2
S MOKE S IGNALS
OCTOBER 15, 2015
NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings
DATE
TIME
Wednesday, Oct. 28.............................................................................5 p.m.
Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed.
General Council meeting
11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1
Letters
Dear Smoke Signals:
On behalf of the Chehalem Cultural Center Board of Directors and staff, I
would like to offer our sincere appreciation and take a moment to enumerate
some of the positive results of our Focus Culture partnership over the past
year. From our perspective, the project was a resounding success. I hope
you feel the same.
From the very fi rst day, my experience with the staff of the Chachalu
Tribal Museum and Cultural Center was professional, courteous and en-
gaging – from the front desk staff through every offi ce in the building. Jan
Reibach was immediately open to the idea of collaborating, and he instantly
understood that Grand Ronde’s new museum initiative could gain a wider
audience through partnership. I am happy to report that throughout the
fi ve months the project was open to the public, more than 12,000 visitors
were exposed to the Tribe’s history, arts, language and traditions through
the Chehalem Cultural Center.
I know the partnership required no small effort on the part of the staff of
Chachalu and other Tribal leaders. From the fi rst meetings, it was apparent
that the Chachalu staff are incredibly passionate, dedicated people who have
accepted a calling to do the work that they do. After initial brainstorming
with Jan to determine how the relationship would balance to benefi t both
Chachalu and Chehalem, the project was primarily executed by the talented
teams of exhibition and arts professionals at Chachalu. I am gratifi ed to hear
that the work the teams put into the exhibitions at Chehalem has helped
them better understand how they ultimately want their exhibit space to look
in Phase II of Chachalu.
From the beginning, a strong education component was essential. Under
the guidance of the Tribe’s Education teams, Chehalem staff provided inter-
pretive tours and hands-on culture projects to more than 1,000 school children
on fi eld trips from throughout the area. It was immediately gratifying to pass
down a reverence for Oregon’s indigenous cultures to the next generation.
To give adult visitors an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the
ways of the people of the Tribes of Grand Ronde, the project included a free
hosted conversation each month. The Tribe’s excellent cultural, land and
historic preservation staff provided thorough and patient engagement with
eager audiences. The fi nal forum with some of the Tribes’ most celebrated
leaders was a stunning capstone to the project, demonstrating the depth of
thoughtful leadership of the Tribes today.
Finally, it was especially appropriate that we spent the second half of the
project focused on the art of the Tribes, from the traditional to the contempo-
rary. It is exciting to see how Tribal artists are supported and valued within
the culture of the Tribes. You have a beautiful resource in those artists.
Everyone we’ve worked with throughout the partnership has conducted
themselves with dignity and poise. To a person, they are excellent repre-
sentatives of the Tribes.
I truly believe the partnership has had real and lasting effects. I know one
of our proudest moments happened on opening day of the project when the
mayor of Newberg presented the Tribes with a “key to the city.” This sym-
bolic gesture signaled an offi cial and profound shift in local thinking, which
to me is the most powerful effect we could ask for. I hope it is an indication
of where the United States is headed in a cultural sense. Reconciliation is
overdue, and that is only possible through recognition of the richness and
legitimacy of indigenous ways of life (and their right to it), through atone-
ment for the past, and through understanding instead of appropriation. But
for this to even begin to be possible, it requires a willingness to trust. This
was the key to our partnership. For this most of all, I commend Jan Reibach
and the Tribal Council.
What remains from the original agreement Jan and I discussed is a perma-
nent way to recognize the people of Grand Ronde, the original people of this
area, at the Chehalem Cultural Center. We haven’t yet determined what this
will look like – whether it will be a panel inside the building, a monument
outside of the building or something else entirely – but I want to assure you
we will continue to work with the Tribes to make this a reality, and we will
work to keep the relationship open even after this. The experience has been
formative for us here at Chehalem Cultural Center, and we hope the effects
will resonate within our organization for years.
I know there is no way for me to thank everyone from the Tribes who had
a part in this partnership, so I simply say thank you to the Confederated
Tribes through you, the Tribal Council, for your leadership, for your vision
and for your support of this project.
Rob Dailey
Executive director
Chehalem Cultural Center
See page 14 for more letters.
Tribal Offi ce Closures
Tribal offi ces will be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance
of Veterans Day. Offi ces will also be closed on Monday, Nov. 23, in
observance of Restoration Day on Nov. 22. Offi ces also will be clos-
ing on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at noon and closed on Thursday, Nov.
26, and Friday, Nov. 27, in observance of Thanksgiving.
Tribal Community Center
Smoke Signals
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DEADLINE DATE
ISSUE DATE
Tuesday, Oct. 20 ......................... Nov. 1
Thursday, Nov. 5 ....................... Nov. 15
Thursday, Nov. 19 ........................Dec. 1
Editorial Policy
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Com-
munity of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted
without permission.
Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers
about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be
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opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council.
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