12
S moke S ignals
JUNE 1, 2017
Native American activist Beryle Contreras walks on
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
One of the most important mo-
ments in modern American Indian
history occurred in California in
November 1969 when five activists
jumped from a three-masted yacht
named Monte Cristo in San Francis-
co Bay and swam to Alcatraz Island.
Within days after Richard Oakes,
Jim Vaughn, Joe Bill, Ross Harden
and Jerry Hatch made history by
claiming the island by right of discov-
ery, the occupation of Alcatraz began.
The infamous former federal
prison site had been declared gov-
ernment surplus land after being
closed in 1963 and the ensuing
occupation lasted 19 months.
Among the brave and pioneering
Indian people to live on the island
during the Alcatraz occupation was
Grand Tribal Elder Beryle LaRose
Contreras.
She was born in Fort Duchesne,
Utah, on July 29, 1935, and the be-
loved Tribal Elder walked on on May
19, 2017, at the age of 81. Her fu-
neral was held in the Grand Ronde
Tribal gym on Friday, May 26.
Almost 200 people gathered with
the family for Beryle’s service and
her cousin, John Sanchez, traveled
to Oregon from the East Coast to
perform the services at Beryle’s
request.
“She was like a sister to my moth-
er, but she was also like a sister to
us,” Sanchez said.
Like many members of the Con-
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde,
Beryle and her family were relo-
cated to California by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs in 1956. She was
21 and living in Tillamook when the
family was relocated.
The Tribe was terminated by the
federal government in 1954 and all
To read Beryle’s full Walking
On notice, turn to page 21.
federal services ended two years
later.
Sanchez said it was Beryle who
made family members in his gen-
eration aware of their heritage and
what it means.
“Beryle brought our political
awareness as Native people to light
for us when we were kids,” Sanchez
said. “Back in the ’70s, Beryle was
a very important part of starting
the American Indian Movement
Survival School, which taught us
our political awareness, which
taught us our traditional ways,
which taught us who we are. It was
very important for her to teach us
that. It was very important for her
to fight for our rights. That’s what
I remember about Beryle, but I also
remember her being my sister.”
Sanchez said that during the
late ’60s and early ’70s, Beryle was
politically active regarding Native
American civil rights.
“She fought for that all the time,”
Sanchez said. “As long as I can re-
member that was her main thing
was to make sure that we knew
who we were. She wanted to make
sure that we knew that we were
Native people and to be proud of
who we were.”
Sanchez said Beryle was admired
for having her children with her
on Alcatraz Island during the oc-
cupation.
“That’s the way she was,” San-
chez said. “They (Beryle and others
who also were politically active in
support of Native American rights)
took us from young people and
made sure that we learned our way.
I don’t think a lot of us would be
here today if she hadn’t done that.”
Sanchez said he and members of
their large family were always im-
pressed by Beryle’s friends and the
people she hung around with back
in the day. Among those friends
were Native American activist
legends Richard and Annie Oakes
(Richard was one of the original
organizers of the Alcatraz occupa-
tion), John Trudell, Dennis Banks
and Wilma Mankiller.
Mankiller became the principal
chief of the Cherokee Nation and
one of the most powerful Indian
women in American history.
“It was good being around Beryle
because you always met a movie
star or someone like that,” San-
chez said. “That’s what I’m doing
here. She always believed in me.
She always believed in all of us.
She planted that seed inside of us
and said, ‘Let the seed grow.’ She
always did the best she could.”
Daughter Christine Contreras
said her mother was strong and
that she loved to dance with her
children when they were younger.
“The strength of an Indian wom-
an cannot be compromised,” Chris-
tine said. “My mom was a great
friend. I know my mom loved us.
She loved to dance. She loved to
sing. She loved to go to powwows.
She was a great woman.”
Christine paused for moment to
control her emotions.
“Thank you for all the dances,”
Christine added.
Daughter Kimberly read a poem
called “I Am Indian Woman” and
daughter Kalene lightened the
mood when she took her turn at the
microphone.
“I was mom’s favorite,” Kalene
said and everyone in the audience
laughed.
Beryle is survived by her children
– Kerma Contreras of San Fran-
cisco, Denise Lamkin of Beaver-
ton, Christine Contreras of Grand
Ronde, Kevin Contreras of Sher-
idan, Kalene Contreras of Somes
Bar, Calif., and Kimberly Brien of
Grand Ronde, and two brothers,
Jack Langley of Warm Springs and
Leonard Langley of Tillamook.
