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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2019)
OCTOBER 1, 2019 smok signflz 9 ‘We are still here, still resilient’ OUTREACH continued from front page Rogue River Tribes that ceded a large swath of southern Oregon that now includes Medford to the federal government and the 2011 memo- randum of understanding with the Bureau of Land Management and Nature Conservancy regarding a management plan for the Tables Rocks area north of Medford. Table Rocks was the site of a temporary reservation that held Tribal mem- bers before they were force-marched north to the Grand Ronde Reserva- tion in February 1856. Tribal Council member Jack Giff- en Jr., who has been a proponent of the Tribe continuing and increasing its outreach in the southern part of the state, said that he was happy with this year’s attendance, which totaled 11 not counting Tribal Council mem- bers and Tribal staff. “It’s just a step in the process in building relationships by com- ing down,” Giffen said after the 2.5-hour ses- sion. “Each time I come down, I see the same faces and some new faces. To me, that’s Tribal Historic Preservation Offi ce Manager telling us that we’re Briece Edwards, right, receives help from Cultural making progress and Consultant and Tribal Elder Greg Archuleta during building relationships with other people rath- a presentation at the eighth annual Coff ee & er than just the BLM Conversation held in Medford on Friday, Sept. 20. and certain agencies.” The event opened with Tribal to preserve the people. Council Secretary Jon A. George, “We are still here, still resilient,” Tribal Historic Preservation Of- Kennedy said. “We still continue to fi ce Manager Briece Edwards and love the land and will continue to Cultural Consultant and Tribal care about what happens here. … Elder Greg Archuleta drumming We have to put our minds, hearts and singing. George then gave the and science together and learn how invocation. to preserve this area in a better Tribal Council Chairwoman way.” Cheryle A. Kennedy, who is a direct Edwards and Archuleta briefed descendant from two Rogue River attendees on southern Oregon Tribal Treaty signers, welcomed Tribal places names that survive in print guests. today and how those names indicate “We always look for people to part- a “preponderance of connection.” ner with, who have the same heart, “This is a multi-national place,” the same gift of life so that we can Edwards said, explaining that Trib- help one another because we are al names were not nouns, but action all here together and we’re going to verbs for a certain place used for a make this a better place,” she said. gathering, hunting, fi shing or other Kennedy said the Rogue River cultural activity. Tribes signed two treaties with the “When understanding these places federal government in 1853 and ’54 and the names, then we can under- Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez Tribal Council member Jack Giff en Jr. passes out gifts to Lomakatsi Restoration Project Tribal Partnership Manager Belinda Brown, left, and Restoration Project intern Laliyah Watah at the end of the eighth annual Coff ee & Conversation held in Medford on Friday, Sept. 20. The event commemorates the 1853 treaty signing at Table Rocks and the 2011 signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Land Management and The Nature Conservancy regarding management of the Table Rocks area north of Medford. stand how this landscape was work- ing and how this place here actually connects with that place over there,” Edwards said. Archuleta also briefl y discussed Tribal oral histories that have been passed down through the ages from the Rogue River and Chasta peoples. “We do have strong connections to here,” he said about the histories. After the formal presentation, a roundtable discussion centered on the Tribal practices that help the en- vironment, such as controlled burns to reduce fuel levels in forestland, and how to encourage tech-oriented youth to reconnect with the land and develop a sense of place and wonder. Giffen said he hopes the Tribe and organizations represented at the Coffee & Conversation event will work to return to the water and air conditions that existed before the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. “We have to educate the entire state population,” Giffen said. “To- day, I can’t go up into any forest and drink out of a creek. That’s not the standard I want to see. Until we get the general population to agree that we want our water and our lands cleaned up to the standards before the Industrial Revolution, we’re just spinning our wheels. … We don’t want today’s standards. We want where it was 150 years ago.” George was hopeful, saying that current children and grandchildren will be the ones to make a true dif- ference in healing the Earth. “The foundation of what’s being done today, they will fi nish,” he said. Kennedy added that Native peo- ples are always in the forefront of opening the eyes of the powers that be and raising environmental awareness of all Oregonians. “I believe it goes back to legends that I heard growing up and those legends were kind of warning signs,” Kennedy said. “When we get so misbehaving toward our sustainer, which is the Earth, and we’re out of control, then these things (natural disasters) are to cleanse it and not to punish us as people. “The challenge for every one of us is what we can do to raise awareness of all Oregonians because I do be- lieve they want to do what is right, but they don’t know the situation we are in.” Ellie Cosgrove, program coordina- tor of the Friends of Cascade-Siskiy- ou Monument, said she is surprised that today’s youth are not as inter- ested in visiting the wilderness and getting dirty. “Being outside is not something you need to be afraid of,” Cosgrove said. “The only way to have appre- ciation is to spend time out there.” Molly Allen, environmental edu- cation specialist with the Bureau of Land Management, said she has led hikes for approximately 75 youth up Lower Table Rock as part of her job to reconnect youth with the land. Tribal staff who attended also in- cluded Tribal Attorney Rob Greene and Cultural Resources Department archaeologist Cheryl Pouley. NonTribal staff who attended included Bureau of Land Man- agement employees Molly Allen, Teresa Trulock, Jen Sigler and Elizabeth Burghard, Nature Con- servancy representative Molly Morison, Lomakatsi employees and Pit River Tribal members Belinda Brown and Laliyah Watah, and Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument representatives Stasie Maxwell, Shannon Browne and Ellie Cosgrove. After the event concluded, the Tribe presented gift baskets to attendees that included a Grand Ronde logo coffee cup, chocolates and reusable grocery bags. Unlike in previous years, a cultur- al encampment was not held nearby along the shores of the Rogue River or in the foothills of the Table Rocks. However, Greene, Archuleta and Tribal member Chris Rempel hiked to the top of Lower Table Rock in the afternoon. n Friends of Cascades-Siskiyou National Monument Program Coordinator Ellie Cosgrove makes a point about the importance of children making a connection with the outdoors as Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Board member Stasie Maxwell, left, and Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George look on during the eighth annual Coff ee & Conversation.
