Smoke signals., May 01, 2016, Page 19, Image 19

S moke S ignals
MAY 1, 2016
19
'Fishing was central to our life and culture'
HARVEST continued
from page 14
members increased access to game
for ceremonial purposes.
In April 2008, the Oregon Fish
and Wildlife Commission granted
ceremonial hunting rights to the
Grand Ronde Tribe across the
Trask Hunting Unit. In October
2009, the commission re-adopted
the rule granting ceremonial hunt-
ing rights to the Tribe.
In May 2013, the Tribe held a
First Salmon Ceremony at the Mc-
Lean House in West Linn, marking
the first time in more than 130
years that Tribal members held
such a ceremony on the banks of
the Willamette River. The salmon
used during the ceremony was har-
vested by Tribal members through a
modiication to the Tribe’s Scientiic
Taking Permit. The ceremonial har-
vest was repeated in 2014 and ’15.
In September 2014, the Ore-
gon Fish & Wildlife Commission
unanimously approved the Grand
Ronde Tribe’s Fish and Wildlife
Management Plan, which gave the
Tribe control over the take of ish
and wildlife on its Reservation and
trust lands.
In July 2015, the Grand Ronde
Tribal Council approved issuing
46 Tribal Reservation hunting tags
LIHEAP program gets more funding
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps
pay heating bills, has received additional federal funding. The pro-
gram is open to Tribal members who have not received LIHEAP
assistance as of Oct. 1, 2015, through April 1, 2016.
LIHEAP is a irst-come, irst-served program and income criteria
applies. For more information, contact Social Services Adminis-
trative Assistant Tammy Garrison at 503-879-2077 or tammy.
garrison@grandronde.org. 
Need something notarized?
Tribal Court staff is available at no charge for notaries 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday though Friday with the exception of noon to 1 p.m.
Please be sure to bring a photo ID with you.
If you have any questions, contact the court at 503-879-2303. 
and set Tribal hunting seasons for
the irst time since Restoration.
And on Friday, April 22, the state
Fish and Wildlife Commission
approved a ceremonial ishery at
Willamette Falls for members of
the Grand Ronde Tribe.
“I’m honored to work for the
Tribe and to have a small part
in carrying out this vision,” said
Greene. “One of the things that I
would emphasize is there are three
elements here: One is the vision of
Tribal Council in moving us along
this road to recovering the Tribe’s
historic rights in its ceded lands.
“The second thing is the great
team effort by so many employees
here at the Tribe, including Natural
Resources, the Tribal Attorney’s
Ofice and the Culture Department
all working together to carry out
that vision.
“And the third thing that I think
is critical for this is at Tribal Coun-
cil level and the staff level is devel-
oping those strong partnerships
with the Governor’s Ofice and with
ODFW that allow us to bring about
these successes like we have here
with the platform.”
George also complimented past
and present Tribal leaders, as well
as staff, on creating partnerships
and expertly preparing Tribal rep-
resentatives for meetings, such as
the one held in Bandon.
“The old stories (Ikanum) tell how
the Falls were created for the beneit
of our people to ish there,” Archule-
ta said. “Willamette Falls has been
one of our ishing sites since time
immemorial. Even after relocation,
our families continued to ish at the
Falls and bring the salmon back to
the Reservation for subsistence.”
“We kept coming to the Falls af-
ter treaty signing and removal to
maintain our ways and provide for
our people,” Leno said. “The Indian
agent’s passbook for Grand Ronde,
held at the Oregon Historical Society,
documents our ancestors leaving the
Reservation to return to their ishing
sites at Willamette Falls.
“While other people traveled to
the Falls or came to visit and trade,
our ancestors were the people of the
Falls. Fishing at the Falls was cen-
tral to our life and culture. Today,
we maintain an ongoing connection
to the Falls. We harvest lamprey
as our ancestors did. We also work
closely with government agencies,
businesses and organizations that
are connected to Willamette Falls.
“This rule and our ishing at the
Falls will have a profound impact
on the Grand Ronde people. It will
connect our children and grand-
children with the spirits of their
ancestors.”
On May 6, the Tribe will hold its
annual First Salmon Ceremony
near the Falls.
“We will honor our traditional
subsistence like our ancestors did
before us and we will be able to pass
this on to our future generations,”
said Archuleta. 
Ad created by George Valdez