14
S moke S ignals
JULY 15, 2016
Breast plate to be used f
POWWOW continued
from front page
carried in the American flag, Tribal
Elder and Army veteran Raymond
Petite carried in the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde flag, Navy
veteran Al Miller carried in the Or-
egon flag and Navy veteran Dennis
Kleffner carried in the POW/MIA
flag.
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno, a Marine Corps veteran, Vice
Chair Jack Giffen Jr., and Tribal
Council members Jon A. George,
Denise Harvey, Chris Mercier and
Army veteran Brenda Tuomi fol-
lowed the veterans into the dance
arena to the beat of Chet Clark’s
Johonaaii Singers.
The Four Directions drum group
then brought in the fancy shawl
dancers, bustle dancers and jingle
dancers, and they were followed by
children of all dance styles.
Tribal Elder, former Tribal Coun-
cil member and Navy veteran Wink
Soderberg gave the invocation and
said that when people come to visit
Grand Ronde they should be treat-
ed like family and honored guests.
This year’s Veterans Powwow
honored Vietnam veterans since
2016 marks the 50th anniversary
of the country’s military escalation
in that conflict. Every Vietnam
veteran who attended received a
commemorative eagle pin.
“Trying to keep everything dry
has been a test,” said Bobb, chair of
the Tribe’s Veterans Special Event
Board. “But that’s OK; we still have
the ones that are passionate.”
Bobb wasn’t the only one con-
cerned about the weather.
“On Friday, I was really worried
about how many veterans we would
get, but then on Saturday we end-
ed up having a grand entry that
had one of the highest turnouts of
Ila
th
at
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno, left, accepts a breast plate gifted to the Tribe from Oregon Veterans Motorcycle
Association Eugene-Springfield Chapter Vice President Chris Turner, on behalf of the OVMA, on Saturday, July 9,
during the 2016 Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds. The breast plate is
veteran inspired and made out of spent shell casings from an M16 rifle.
veterans we have ever had in the
circle,” said Leno. “That was a great
turnout.”
Saturday’s highlight was a pre-
sentation made to the Tribe by the
Oregon Veterans Motorcycle As-
sociation’s Eugene-area Kalapuya
Chapter.
“Saturday went really well,” said
Bobb. “We had the Motorcycle Asso-
ciation and they are big supporters
of veterans. That was really good to
have them here.”
The Kalapuya Chapter sought
permission from the Tribe to use
the Kalapuya name and they want-
ed to say thank you. The Tribe was
presented with a breast plate made
from spent brass M16 shells.
Butler, who carries in the eagle
staff for the Grand Ronde Honor
Guard, was selected to wear the
breast plate for Sunday’s grand
entry. Leno said whoever carries
in the Tribe’s eagle staff from now
on will be the one who wears the
breast plate into the arena.
“I think it was a great thing that
they presented an acknowl-
edgement for the use of the
name,” said Leno. “They pre-
sented us with that vest and it
will be worn at all of our grand
entries now.”
Tuomi said seeing the mo-
torcycle veterans again made
her happy, but the thing that
really caught her eye this year
was the young dancers.
Aleena Leno dances in an
InterTribal dance during
the 2016 Marcellus Norwest
Memorial Veterans Powwow
held at Uyxat Powwow
Grounds on Saturday, July 9.
Nacoma Liebelt dances in
an InterTribal dance during
the 2016 Marcellus Norwest
Memorial Veterans Powwow
held at Uyxat Powwow
Grounds on Saturday, July 9.
“I was excited to see the motor-
cycle vets back,” said Tuomi. “And
one thing I noticed during grand
entry was our young dancers. I love
watching those little kids dancing
their hearts out. I like to watch
them when they are dancing for
the veterans. I see it as important.”
Bad Soul got things started again
on Sunday afternoon with the
grand entry song and Big Eagle
drum group performed the flag
song. Four Directions finished the
powwow’s final grand entry with
the victory charging song. Bobb
gave the invocation.
Northern Blackhorse, Turquoise
Pride and All Nations drums then