S moke S ignals
AUGUST 15, 2015
7
Artists are Grand Ronde Tribal members
EXHIBIT continued
from front page
a piece of wood or stone, and the
deliberate forms in nature that
exist all around. These art forms
existed long before human beings.
The current art exhibit, which
opened July 17, is a follow-up to
the year-long cultural exhibit that
is part of a collaboration between
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde’s Chachalu Tribal Museum
& Cultural Center and Chehalem
Cultural Center.
The Chehalem Cultural Center
galleries – Parrish, Central, Lobby
and Community – are home to a
diverse range of exhibitions that
include art in all mediums.
Featured Ikanum artists are
Grand Ronde Tribal members Greg
Archuleta, Connie Graves, Jon A.
George, David Harrelson, Brian
Krehbiel, Bobby Mercier, Jor-
dan Mercier and Travis Stewart.
The works of Crystal Szczepanski
(Doyon/Colville), Shirod Younker
(Coquille/Miluk Coos) and Adam
McIsaac, a non-Native master
carver who is considered an expert
in Columbia River art, also are
featured in the exhibit.
“We met last year with Rob Dai-
ley (Chehalem Cultural Center’s
executive director) to discuss a
potential collaboration,” said Tribal
Lands Department Manager Jan
Looking Wolf Reibach. “We start-
ed discussing the idea of the Tribe
doing an exhibit there and it just
kept growing and then it went to
the Tribe being the focus culture
group for 2015. It’s a huge deal.
They had over 5,000 visitors at our
first event this year alone. It’s just
a huge program.”
According to Reibach, beginning
on May 1 the Tribe was part of a
large exhibit at Chehalem Cultur-
al Center called “We Are Grand
Ronde” that started off this year’s
events.
“It was the biggest exhibit we’ve
ever done,” said Reibach. “It was
great and it was quite an honor.
The experience was amazing and it
was the launching of the focus cul-
ture activities. It was really breath-
taking. To be part of that team is
If you go
What: Tribal Artisan Day
Where: Chehalem Cultural
Center, 415 E. Sheridan St.,
Newberg
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 29
More info: 503-487-6883 or
visit www.chehalemcultural-
center.org on the Internet.
something that I will cherish and
that I will never forget.”
“Since opening day we’ve had
more than 8,000 visitors to Che-
halem Cultural Center,” said Dai-
ley. “This includes more than 1,000
children on field trips specifically to
see the exhibits. This partnership
demonstrates the power of cultural
institutions to make our communi-
ties better places to live by sharing
our stories.”
Dailey said he believes the posi-
tive nature of the partnership with
Grand Ronde through Chachalu
can and has brought communities
together and that there is a “heal-
ing” aspect to the collaboration.
Focus culture activities includ-
ed public events, performances,
demonstrations, field trips, hosted
conversations, outreach and work-
shops. The hosted conversations
featured Tribal members Kathy
Cole and David Harrelson and
Tribal employee Michael Karnosh.
Harrelson, who is the Tribal His-
toric Preservation Program officer,
spoke about the understanding
of place and ethnobotany. Cole,
who is the Cultural Education
and Outreach Program manager,
talked about Tribal language and
Karnosh, who is the Ceded Lands
Program manager, spoke about the
Tribe’s ceded lands.
“I did an education piece about
language,” said Cole. “I met with
the education people at Chehalem
and not only did I teach them how
to talk about the different things
that were in the exhibit, but I
taught them some language. We
met so many times that it became
like they (Chehalem staff members)
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
“Basket Patterns Print” by Shirod
Younker (Coquille) is part of the
Ikanum exhibit at Chehalem Cultural
Center in Newberg.
were friends of ours. So we have a
really good relationship with every-
one there.”
Reibach said the second exhibit in
the year-long program is focused on
Tribal artisans.
“It’s a great partnership and I
thought it would be interesting to
do something on the contemporary
art,” said Tribal Artisan Travis
Stewart. “I think it’s great. I think
it’s a great partnership. They get
a lot more eyes and a lot more foot
traffic through there than places we
have collaborated with in the past.
That’s been the whole idea from the
beginning just to get that art form
a little more exposure. We wanted
people to realize there is a unique
art form to western Oregon.”
Stewart has three pieces featured
in the exhibit. His carvings include
two masks and a wood panel with
two grasshoppers facing each other.
“The panel is something I did a
long time ago and I was able to get
it on loan from the person that has
it now,” said Stewart.
The panel is titled “Grasshopper
Bunk Rail” and it is made of west-
ern red cedar.
One of the masks Stewart created
was specifically for this exhibit and
is based on a local legend and is
titled “Winter is Coming.”
“I wanted to bring out something
that no one had really seen before,”
said Stewart.
Stewart said he has become part
of a collective of artists over the
years and that he felt that when
the opportunity to display Tribal
member art in Chehalem Cultural
Center’s current art exhibit that he
wanted to include other artists from
beyond Grand Ronde.
“We encompass a large group of
people so we made that exhibit a
little more encompassing,” said
Stewart.
Cole agreed with Stewart when
the idea was first discussed.
“We met with our artisan team
and they wanted to have an all-Na-
tive art exhibit that included people
other than just Grand Ronde,” said
Cole.
One of artists the Grand Ronde
team wanted to work with is Shirod
Younker, who is an enrolled mem-
ber of the Coquille Indian Tribe and
grew up in Coos Bay.
“I have known him (Younker) for
a long time,” said Stewart. “I could
just see where his work fit in. We
all kind of feed off of each other
and have since the beginning. We
look at each other’s stuff and grow
from it.”
“I feel honored to be included in
the show even though I’m not en-
rolled Grand Ronde,” said Younk-
er. “I think being included in the
show is a nice gesture by Travis to
recognize Grand Ronde’s ancestral
kinship ties with other western
Oregon coast Tribes.”
Younker’s submissions include a
“Chinook”-style canoe model and
southern Oregon coast-style canoe
paddle that would have been used
by both the Umpqua and Coos
people.
Younker also included a print
titled “The Memory of Grand-
mother’s Hands” that is based on
basket hat and cooking basket
designs from southern Oregon and
northern California baskets.
“It’s a reference to our shared
grandmothers who were basket
weavers and protectors of cultural
knowledge that has been passed
on to us today,” said Younker.
“Because of our shared Tribal art
forms I think that my pieces blend
well with other Tribal artists’ work.
Travis did an excellent job curating
the exhibit and I raise my hands
up to him.”
There will be a Tribal Artisan
Day on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Che-
halem Cultural Center where peo-
ple can meet the artists. Cole said
there will be an opportunity for
Tribal vendors to showcase their
art as well.
“I have nothing but positive
things to say about our part-
nership with Chachalu and the
Tribes,” said Dailey. “It has been
a true privilege to work with the
Chachalu team — they are more
than professionals, they are pas-
sionate ambassadors for their peo-
ple. While our missions certainly
overlap, I see the work the Chacha-
lu team is doing to be absolutely
critical to the survival of diverse
and rich cultures.
“It has been an honor to be able to
carry the story of this work a little
farther. I can certainly say that
our institutions have developed
friendships that will long outlast
this project.”
The Grand Ronde Tribe will be
part of a permanent display at
the center. The permanent exhibit
panel will recognize and honor the
indigenous people who once occu-
pied Yamhill County and who still
live here today. n
Housing installs stop signs, changes speed limit
The Grand Ronde Housing Department has installed two new stop signs
near the welcome center, as well as changed the speed limit in Tribal
housing from 35 mph to 25 mph.
For more information, contact Homeownership Coordinator Vicki Jones
at 503-879-1465. n