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SALEM, OR
PERMIT NO. 178
‘Fire in the Valley’
dinner held — pg. 9
october 1, 2014
Return of
the rattler
Tribal employees fi nd butte of a rare snake
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
A
t Rattlesnake Butte Wildlife Refuge just
outside of Monroe, the Grand Ronde Tribe
has made a rare, indigenous rattlesnake
fi nd.
A small, female western rattlesnake, the only
indigenous rattlesnake found in Oregon, showed
her face on June 12.
“We had placed these tin sheets out to attract
them,” said Fish and Wildlife Program Manager
Kelly Dirksen, who made the discovery with
Biological Technician Nathan Breece. “The tin
sheets draw the snakes because they provide
cover and warm up underneath when the sun’s
out. We fl ipped the tin over and there was the
snake.
“We have equipment that we used to safely get
our hands on the snake. We had it for maybe 10
minutes and then released it.”
Dirksen and Breece documented the first
western rattlesnake the Tribe has seen at the
refuge. Although there is a history of western
rattlesnakes in the area, it has been so long since
See SNAKE
continued on page 7
Photo by Ron Karten
Public Aff airs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark helps Malachi Beal, a fourth-grader from
Eagle Rock Elementary School, with his beading project during a Tribal Encampment held at
TouVelle State Park on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Encampment marks
third anniversary
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Courtesy photo by Nathan Breece
A female western rattlesnake was found by
staff members of the Tribe’s Natural Resources
Department at the Rattlesnake Butte Wildlife
Refuge near Monroe in June.
M
EDFORD — Keith Farber, a fourth-
grade teacher at Eagle Rock El-
ementary School with a longtime
interest in Indian culture, heard about the
Grand Ronde Encampment in a note from
his principal.
Farber then invited his students to attend
the Tribal event.
The Tribe’s annual encampment at TouVelle
State Park in Central Point on Saturday,
Sept. 20, celebrated the anniversary of the
See ENCAMPMENT
continued on page 10
Conference endorses law that helps Tribal police
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
T
he words of the day came
from Coos, Lower Umpqua
and Siuslaw counsel Pete
Shepherd.
“Coffee,” Shepherd said, “is a bet-
ter way to improve communication
than a two-way radio.”
Shepherd’s observation came dur-
ing a daylong conference regarding
a 2011 law, known as Senate Bill
412. It gives police serving Oregon’s
nine Tribes the same rights to
make arrests on Tribal lands as
city, county and state police have
to make arrests in their jurisdic-
tions.
“It mirrors state and municipal
laws,” said Shelby Rihala, an attor-
ney with Jordan Ramis law fi rm.
Law enforcement professionals
from Tribes, county sheriff’s depart-
See CONFERENCE
continued on page 11
Grand Ronde
Police Chief
Al LaChance
participates in
a conference
concerning
Senate Bill 12
held at Spirit
Mountain Casino
on Thursday,
Sept. 18.
Photo by Ron Karten