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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.