14
S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2018
Tomanowos affects those who visit it
TOMANOWOS continued
from page 13
said in opening remarks. “I know
it is a significant investment of
your time. This is our 18th year of
the partnership and is very special
to me since I am one of those who
helped forge it.”
She also thanked past Tribal
Council Chairwoman Kathryn Har-
rison for the partnership.
“This was very much her vision
and I am proud to be a part of that,”
Gugenheim said.
Tuomi said she was “a little hum-
bled” to be standing there.
“Over the years, Grand Ronde
has been able to work hand in hand
to provide educational opportuni-
ties for students that teach them
valuable skills they can take into
the real world,” Tuomi said. “Last
night at the river, Kaleb and Pay-
ton had the opportunity to share
with complete strangers what we
are doing there and I can’t wait for
them to share with our youth and
other Tribal members.
“It is said that Tomanowos leaves
an impact on those who visit and
that is very true for me. It was
awesome to stand and touch it. I
will always remember that. The
creator gifted us with Tomanowos
and because of you we get to con-
tinue these ceremonies. Our Tribe
is very thankful for that.”
Gugenheim congratulated the
Tribe on the recent re-opening of
the Chachalu Museum & Cultural
Center.
“We appreciate the invitation to
come and visit and look forward to
doing that soon,” she said. “I also
want to acknowledge the 34 years
since Restoration. It is such an
incredible story of what the Tribe
has gone through and its strength
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
From left, Tribal Interpretive Coordinator Travis Stewart, Tribal Historic Preservation Program temporary employee
Nicolas Atanacio and Tribal Cultural Protection Specialist Chris Bailey sing and drum after cedar boughs used in the
private ceremony honoring Tomanowos were tossed into the Hudson River in New York City on Wednesday, June 20.
today.”
After the breakfast, Clark gave
gifts of cedar rose, sage, chocolate
and beaded necklaces to museum
officials in attendance. In exchange,
they gifted delegation members
with museum souvenirs.
“Thank you for the gifts, friend-
ships and partnerships we have
here,” Coley said.
When the gift exchange was
complete, the delegation was giv-
en a behind-the-scenes tour of
the Earth and Planetary Sciences
Department, which included the
experimental planetology labs and
the chance to handle pieces of the
Ad created by George Valdez
billions-of-years-old meteorite col-
lection.
Sightseeing tours
While in the city from Tuesday,
June 19, to Friday, June 22, delega-
tion members had the opportunity
to visit various cultural, historical
and popular New York landmarks.
On Tuesday, despite jetlag from
the time difference and a long
flight, some delegation members
visited Times Square and experi-
enced what the saying “the city that
never sleeps” really means.
After dinner at a Greek restaurant,
the group visited a Yankees and I
Love New York store to purchase
souvenirs before taking in the sights
and sounds of the city at night.
Tim and Stacia Hernandez took
in a Yankees-Seattle Mariners
game on Tuesday, where Tim, a
Tribal police officer, described the
crowd as “fairly calm.”
“We sported our Mariners’ gear
and only had a few hecklers,” he
said. “We haven’t had problems
with anyone at all.”
On Wednesday, most delegation
members toured the Statue of Lib-
erty, gift shop and rode the ferry
past Ellis Island.
“The excitement down on the town
last night was fun, but it is really
special to be this close to the Stat-
ue of Liberty,” Galligher said. “It’s
exciting to be seeing something like
that. I know people who come to our
country are impressed by her.”
Tuomi said she didn’t think she
would ever see the Statue of Liberty
in person.
“It’s pretty exciting, but I always
imagined it to be bigger than it
actually was,” she said.
Atanacio spent the day with Bai-
ley and the interns at the museum
and ate New York City pizza.
“The canoe room at the museum
is amazing,” he said, referring to
the 63-foot canoe suspended from
the ceiling. “And the pizza I had
was awesome.”
The seaworthy Great Canoe is
one of the museum's most popular
artifacts, according to its website.
It was carved in the 1870s from the
trunk of a cedar tree and features
design elements from different
Northwest coastal Tribes.
The group also toured the 9/11
Memorial, where more than 2,600
people lost their lives when the
World Trade Center’s twin towers
were attacked by terrorists on Sept.
11, 2001.
Today, the area has been com-
pletely reconstructed and One World
Trade Center is the tallest building
in the United States, reaching more
than 100 stories. The memorial is
next to it and honors the lives of
those who were lost. It includes
eight of the 16 acres at the World
Trade Center. The names of every
person who died in the terrorist at-
tacks of Feb. 26, 1993, and Sept. 11,
2001, are inscribed in bronze around
the twin memorial pools.
“I remember watching the at-
tacks on TV so to see this in person
after almost 17 years was amaz-
ing,” Grout said. “What they have
done in that time is very inspiring.”
“It was so different and beauti-
ful,” Galligher said. “It was really
cool to look out and see how big
everything was, too.”
After breakfast on Thursday,
some members of the delegation
headed on a long New York City
subway ride to Coney Island, where
they took in the sights and sounds
of the historic boardwalk.
At JFK Airport early Friday
morning as the group waited for the
flight back to Portland, Atanacio
recalled some highlights of the trip,
but one loomed larger than the rest.
“It was definitely the ceremony
for sure,” he said. “It just means
so much that I got to be here for it.
Nothing competed with that.”
Galligher echoed those senti-
ments.
“Seeing the meteorite was amaz-
ing,” she said. “I never thought I
would see anything like that. It was
very impressive.”