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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2019)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 Tribe honors graduates during annual celebration — pg. 7 JULY 1, 2019 Tribal officer’s quick thinking safely rescues standoff hostage Tomanowos comes alive James Flynn cited for aiding Yamhill County deputies By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer aw enforcement officers are trained to be prepared for anything when responding to a call. However, knowing what to do in training and having the wherewith- al to execute a plan calmly under intensely challenging circumstances are two very different scenarios. On Monday, May 20, at 5:15 a.m., Grand Ronde Tribal Police Officer James “JJ” Flynn was monitoring police radio traffic and heard an emergency call for Yamhill County deputies to respond to a probable hostage situation in Sheridan. He offered to join the three officers who had already been dispatched. When Flynn arrived at the scene, L See POLICE continued on page 7 Who’s running for Tribal Council? Tribal Council nominations were scheduled for Sunday, June 30, at the Tribal Commu- nity Center and were held after the deadline for this edition of Smoke Signals. To find out who is running for Tribal Council this year, please visit www.smokesignals.org. Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez Tribal member Isabelle Grout explains the history of Tomanowos to Lloyd and Penny DeLoe on Monday, June 17, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Grand Ronde contingent reconnects with meteorite By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor N EW YORK CITY – For Tribal Elder JoAnn Colton Comeaux, standing in a room with Tomanowos – the 15.5-ton Willamette Me- teorite – was a physical manifestation of the stories she heard from her grandmother, Clara Riggs. Dressed in a cedar hat created by her daughter before the Monday, June 17, ceremony held at the American Museum of Natural History, Comeaux said that her grandmother passed down the sto- ries she had been told about Tomanowos from her ancestors. “My grandmother used to talk about the Elders in the valley traveling to see the meteorite because they thought it had healing powers,” Comeaux said. “When it rained, the water would fall into the bowls and they would think that the water had healing powers. She talked about that, stories from gener- ations above her. I’ve always wanted to come and see it. It’s just amazing.” Tribal ancestors used to dip their spearheads into the crevices and pockmarks of Tomanowos to obtain See TOMANOWOS continued on page 8 Experts: Tribe’s plan to buy Blue Heron site has promise By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor P ortland-area commercial real estate experts think the Grand Ronde Tribe’s interest in purchasing the 23-acre Blue Heron paper mill industrial site in Oregon City has economic develop- ment promise and is priced reasonably for Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez a riverfront property despite guaranteed environmental cleanup costs. The Tribe announced its plan to pur- chase two pieces of property in Clackamas County along the Willamette River, in- See BLUE HERON continued on page 10 The Grand Ronde Tribe is pursuing the purchase of the 23-acre Blue Heron paper mill site on the eastern shore of the Willamette River in Oregon City. Commercial real estate experts in the Portland area consider the proposed purchase to have promising economic development potential while Tribal officials trumpet the cultural aspects of regaining ownership of one of the Tribe’s most sacred sites.
