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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2016)
12 S moke S ignals NOVEMBER 1, 2016 'You can place yourself in the landscape' SUMMIT continued from front page Harrelson introduced Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno. “These are always great oppor- tunities to let people know who we are,” said Leno. “We believe in education. I want to thank every- body for coming. These are great educational opportunities, so thank you for being here.” Harrelson jumped right into the heart of the summit experience on day one with a presentation about Tribal history. Local historian Henry Zenk then presented his findings about one of the first Tribal members to live in Grand Ronde after the forced relocations – Jenny Riggs. Zenk colleague and fellow lan- guage specialist Jed Schrock shared information about a project he is working on involving the Molalla language. Native Wellness Institute Pro- gram Evaluator Amanda Mercier presented on the topic of histor- ical trauma. Her talk was titled “Historical Trauma and Historical Wisdom: Trauma-Informed Col- laboration to Promote Cultural Resiliency.” Mercier discussed the establish- ment of the Future Generations Collaborative and said that the pro- gram is about providing support to parents aimed at helping babies be healthy and have a healthier future. Mercier said that the collabora- tive project is trying to reduce sub- stance-affected pregnancies in the greater Portland Native community by providing material informing par- ents about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and the effect it has on chil- dren, teaching people about histori- cal and intergenerational trauma, providing opportunities for healing and advocating for policy changes. “We have had an ongoing rela- tionship with Grand Ronde,” said Mercier. “The Future Generations Collaborative started in 2011 after Multnomah County Health Depart- ment workers were seeing that there wasn’t a lot of resources being dedicat- ed to addressing substance-affected pregnancies in Native communities in the Portland area.” Mercier said the approach for a trauma-informed process involves the building of communities, nur- turing of relationships, integration of Native culture and cultivation of shared values. “Nurturing relationships — that has really been the foundation since the beginning,” said Mercier. “Our trauma-informed process has been all about long-term relationship building. I hope these conversations can continue.” Newly elected Nisqually Tribal Council member Hanford McCloud traveled to Grand Ronde to discuss his Tribe’s hosting of the Canoe Jour- ney this year in Washington state. McCloud said his Tribe hosted as many as 5,000 people per day on their ancestral shores during the event. Tribal member and Cultural Adviser Bobby Mercier presented on the Tribe’s historical and cul- tural ties to Willamette Falls and Photo by Michelle Alaimo From left, Tribal GIS Coordinator Volker Mell, Tribal Senior Archaeologist Jessica Curteman and Tribal GIS Analyst Alex Drake give a presentation on an interactive story map that the Tribe created about the Tillamook legend of the journey of Southwind during the History and Culture Summit held in the Tribal gym on Thursday, Oct. 27. showed a video shot this year when the Tribe harvested salmon at the falls for the first time in more than 100 years. Other sessions on day one in- cluded Tribal Senior Archaeologist Jessica Curteman’s presentation on the Tribe’s Historic Preservation Office and the work that it does and Dr. Sara Gonzales and graduate student Ian Kretzler presented in- formation on their ongoing low-im- pact archaeology work through the University of Washington. The afternoon session on day one concluded with presentations about how Tribal people on the Colville Reservation are surveying, collect- ing, mapping and monitoring tra- ditional plants in their usual and accustomed areas and a presenta- tion by Dr. Christopher Horsethief shared information about how trauma can be a tool for learning. Summit attendees were treated to a dinner of salmon and rice and singing and dancing by the Canoe Family at the Tribe’s tradition- al plankhouse – achaf-hammi – Wednesday night. Day two of the Summit began with a presentation by Native filmmaker Sky Hopinka, who is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Hopinka makes short films through his Tribe’s Language De- partment that target Native youth and teach them their indigenous language. “Sky’s work centers around per- sonal positions of homeland and landscape, designs of language and the facets of culture contained within,” said Tribal member and Cultural Education Coordinator Jordan Mercier. Hopinka said the language films he is producing through his Tribe come with a sense of urgency in that there are only 70 known “im- minent” speakers left. “We are trying to find ways to engage with the community and to engage with the young learners and provide resources for them to draw upon and engage them with platforms like YouTube or videos or any sort of video media,” said Hopinka. “These videos are also for parents or the family members or anyone in the community.” Hopinka played one of his short films that featured himself and Jordan Mercier speaking Wawa. Nike’s Sam McCracken, who is from the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, presented on the com- pany’s N7 program and shared information about how the program battles high rates of diabetes in Indian Country through healthy ac- tivities and he shared information about shoes and apparel designed for Native Americans. Tribal member and Curriculum Specialist Mercedes Reeves presented information about the Grand Ronde Tribe’s fourth- and eighth-grade curriculums that are now being used in schools throughout Oregon and Education Program Manager Tim Barry highlighted the Tribe’s Youth Education Department. Swinomish Tribal Elder and Community Health Program Spe- cialist Larry Campbell traveled to Grand Ronde from his Reservation located 75 miles north of Seattle. Campbell, whose Indian name is Wanaseah, is working on the effects of climate change in his community. His presentation was titled “Climate Change Impacts on Culturally Important Traditional Foods and Habitats.” He said that he became interested in learning more about the effects of climate change on his community when he was serving his Tribe as its historic preservation officer and saw the changes firsthand that El- ders had been talking about for 25 to 30 years prior. “We are both saltwater and fresh- water people,” Campbell said. “It is the environment that dictates who we are today as Tribal people. We need to teach our young people who we are.” Campbell said that his Tribe’s 10-square-mile Reservation is 90 percent bordered by water. “Our Elders realized there were changes in the environment,” said Campbell, who said that his Tribe’s Reservation in the Puget Sound had been hit by two 100-year storms in the last 10 years. After the morning sessions were completed on the second day, con- ference attendees gathered into smaller groups for the afternoon breakout sessions. Afternoon breakout sessions included information provided by Tribal member and Cultural Collec- tions Supervisor Veronica Montano on the Tribe’s handling of culturally significant items and artifacts and Harrelson presented on the topic of place and the importance of place to Tribal peoples. Tribal Elder and Tribal Librarian Marion Mercier presented infor- mation on how to better research Grand Ronde Tribal history. GIS Coordinator Volker Mell presented information on an inter- active story map that the Tribe has developed around the Tillamook legend of the journey of Southwind. The legend is a mythological sto- ry about a creature that traveled along the Oregon Coast naming communities along the way. Curteman said that the Tribe’s foray into interactive maps to share Tribal legends could contin- ue with certain stories. She said that because the tale of Southwind has already been published and is known then it is OK to share that legend with the public. “The point of it is to essentially provide a new way or an alternative way to tell a story,” said Curteman. “This is giving audiences a way to learn the story and to see the story as a visual representation as well.” Mell said that when viewers go to the map they will direct the story experience by what they click on. “You can place yourself in the land- scape,” said Mell, who explained that viewers can zoom in and zoom out on certain spots on the map for more information and that there are videos and pictures placed throughout the story map to further enhance the experience for the viewer. Mell’s presentation followed the Oregon coastline from south to north.
