 to visit.
For another hour and a half, guests
toured the new facility.
Chachalu opened to the public
on Thursday, June 12. Hours are
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with exhibits open
to the public between 9 a.m. and 4
p.m. Monday through Friday. n