Beryle’s daughter Kateri Contre-
ras Atanacio walked on in February
of this year. She also leaves 15
grandchildren and 18 great-grand-
children and many nieces, nephews
and cousins.
Beryle was the daughter of Roy
Norman Langley and Delia LaRose
Langley. Roy was a member of
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde and Delia was a member of
the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. Roy’s
parents were Allen Langley and
Alice Quenelle.
Beryle moved to Grand Ronde
with her family when she was 5
years old. The family moved to
Tillamook after the Tribe was
terminated in 1954 and they were
eventually relocated to San Fran-
cisco.
Over the years, Beryle worked
at the American Indian Center,
was active in the American Indian
Movement, managed a home for
mentally ill adults and cared for
her father after he was no longer
able to care for himself.
'We want to keep those stories, memories alive'
FIRST FOODS continued
from front page
phone for people to share stories,”
Ambrose said. “We want people
to share things that they’ve done.
Then we will talk about where
we want First Foods to go in the
future. We want more gathering
opportunities.”
After the meal, which is scheduled
to begin at 12:30 p.m., Ambrose,
Culture Committee members and
interested Tribal and community
members will gather camas lilies.
“Every year we’re going to try to
add something new to First Foods
so this year we are adding a gath-
ering activity,” Ambrose said. “We
won’t just be eating the food and
learning about it, but actually going
out and identifying it.”
Ambrose said the ideal event is
one where families feel comfortable
coming together and talking about
their culture and the role tradition-
al and available foods play in that
culture.
“We want to keep those stories,
memories alive,” Ambrose said.
“We are trying to keep First Foods
an event where multi-generations
can come together and talk about
how they gathered. We want those
stories to come out so we can talk
If you go
First Foods celebration
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur-
day, June 3
Where: achaf-hammi Tribal
plankhouse adjacent to Uyxat
Powwow Grounds off Hebo
Road
More information: Francene
Ambrose at 503-879-3663 or
fambrose@marionpolkfood-
share.org
about how we interacted with food,
how we came together, when we did
it and why we did it. We want to
start building on the practices and
bringing back ceremony.”
Tribal Council member Chris
Mercier said he remembers the
first time he attended a First Foods
event in Grand Ronde and the re-
sults were interesting.
“That was my first time trying
sea anemone,” Mercier said. “Which
was OK. I just remember chewing
on a lot of sand.”
Mercier said the First Foods cele-
bration is one of several events that
Tribal members can participate in
as a way of keeping Tribal culture
alive.
“I think honoring First Foods is
important because as we’ve began
reviving many of the Tribe’s cul-
tural practices, like basket weav-
ing and hide tanning and drum
making, it would seem food got
lost in the shuffle,” Mercier said.
“But diet was everything. In fact,
a lot of Native health issues are
directly related to our abandoning
our traditional diets.”
Ambrose said the event is about
strengthening the community as a
whole and bringing people closer
together in a shared activity.
“This is a way for the communi-
ty to come together and celebrate
these foods that we survived on
when we were terminated and you
had to forage whatever you could
get at the time,” Ambrose said. “We
were surviving. However we did
it. There is that community aspect
that we want to keep going. We’re
using it as a community builder for
people to come together.”
Mercier said he has used the
last two annual events as a way to
learn about what it took for Tribal
members to survive during difficult
times.
“Our people showed a lot of inge-
nuity by surviving off of things that
we wouldn’t normally think of eat-
ing like acorns or nettle or camas or
lamprey,” Mercier said. “There had
to have been a lot of trial and error
when our ancestors were mastering
the traditional foods. The fact that
people are relearning shows that
the tradition never died, it simply
fell out of use, but now folks have
a reason to keep it going.”
Ambrose said the Culture Com-
mittee looks at events like First
Foods as a recruitment opportu-
nity.
“From the Culture Committee
standpoint, we’re trying to use it
as a jumping off point to get people
curious and interested in culture,”
Ambrose said.
Ambrose said Ceremonial Hunt-
ing Board member Jade Unger and
Cultural Resources Department
staff member Jordan Mercier will
be smoking salmon for the gather-
ing and speakers will talk about the
importance of traditional foods like
camas, huckleberries, bear, rabbit,
venison and dried meats.
Ambrose said she hopes Tribal
Elder Margaret Provost will attend
and talk about her experiences as
a child gathering flounder at the
Oregon Coast.
“We’re trying to keep First Foods
a place where that interaction hap-
pens,” Ambrose said.