8
S moke S ignals
JUNE 1, 2018
Fishing rights relinquished in the 1980s
FISHING continued
from front page
“I knew I needed to be here … to
receive strength and peace for my
family. … This moment in time is
prophetic,” Kennedy said.
Several years ago, Kennedy said
she had a dream about the resto-
ration of the Tribe’s fishing rights
and how wonderful it felt. The Tribe
had to relinquish those rights in
the 1980s to secure land for a Res-
ervation.
Kennedy served on two post-Res-
toration Tribal Councils in 1985
and 1986 that were tasked with
making that difficult choice. She
vividly recalls meetings where
members of sport fishing organiza-
tions would jeer and yell at Tribal
members. She describes it as a
“terrible time,” having to choose
between land for a Reservation
or sacrificing hunting and fishing
rights forever.
“There were four women and five
men on our council and we said, ‘We
can’t give up our rights,’ but the
men were more pragmatic and told
us we wouldn’t have anything at all
if we didn’t get a Reservation … so
we signed the consent decree to give
up our rights forever. We cried, but
we knew that the people of Oregon
didn’t want us to have it then.”
After years of gradually shifting
public opinion and countless hours
of work by Tribal employees and
Tribal Council members, fishing
rights at Willamette Falls were re-
stored by the Oregon Fish & Wild-
life Commission on April 22, 2016.
That ruling allowed for the harvest
of hatchery spring Chinook salmon
and/or hatchery summer steelhead
for ceremonial purposes with a
limit of no more than 15 per year.
Tribal Council member Jack Giff-
en Jr. thanked Natural Resources
Department Manager Michael
Wilson, Fish & Wildlife Program
Manager Kelly Dirksen, Tribal
Attorney Rob Greene and Staff
Attorney Jennifer Biesack for their
work during a Legislative Action
Committee meeting on Tuesday,
May 15.
“This process has taken (several)
years,” he said. “Even though it is
limited, it is monumental and I
want to thank all of the folks in-
volved. … It was trying at times,
but we weathered the storm and
we succeeded.”
A special connection
The Tribe’s connection to the
falls dates back to historical times.
Willamette Falls, or “ikanum” in
Chinuk, is within the ancestral
homelands of the Chinookan-speak-
ing Clackamas and Clo-We-Walla
peoples relocated to the Grand
Ronde Reservation after signing
of the Willamette Valley Treaty
of 1855.
Tribal Council member Kathleen
George recalled viewing log books
from the early days of the Grand
Ronde Reservation when Tribal
members were required to account
for their whereabouts. Willamette
Falls was a frequent destination.
“Our fishermen are where they
are supposed to be at the falls,” she
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Elder Greg Archuleta, left, and Chris Rempel prepare salmon to serve during the First Salmon Celebration held
at the McLean House in West Linn on Friday, May 18.
said. “It is putting things right for
our ancestors. We were the keepers
of the falls. … This is part of the
healing and restoring of our Tribe
and that relationship. Our hearts
are pretty full now.”
George and Kennedy, along with
fellow Tribal Council members
Brenda Tuomi and Lisa Leno and
Secretary Jon A. George were
transported by boat to the dam
where they trekked down a steep
drop-off and across slippery con-
crete to observe the fishing.
Jon A. George and Cultural Ed-
ucation Specialist Brian Krehbiel
performed an impromptu ceremoni-
al salmon song and prayed for the
fishermen to be successful against
the eager sea lions patrolling the
river.
“To be involved in this is very
emotional for me,” George said.
“The ODFW ruling was a confirma-
tion restoring our rights.”
Tuomi said the experience was
powerful.
“I would like to have more Tribal
members be able to go sometime,”
she said. “I wanted to thank every-
one who has allowed me to be able
to see this.”
Leno said she has much apprecia-
tion for the work that has gone into
making the fishing possible.
“Our past leaders and programs
that have made a concerted effort
to make this possible, to bring back
our history, makes me very grate-
ful. … It is pretty monumental to
the future of what is important.”
Monday’s Tribal fishermen in-
cluded Cultural Advisor Bobby
Mercier, Tribal member Jade Ung-
er, Utility Maintenance Supervisor
Joe Loomis, Cultural Education Co-
ordinator Jordan Mercier, Mainte-
nance Supervisor Andrew Freeman
and Natural Resources Department
From left, Tribal Cultural Education Specialist Brian Krehbiel, Tribal
Council Secretary Jon A. George, Tribal General Manager David Fullerton,
Tribal Council members Lisa Leno and Brenda Tuomi and Tribal Council
Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy sing during ceremonial fishing at
Willamette Falls in West Linn on Monday, May 14.
Manager Michael Wilson.
“This is the first time here dip
netting and being able to connect
with the falls, in the place where
fishing used to happen, deepens
my understanding,” Jordan Mer-
cier said. “It is an opportunity to
experience something that hasn’t
happened in a long time. I am from
the Clackamas Tribe, so it’s an op-
portunity to deepen my connection,
and it builds our strength and will.”
Loomis said he decided to partic-
ipate in the fishing mostly out of
curiosity.
“I am not really a traditionalist,”
he said. “I am a fly fisherman, but
am excited to be a part of this. I feel
like we’re in great hands today.”
The team was led by Dirksen,
who others jokingly referred to as
“the safety guy.” General Manager
David Fullerton captained the boat
to ferry people back and forth to
the dam above the falls. Aquatic
Biologist Torey Wakeland and
Silviculture and Fire Protection
Manager Colby Drake drove anoth-
er boat to get below the falls, close
to the rocks.
“My number one goal is that ev-
eryone goes out and everyone comes
back,” Dirksen said. “And hopefully
we will catch some fish.”
Although no fish were caught on
Monday, Drake netted the first fish
on Tuesday, which was ceremo-
nially cooked and eaten by Grand
Ronde Tribal members later that
day.
Drake is not a ceremonial fish-
erman, but a Tribal member who
grew up fishing with his father
and brother, Alex Drake, who was
also at Willamette Falls manning
a drone to capture video of the
fishing.
“I got invited to help be one of
the lifeguards, so on Monday I ob-
See FISHING
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