6
S moke S ignals
DECEMBER 1, 2014
Tribe hosts History Conference
Event attracts more
than 200 participants
to Chachalu
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The second annual Tribal History
Conference started with an audi-
ence of less than 100, but before
the first session ended the audience
had grown to more than 200 in the
great hall at Chachalu Museum
and Cultural Center.
Tribal Historian David Lewis
served as master of ceremonies
and principal organizer of the con-
ference.
In the morning on Friday, Nov.
14, introductions from Lewis, an in-
vocation and introduction by Tribal
Council member Jon A. George and
a welcome from the Grand Ronde
drum opened the all-day event.
“The conference has become a
must-attend event for many people
working in heritage in Oregon,”
Lewis said. “There are few events
like the conference that offer such a
powerful array of scholars working
in different disciplines, presenting
in the same location.
“We had the most respected
scholars in their fields at the con-
ference, which attests to the great
work we have been doing to address
the Tribe’s culture, language and
history.
“Our work for many years has
engendered a certain amount of
respect for the Tribe from the aca-
demic heritage community and this
is culminating in great appreciation
for our new museum.”
Grand Ronde Tribal history is “a
connection to our past,” said Cul-
tural Protection Manager David
Harrelson as he introduced speak-
ers for the initial session.
First up was Kenneth Ames,
professor emeritus in the Depart-
ment of Anthropology at Portland
State University. He described how
archaeologists perform their work
with examples of the tracking of ob-
sidian, dentalia and other artifacts
found throughout Oregon and the
Pacific Northwest.
Mark Tveskov, professor of An-
thropology at Southern Oregon
University in Ashland, described
the history and archaeology of the
three-day Hungry Hill Battle that
occurred in 1856 and was part of
the Rogue River Wars.
David Brauner, professor of An-
thropology at Oregon State Uni-
versity in Corvallis, discussed
Fort Yamhill during the years
1856-67. The establishment of the
Grand Ronde Reservation, he said,
brought with it Fort Yamhill and
other facilities designed to hold Na-
tive peoples, and when they signed
out to visit relatives, for example,
to track them.
A section on language and edu-
cation started with Tribal linguis-
tic consultant Henry Zenk, who
discussed the biography of Louis
Kenoyer (1867-1937) that he is
working on with linguist Judd
Shrock.
Kenoyer is thought to be the last
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Jordan Mercier, Tribal Cultural Protection coordinator, talks about his personal experience as a Grand Ronde Tribal
member during the second annual Tribal History Conference held at Chachalu Tribal Museum & Cultural Center on
Friday, Nov. 14.
person to speak Atfalati, a name for
the group of languages spoken by
Yamhill and Tualatin Tribes. Ke-
noyer’s phonetically written story
of growing up in Grand Ronde and
attending Chemawa Indian School
was first transliterated by anthro-
pologist Melville Jacobs (1902-71).
Zenk and Shrock are working from
Jacobs’ initial efforts. Zenk also
talked about details still needing
further study.
Shrock said about working on the
translation that he was simplifying
big “walls” of text and deducing
meaning.
Paul McCartney, a retired high
school teacher, described the pro-
cess of putting together a Kalapuya
dictionary with all dialects repre-
sented. One discovery made during
the effort was the Kalapuyan’s
sense of humor, translating, for
example, “ear” as “side of the head.”
Word connections that hold ideas
together are also of interest, McCa-
rtney said.
Cultural Education and Out-
reach Program Manager Kathy
Cole introduced the Chinuk Wawa
application that is currently set
up for Apple users. Next year, she
anticipates that an Android version
will be ready.
Jean Barman, professor emeritus
in the History Department at the
University of British Columbia in
Canada, described reasons that fur
trappers ventured south into what
is now Washington and Oregon.
Among the reasons were the chance
to give their families a better life, a
sense of belonging and the thought
that they could contribute to the
betterment of their new commu-
nities.
Barman’s talk was precipitated
by her book, “French Canadians,
Furs, and Indigenous Women in the
Making of the Pacific Northwest,”
published in October. It covers the
19th century indigenous Canadian
Metis people, who were French-In-
dians employed in the fur trade.
French-Indians are half-French,
half-Indian by heritage. Today,
Metis is a term used for all part-In-
dians in Canada.
When they came to Grand Ronde,
the Metis ultimately represented
a quarter of some 400 then living
here. A copy of the book is available
in the Tribal library.
In the history section, Nora Ped-
erson, adjunct professor of An-
thropology at Western Oregon
University in Monmouth, described
changes when Europeans moved
west. They misunderstood longtime
Tribal connections to this land, she
said.
Pederson also shed light on the
diverse Tribal engagements with
industrial agriculture, harvesting
hops fields on one hand and own-
ing mills on the other. Harvesting
wapato and berries, hunting game
and fishing, Tribal peoples traded
goods on an industrial scale.
Dan Boxberger, department chair
of the Anthropology Department at
Western Washington University in
Bellingham, focused on the Grand
Ronde part in 19th century federal
treaties. He has been working with
the Tribe on this subject for the last
decade.
Peoples - white and Indian - were
different then, he said. Utmost good
faith in white society referred to
written contracts; not so in Indi-
an communities, where ultimate
good faith came in the form of oral
traditions. As a result, Native oral
agreements failed in the face of
European-American written doc-
uments.
Of 22 treaties between white and
Native communities at that time,
only seven were ratified.
In 1851, the Willamette Valley
Treaty Commission discussed
issues with Tribes that came up
again and again. European Ameri-
cans wanted to move Tribal peoples
to the east of the Cascades while
Indians, with their attachment to
the land, demanded a guarantee
that they could maintain their
foods, land and resources.
Stephen Dow Beckham, professor
emeritus of History at Lewis and
Clark College, introduced one of
the major players in the recording
of Pacific Northwest ethnography:
George Gibbs, who from 1849-61
was a man too little known despite
his contributions.
“A bridesmaid,” said Beckham,
“but never a bride.”
His wide-ranging interests, in-
cluding oral traditions, penchant
for portraiture, surveyor and geol-
ogist, dealings with Indian artifacts
and countless other pursuits all
added to the value of his work.
Tribal member Jordan Mercier,
Cultural Protection coordinator,
reflected on his personal experience
as a member of the Tribe, telling his
story in the traditional way by first
describing his family going back
many generations.
Referring to active Tribal mem-
bers who brought about Restoration
in 1983, Mercier wondered where
he fits in this Tribal world and on
this land. He also described his
many Tribal experiences as both a
member of the Tribe and his family.
Tribal member Jennifer O’Neal,
archivist at the University of Ore-
gon, explained the role of archives
in ethnographic collections. She
referred to the words of Vine Delo-
ria Jr., a Native American author,
theologian, historian and activist,
saying that information in archives
is necessary for Indian identity and
Tribal sovereignty.
See CONFERENCE
continued on page 13