6
S MOKE S IGNALS
JULY 15, 2018
Veterans remembered
REMEMBERS continued
from page 1
Committee, as well as volunteering
at the Grand Ronde Food Bank.
Their deaths were acknowledged
after the Saturday afternoon grand
entry by former Tribal Council
Chairman Reyn Leno, a Vietnam
War-era Marine Corps veteran.
“The past couple of weeks, we
have lost two of our past Honor
Guard people,” Leno said, acknowl-
edging fi rst Merrill’s selfl ess devo-
tion to helping the community.
“He actually drove the van for our
Food Bank back when they actually
volunteered for things instead of
getting paid for things,” Leno said.
“He worked on that van and put his
own money in it.”
Leno recalled how Soderberg
would often joke about being the
most handsome man to serve on
Tribal Council.
“If you ever met him, he would
tell you he was the best-looking
guy in Grand Ronde, maybe the
best-looking guy in Oregon and
maybe the best-looking guy in the
world,” Leno said. “If you ever came
to the powwows, you’d see him
wearing a cedar hat. I was fortu-
nate to call him a friend and fellow
veteran. He served on our Honor
Guard. We served on our council
at the same time. We also served
together down at our casino and he
will be dearly missed.”
Leno then requested a moment
of silence to remember Soderberg
and Merrill.
“With that said, I think both
Wink and Norris would say, ‘Let’s
powwow.’ ”
Soderberg’s widow, Kathy, was
in attendance, as was one of his
sons, Steven.
The Saturday afternoon grand
entry – traditionally the best at-
tended of the weekend’s four grand
entries – featured 67 veterans walk
in behind the fl ag bearers.
One of the eldest veterans in at-
tendance was Corky Ambrose, 85,
who served in the Air Force from
1952 to ’60. “I was a fl ight mechanic
technician stationed in Washington
and South Carolina,” he said after
grand entry. “I visited 17 countries
and fl ew over both oceans.” He is
the father of Grand Ronde Food
Bank Manager Francene Ambrose.
Another veteran, Wes Weathers,
who served in the Navy from 1958
to ’62, said he participated in the
failed invasion of Cuba known as
the Bay of Pigs.
Most veterans, however, were
from the Vietnam War era and
there were five female veterans
acknowledged.
Tribal Elder Jerry George, who
served in the Air Force, summed up
what many veterans were feeling.
“It was an honor to serve,” he said.
All veterans received a commem-
orative coin designed by Steve Bobb
Sr., chair of the Tribe’s Veterans
Special Event Board and a Vietnam
War-era Marine Corps veteran, too.
“My job is to welcome you to
Grand Ronde and offer you our
hospitality and generosity,” Tribal
Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier
said. “I know that some of you who
go down to the casino might dispute
the generosity part, but that comes
with owning a casino.”
Although not a veteran himself,
Mercier acknowledged fellow Tribal
Council members Soderberg, Leno
and Brenda Tuomi for helping him
understand what it means to have
served in the military.
“I didn’t know a whole lot about
veterans and what you all have
been through until I became a part
of the Grand Ronde community and
started residing here on a perma-
nent basis,” Mercier said. “I’ve had
the good fortune to work with some
notable veterans while I have been
a Tribal Council member. … I don’t
typically give out advice freely,
but if there is any piece of advice I
would offer to youth present or to
anyone, if you get a chance to talk
with a veteran, do it. … They will
have stories to tell you that will put
your life and your problems into
perspective.”
Saturday afternoon’s Honor
Guard included Wayne Chulik
(Tlingit), Tribal Elder and Marine
Corps veterans Alton Butler and
Marine Corps veteran Allen Trues-
dale (Cherokee) carrying in eagle
staffs while Leno brought in the
U.S. fl ag, Tribal Elder and Army
veterans Raymond Petite handled
the Grand Ronde fl ag, Tribal spouse
Richard VanAtta carried the MIA/
POW flag and Navy veterans Al
Miller was assigned the state fl ag.
