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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2019)
smok signflz JULY 1, 2019 9 Agreement with museum marks 19th year TOMANOWOS continued from page 8 um every summer. This marks the 19th year of that agreement. Museum breakfast On Tuesday, June 18, museum staff held at breakfast in the Astor Turret for the Grand Ronde delega- tion, serving scrambled eggs, sau- sage, puff pastry and a fruit plate. Museum Senior Vice President for Communications Anne Canty welcomed Tribal members. “On behalf of all my colleagues here at the museum, I want to welcome the delegation for this momentous 19th year,” Canty said. “It’s wonderful to welcome back some old friends and see so many new faces.” Canty said that the museum considers its agreement with the Grand Ronde Tribe to be a model for a collaborative and reciprocal relationship between Native Amer- ican communities and museums. She also cited Tribal Elder Kath- ryn Harrison, who was a longtime Trib- al Council chair, for her work to strength- en the relationship between the muse- um and the Tribe. Harrison currently serves on the muse- um’s board of direc- tors and is the first Native American to do so. Harvey expressed the Tribe’s thanks to the museum. “Hopefully, we will always have a long-standing relationship with the museum,” Harvey said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be here.… We thank you for your continued support, which is fundamental to the Tribe in maintaining our his- torical connection to Tomanowos and teaching our youth about the importance of our people.” Comeaux donated a cedar hat made by her daughter, Carol Colton, to the museum collection Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez Above, Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez, left, Deputy Press Secretary Sara Thompson, third from left, and Tim Hernandez, second from right, enjoy a breakfast with staff members of the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, June 18, in New York City. Tribal Elder JoAnn Colton Comeaux and Senior Vice President for Communication Anne Canty look at a traditional cedar woven hat that Comeaux donated during a breakfast at the American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, June 18. in honor of Tribal Elder Connie Graves, who walked on earlier this year and left a legacy of teaching traditional weaving. Division of Anthropology Curator Peter Whiteley accepted the hat for the museum. “What an amazing gift,” White- ley said. “Thank you so much. It’s wonderful to have this added to our collection.” Following the breakfast, Grand Ronde Tribal members received a behind-the-scenes tour of the mu- seum’s extensive Native American textile archives led by Paul Beelitz, director of Collections and Archives in the Division of Anthropology. Lara was most interested in seeing a feathered headband visor used during coming-of-age cere- monies. The museum’s, made from blue jay feathers, dates back to the late 19th century. It entered the museum’s collection in 1903. In addition to the Tomanowos activities, Tribal members also visited the Statue of Liberty, El- lis Island and the 9/11 Museum during the whirlwind three-day visit, among other group and solo activities. “Attending the ceremony with fellow Grand Ronde Tribal mem- bers to celebrate Tomanowos was truly special event for me and my Tribal children,” Jennifer Weiss said. “My family has lived in New York City for almost 30 years and we have seen the meteorite on many occasions during our visits to the museum, but at arms’ length. We were thrilled and honored to be allowed to attend Grand Ronde’s meteorite ceremony for the first time this year. It is certainly not of- ten that we get to see fellow Tribal members in our hometown, and it was an amazing and special oppor- tunity to receive total privacy at the museum and join in ceremony with them around our sacred meteorite.” “Visiting New York is an awe- some experience,” Tribal Elder Marion Mercier said. “There is a lot to see and a lot of history. … Plus, visiting the meteorite just gives you a different sense, a different feel- ing. It kind of gives you goosebumps when you walk into the room. There it is and it’s like, ‘I’ve got to go down and touch that.’ ” Front from left, Tribal members Marion Mercier, Tribal Council member Denise Harvey, Desirae Hernandez, Dorothy Leno, Isabelle Grout, Penny DeLoe, JoAnn Colton Comeaux and Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez, and, rear from left, Cristina Lara, Kailiyah Krehbiel, Jennifer Weiss, Spencer Weiss, Charlotte Weiss, Lloyd DeLoe, Deputy Press Secretary Sara Thompson and Tim Hernandez pose in front of the American Museum of Natural History after a ceremony with Tomanowos held on Monday, June 17, in New York City.
