4
S moke S ignals
MARCH 1, 2015
Opportunity knocks
2010 – The Tribe re-
ceived a $325,000 grant
to help expand the Tribal
Library from its current
size of 1,390 square feet.
The Indian Community
Development Block Grant
will help pay for the addi-
tion of 1,500 square feet,
addressing one of the more
File photo
pressing needs on the Trib-
al campus.
2005 – A satellite office in Eugene opened at 711 Country Club Road.
Tribal member Brenda Tuomi led the local effort to find and lease
the 1,200-square-foot office, which includes a large entry/gathering
room, small conference room, computer lab and two offices.
2000 – Robert Watson was named interim chief executive officer
and president of Spirit Mountain Casino. Watson was hired to lead
the casino after Bruce Thomas resigned to work for Spirit Mountain
Management & Consulting Inc., another Grand Ronde Tribal enter-
prise. Watson had to take a leave of absence from his post as chair
of the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission.
1995 – Tribal Chairman Mark Mercier spoke at American Univer-
sity in Washington, D.C. He was invited as a guest speaker by the
Washington College of Law chapter of the Native American Law Stu-
dents Association. The topic of the symposium was “The Republican
Congress: Federal Indian Policy for a New Millennium.”
1990 – Tribal Council members Mark Mercier, Kathryn Harrison
and Candy Robertson and staff members Greg Archuleta and Jim Wil-
lis traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with officials of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service and legislative representatives
regarding youth services, child welfare, health service, forestry and
other issues affecting the Tribe. As gifts, they took along Tillamook
cheese, a Tribal calendar and smoked salmon prepared by Jim Butler.
1985 – Smoke Signals and Tribal archives do have a copy of the
February 1985 edition.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Misty Carl, Tribal Employment Rights Office Workforce Development
specialist, talks during the Opportunity 101 workshop held in the
Adult Education building on Thursday, Feb. 12. The free workshop
was designed to help Tribal and community members with attaining
and retaining jobs. Included in the workshop was a history of the
Tribe’s Vocational Rehabilitation/477 Program and the opportunities
it offers, and an introduction to what TERO is and how it can help
with employment opportunities at Tribal businesses and outside
organizations. The workshop was sponsored by the Tribe’s VR/477
Program, Tribal Employment Rights Office and Human Resources
Department, Spirit Mountain Casino Human Resources and Grand
Ronde Station. These departments will continue to work together to
bring additional trainings to Tribal members and employees.
Certified Application Assister sets dates
Certified Application Assister Loretta Meneley will be at the Tribe’s
Portland office, 4445 S.W. Barbur Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday,
March 10 and 24, to provide information and answer questions about ap-
plying for an exemption from the shared responsibility payment, as well
as to sign up members for private health insurance.
For more information, contact Meneley at 503-879-1359 or by e-mail at
loretta.meneley@grandronde.org. n
Riggs wants to maintain excitement, variety
EDUCATION continued
from front page
and to reinvigorate worthwhile
projects that have stalled.
Top of the list, he says, is a fed-
eral Administration for Native
Americans’ Chinuk Wawa language
grant. “I’m very excited about it,”
he says.
Bringing in grants and other
new funding sources, creating new
opportunities for the department
and expanding the availability of
a solid educational foundation for
the Tribal membership are among
the jobs on his desk. While the
department already partners with
institutions, Riggs says he wants
to find new partners and new as-
sociations to broaden possibilities
for the membership.
“The department is in very good
shape,” he says. “Folks with respon-
sibility for keeping it running have
done an exceptional job.”
The Tribe’s revival of Chinuk
Wawa, the Native trade language,
has been an influence on Riggs
since his days at the University of
Oregon and before. While school-
ing in Eugene, he traveled up to
the Tribe every week to study the
language. His growing fluency in
Chinuk Wawa enabled him to use
it to fulfill the university’s second
language requirement.
It also gave him direction in his
career at the Tribe. He saw the
chance to use language instruc-
tion in the education of Tribal
“children and families, and for
the revitalization of a moribund
language.”
At the University of Oregon, he
says, he discovered his love of aca-
demia. He calls himself a “lifelong
learner, until it’s over.”
He had an inclination to stay in
the university setting, but in the
end thought a job might also be in
order.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect
for education,” Riggs says, “espe-
cially the way things are going in
the world. An associate degree is
taking the place of a high school
diploma.”
In 2005, a month after he grad-
uated, he started as a Cultural
Education specialist at the Tribe.
As a teacher in the Head Start and
Chinuk Wawa programs, he says,
his fluency improved. He “saw a
lot of value in what folks here were
trying to do.”
He brings to the job more than a
decade as a rock ‘n’ roll musician.
He drummed his way through
30 countries, including villages
in Spain and Germany, and big
venues in cities like Los Angeles,
London, Tokyo and Stockholm. He
played with all manner of rock ‘n’
roll artists and bands. He continues
to play locally.
One of the songs he co-wrote,
“Cold Wind,” was part of the
soundtrack of “Looking for John-
ny,” about Johnny Thunders, a
musician with the New York Dolls.
The movie played in major cities
across the United States and now
is available on DVD.
From the road, he says he took
away a lot of lessons, and some
directly apply to his new position.
“You learn how to deal with all
kinds of people, personalities,”
he says. Traveling, he takes in
the architecture, scenery, new
languages, different thoughts and
ideas, religions, belief systems and
governments, and the various ways
that people interact with them.
“Some situations are dangerous,”
he says of the road. “At times you
put yourself in precarious places,
and you learn how to navigate all
that.”
Along the way, he worked as head
chef at Fluke’s Cradle, a North Af-
rican restaurant in London. On the
menu was “a lot of fish, very much
a Mediterranean diet.” His days
started early.
“You go to market, look for qual-
ity, haggle over price. There’s a
lot to do. Inventory, staff rotation,
dealing with personalities. Every-
one wants to be head chef, and they
want to know why did you get the
job.
“I have led a very exciting and
varied life,” he says, “and have been
fortunate in so many ways. My hope
is that I can maintain that excite-
ment and variety in my new role as
Education Division manager. I am
very passionate about learning and
hope that is apparent to all I work
with in this endeavor.”
He credits all of his program
leaders for their diligence during
the period when John Harp, Con-
tinuing Education coordinator, took
over as acting manager.
Mercedes Reeves, he says, kept
higher education counseling going.
Tim Barry carried and continues
to carry “a big load” at Youth Ed-
ucation. Interim Assistant Gen-
eral Manager Bryan Langley and
Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia
Martin, Riggs’ supervisor, have
been overseeing all aspects of the
operation.
Riggs still writes songs and poet-
ry. These days, he says, “mostly, the
poetry I write is in building blocks
with my 2-year-old.”
Riggs and wife, Heather, live
in Salem and are parents to four
children. n