Tribal Council members Jon A.
George, Jack Giffen Jr., Kathleen
George and Mercier marched in
behind the fl ags on Saturday. Tu-
omi, an Army veteran, participated
in the Friday evening grand entry.
Cultural Resources Department
Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier
gave the bilingual invocation in
English and Chinuk Wawa and
drummed as part of The Woods-
man.
Saturday afternoon’s events also
featured the honoring of Ken Kraft,
an Army veteran who lost a leg
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Jesse “Peewee” Robertson, right, a Navy veteran, receives a coin from Veterans
Warrior Nacoma Liebelt during the Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Pow-
wow held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Saturday, July 7. Also handing out gifts
with Liebelt is Veterans Junior Queen Tasina Bluehorse, middle, and Veterans
Senior Queen Mabel Brisbois.
during a mortar attack in Baghdad
in 2005. He received a Wounded
Warrior Project blanket and pillow
created by Tribal Elder Evelyn Se-
idel and her husband, Leo. It was
awarded by Leno and Petite.
“It’s an honor to be here and
thank you very much,” Kraft said.
Following that honoring, a com-
ing out ceremony was held for Levi
and Nichole Liebelt.
The powwow attracted a diverse
audience that included a group of
Taiwanese students from Kaohsi-
ung High School.
Friday evening’s powwow events
started at 6:30 p.m. with a give-
away by outgoing Veterans Royalty
Hailey Lewis-Little and Tasina
Bluehorse, who were Senior and
Junior Queen, respectively, during
2017-18.
New Veterans Royalty for 2018-
19 also were crowned with Mabel
Brisbois taking over as Senior
Nichole and Levi Liebelt perform an honor dance during a ceremony for their
re-entry to the powwow arena during the Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans
Powwow held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Saturday, July 7. Dancing in the
background is their daughter Kalea.
Queen, Bluehorse returning as
Junior Queen and Nacoma Liebelt
serving a Warrior.
Royalty crowns were woven by
Cultural Resources Department
Cultural Education Specialist Bri-
an Krehbiel and beaded by Annette
Ingram. Liebelt’s headband was
made by Dixie Schaafsma.
Approximately 25 veterans par-
ticipated in the Friday evening
grand entry, which included Bobb
carrying in the U.S. fl ag and Weath-
ers carrying in the Department of
Defense fl ag. “I might be the only
person in Oregon with a DOD fl ag,”
Weathers said. Bobb also delivered
the Friday evening invocation.
Following grand entry on Friday,
interTribal and social dances con-
tinued until about 10:15 p.m.
Tribal Elder Deitz Peters, who
is moving to Hawaii in the near
future, was the arena director
throughout the three-day powwow.
Master of ceremonies was Navy
veteran Nick Sixkiller, a fi xture at
Tribal powwows.
Drums that performed during the
Veterans Powwow included The
Woodsman, Battling Mule, Joho-
naaii, Turquoise Pride, All Nations,
4 Directions, Squash Dome, Iron
Mountain and Eagle Thunder.
Sixkiller said the smaller number
of drums present was because of a
concurrent competition powwow
being held in the Pendleton area
by the Umatilla Tribe.
Tribal Elders in attendance in-
cluded former Tribal Council Chair-
woman Kathryn Harrison, John
Lillard, Ed Larsen and Cherie
Butler, to name a few.
Vendors north of the powwow
grounds offered a variety of mer-
chandise for sale, including jewelry,
pottery, paintings, beadwork and
car decals. Attendees wore a vari-
ety of regalia and Native-themed
T-shirts, which included one that
read “Don’t Worry, Be Hopi.”
Food vendors included Slow Train
Coffee from Willamina, Mom’s
Kitchen, Curly Fries, Island Star
and Claudia Leno’s Indian Taco
See REMEMBERS
continued on page 7