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STANDARD MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO. 700
Native Youth
Wellness Day — pg. 11
APRIL 15, 2017
Native grads
receive state
support for
cultural attire
Gathering season
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
O
regon’s Deputy Superinten-
dent of Public Instruction
Dr. Salam Noor recently
sent a letter to Oregon school dis-
tricts encouraging them to work
with Tribes and Tribal students
to allow Native students to wear
cultural items at graduation.
“High school graduation is a time
of great excitement for students,
families and our communities as a
whole,” Noor wrote in his letter dat-
ed March 31. “As we celebrate with
our communities and pay tribute to
the hard work and achievements of
our students, I encourage you to put
policies in place that facilitate cere-
monies that are culturally inclusive
and refl ect and honor the diversity
of our students and families.”
Noor said in the letter, which
was the second letter he has sent
this year to Oregon schools on the
subject, that the state Department
of Education values the govern-
ment-to-government process be-
tween state and local governments
and Tribes.
“We encourage you to examine
your local policies and explore
ways for students to honor their
heritage, this includes allowing
for non-disruptive expressions of
Native American culture at com-
mencement ceremonies,” Noor
See NATIVE ATTIRE
continued on page 19
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Nicolas Atanacio, a senior offi ce assistant with the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department, peels willow at the
Cultural Resources Department on Wednesday, April 5.
Cultural Resources collecting traditional materials
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
T
he Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department
has started its annual spring gathering
activities in and around the Reservation.
Staff members have been gathering willows
and preparing for berry season, said Cultural
Education Coordinator Jordan Mercier and there
will be many opportunities for Tribal members to
participate in the annual traditional materials
gathering rituals.
See PEELING
continued on page 8
Grand Ronde students prepare for solar event
Conrad Farmer raises his hand to cast
his vote on what artifact to launch into
the stratosphere by balloon during the
total solar eclipse that’s taking place on
Monday, Aug. 21. Farmer was joined by
other Native students, including Nikeia
Barton, left, and Kailiyah Krehbiel,
right, for a lunch meeting at Willamina
High School on Thursday, April 6, that
decided a small carved wooden paddle
would be launched. The students are
participating in the NASA-funded
project “Our Reservation, Our Eclipse,
Our Launch.”
By Bethany Bea
Smoke Signals Intern
A
s the nation awaits this summer’s
total solar eclipse, a group of
Grand Ronde students is prepar-
ing for it.
The students, along with student
groups from nine other Tribes, are partic-
ipating in a project that combines culture
and science against the backdrop of the
astronomical alignment.
“Our Reservation, Our Eclipse, Our
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
See ECLIPSE
continued on page 21