PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 NOVEMBER 1, 2017 Giving of thanks doubled this year Tribe to celebrate 34th Restoration anniversary on Wednesday, Nov. 22 Still seeking answers Tribal member Heather Cameron went missing in 2012 By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor By Danielle Frost T Smoke Signals staff writer ribal members will have a chance to give thanks for two days in a row during the fourth week in November when the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s annual celebration of Tribal Restoration occurs on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. The celebration will feature a Canoe Family performance and program, noontime meal and af- ternoon powwow held in the Tribal gym in Grand Ronde. This year marks the 34th anni- versary of Restoration to federally recognized status following 1954’s Termination. After the Grand Ronde Tribe was terminated, Tribal Elders Merle Holmes, Margaret Provost and Marvin Kimsey started the arduous task of regaining federal recogni- tion in the 1970s that culminated See RESTORATION continued on page 4 If you go 34th Restoration Celebration When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22. Canoe Family and program at 10 a.m., meal at noon and powwow at 3 p.m. Where: Tribal gym, 9615 Grand Ronde Road More info: RSVP to Public Affairs at 503-879-1418 or pub- licaffairs@grandronde.org. T onya Gleason-Shepek drove to Grand Ronde from her home in Happy Valley, some 57 miles away, to address General Council on Oct. 1, which also marked the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In her hand she clutched a missing person flier. The wom- an on the front is her cousin, Heather Cameron, missing since Aug. 18, 2012, from a remote area of Shasta County, Calif. Cameron had recently cele- brated her 28th birthday and had four young children – three daughters and one son. She is a Grand Ronde Tribal member and has family living in Oregon. “I am asking you to remem- ber her story,” Gleason-Shepek said, her voice shaking. “She was a victim of domestic vio- lence. …We remember Heather every day. We may never be able to bring her home and lay her to rest, but we will never give up. When I look at Heather’s face, I see the faces of all of our Tribal members who are enduring domestic violence, depression, addictions and suicide.” Gleason-Shepek said Camer- on’s story mirrors those from Indian Country, where 84 per- cent of Native women have experienced domestic violence. “I ask you to choose mental health as a (budget) priority,” Gleason-Shepek said. “Mental health is our most underfunded, unmet need in Indian Country. Heather’s life was precious. She mattered. Everyone in our Tribal family that is high risk, they matter, too.” When contacted later, Glea- son-Shepek said that Cameron was last been seen with her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lusby, and that the two were heading to Keswick Dam, a remote area 20 minutes outside of Redding, Calif., near the Sacramento See MISSING continued on page 10 Reibach wins best video performance at NAMMYs By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor T ribal member Jan Looking Wolf Reibach ended his six-year award drought at the 17th annual Native American Music Awards held on Saturday, Oct. 14, when he won the award for best performance in a music video for his song “Ascension.” Reibach won over some tough competition in Photo by Michelle Alaimo the category, including Josh Halverson, a Md- ewankanton Tribal member who was a finalist on “The Voice,” and Kelly Derrickson, a First Nations country singer from Kelowna, British Columbia. Reibach also was nominated for Flutist of the See NAMMYs continued on page 15 Jan Looking Wolf Reibach won best performance in a music video for “Ascension” at the 17th annual Native American Music Awards held at the Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Saturday, Oct. 14. Reibach dedicated the “Ascension” compact disc to Tribal Council member Denise Harvey’s son Ryan Kelly Beauchamp, who walked on in April 2000. He gifted the medallion that accompanied the award statuette to Harvey at the Tuesday, Oct. 17, Legislative Action Committee meeting.