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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2016)
S moke S ignals DECEMBER 1, 2016 11 his day – especially this day' bal Elder Betty Bly, left, the Tribe’s Culture Committee chair, gives eaded necklace to Tribal Elder Cordelia Kneeland as she hands out cklaces to the crowd during the Tribe’s 33rd Restoration Powwow held in Tribal gym on Tuesday, Nov. 22. hotos by Michelle Alaimo ple it would have. “The Creator saw fit for us to be here today,” said Kennedy. “Had the United States government had their way, none of us would be here today. So we have come through a lot. We’re here today to celebrate and rejoice.” Kennedy said Tribal ancestors were strong and that they had a vision for the future that conditions would be better for their children and their children’s children. “The same thing is called upon us today to look into the future and to see all those ones that are coming after us that they will be strong,” said Kennedy. “That we leave this world a better place for those ones that are coming after us. That is what this is all about.” Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George provided the invocation for the meal and Tribal Council mem- bers Chris Mercier, Jack Giffen Jr. and Kathleen George, Tribal staff members, Culture Committee members, Youth Council members and Tribal Royalty served a tradi- tional meal of salmon, wild rice, elk stew, green salad, rolls and pie. After the meal and a short break, master of ceremonies Fabian Quenelle called for powwow dancers to get ready at 3:01 p.m. and called for the drums to begin at 3:13 p.m. Tribal Elder and Army veteran Raymond Petite led the Color Guard into the Restoration Pow- wow and held the eagle staff. Navy veteran Al Miller carried in the Oregon flag, Navy veteran Ron Schlitzkus carried in the Ameri- can flag, Marine veteran Rich Van Atta carried in the POW/MIA flag and Navy veteran Dennis Klefner brought in the Tribal flag. Tribal Council members Kennedy, Giffen, Jon A. George and Denise Harvey followed the Color Guard on to the powwow dance floor. Kennedy gave the invocation to begin the powwow and Jon A. Wocus Gibbons dances to the “Salmon Song” as the Grand Ronde Canoe Family performs during the Tribe’s 33rd Restoration Celebration held in the Tribal gym on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Amelia Mooney, center, was among the Grand Ronde Canoe Family dancers who danced to the “Paddle Song” as the Canoe Family opened the Tribe’s 33rd Restoration Celebration held in the Tribal gym on Tuesday, Nov. 22. George welcomed everyone in at- tendance. “Thank you for being here for our Restoration Powwow,” said Jon A. George. “It’s good to see all these wonderful faces here; we welcome the drummers. I’m so thankful for this opportunity for all of us to come together and to dance and sing the songs of our Elders and celebrate.” George said he felt honored to be a part of the Tribe. “As I was growing up in Grand Ronde, I never thought I would be standing before my people as a Tribal leader and welcoming you,” said George. “To see the things that we have today, I thank our past leaders for this. Those were the leaders that created a foundation of who we are today. This is who we are – we are a people that come together and celebrate each other, we honor our culture, we honor each other, we honor our children and our veterans. Let’s get our dance on.” Quenelle introduced head man Anthony Quenelle and head woman Ramona Quenelle before inviting Waking Thunder to perform the first song of the powwow. “We are not history,” said Quenelle to the applause of the powwow crowd. As many as 50 people danced for the first song and the InterTribal songs that followed had a rhythm of their own with dancers of all ages, in regalia and out, dancing in all directions instead of the usual clockwise motion of the larger, out- door powwows. The dance floor was filled with everyone from toddlers barely taking their first steps to family members pushing beloved Tribal Elder Beryle Contreras around the dance floor in her wheelchair as Bad Soul and Red Nation drums joined in for songs. Also during the powwow, the Tribe’s Culture Committee honored Tribal Elder Margaret Provost, one of the three principal Tribal members credited with starting the Tribe’s Restoration effort in the 1970s that finally culminated in the Tribe regaining federal recognition. “We honored Margaret because of her work on Restoration years ago,” said Culture Committee Chair Betty Bly, who is also an Elder. “Marcus (Gibbons) proposed it and the rest of us all agreed that it would be good to honor Margaret at the powwow. We contacted Cheryle Kennedy to honor Margaret for everything she has done over the years from Res- toration in the beginning and being on council and being on several committees throughout the years.” Kennedy concluded her remarks by asking everyone to care for the land and water. “That is all of our jobs here today as we look to the future – make sure our environment is taken care of,” said Kennedy. “Treat it like it was your own child. It is our responsi- bility to listen to our old ones, our ancient ones who tell us we can make this better.” Members of the 33rd Restoration Celebration Planning Committee included Stacia Martin, Shannon Simi, Chelsea Clark, Gladys Hobbs, Steve Bobb Sr., Penny DeLoe, Re- becca Knight, Julie Brown, Kathleen George, Jon A. George, Denise Har- vey, Dave Fullerton, Lisa Archuleta, Harris Reibach and Peter Grout.
