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OCTOBER 15, 2022
Smoke Signals
‘Thank you for the work you have done’
OUTREACH continued
from front page
cade-Siskiyou National Monument,
Oregon State Parks, the Bureau
of Land Management, Lomakatsi
Restoration Project and The Na-
ture Conservancy sat in a circle
in the hotel conference center to
share updates from the southern
Oregon region with Grand Ronde
Tribal staff.
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy began the
meeting by thanking everyone for
attending and their work steward-
ing southern Oregon
lands.
Tribal Council mem-
ber Jon A. George, his
son Tynan George and
Tribal Council mem-
ber Brenda Tuomi
sang and drummed
before attendees went
around the room in-
troducing themselves.
Following introduc-
tions, Tribal Council
members George and
Tuomi, joined by her husband Ron
Tuomi, as well as Historic Preser-
vation Manager Briece Edwards
and Cultural Protection Coordina-
tor Cheryl Pouley each expressed
their appreciation.
“Thank you for the work you have
done,” Edwards said during his
opening remarks. “You may not rec-
ognize how important it is but we
see it every day in our office from a
cultural perspective. The care, the
stewardship, the management that
you bring forward on this landscape
has a much deeper meaning than
maybe you understand.”
Tribal staff drove to Medford on
Thursday, Oct 6, passing Table
Rocks on Interstate 5. Table Rocks
was the site of a temporary reserva-
tion that held Tribal members be-
fore they were force-marched north
to the Grand Ronde Reservation in
February 1856. In 2011, a memo-
randum of understanding with the
Bureau of Land Management and
The Nature Conservancy regarding
a management plan for the Tables
Rocks area north of Medford was
signed.
Pouley said as she passed the
southern Oregon landscape on her
drive she was reminded of past
projects Grand Ronde has par-
ticipated in and new ideas were
sparked.
Each attendee received a neck-
lace made by George before they
shared their respective updates and
Tribal partnership ideas.
Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou Na-
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Tribal Council member Jon A.
George speaks during the Coffee
& Conversation event held at the
Courtyard by Marriott in Medford
on Friday, Oct 7. The annual meeting
between Tribal representatives
and local government officials in
southern Oregon was held for the
first time in two years due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Bureau of Land Management
Medford District Manager Elizabeth
Burghard speaks during the Coffee
& Conversation event held at the
Courtyard by Marriott in Medford as
Dr. Kerry Metlen, forest ecologist for
the The Nature Conservancy, listens
on Friday, Oct 7.
tional Monument Board Member
Terry Dickey began by saying he
feels there is more communication
between Tribal entities and non-
profits.
Oregon State Parks South-Cen-
tral District Manager Dani Padilla
echoed Dickey, saying that Oregon
Parks and Recreation Department
Director Lisa Sumption recently
created a diversity, equity and in-
clusion committee to “start looking
at how we can represent under-
served communities and provide
more welcoming opportunities for
those who have not been welcome
to state parks in the past.”
Padilla said that when she start-
ed working with Oregon State
Parks 14 years ago, anyone could
share anything they found on the
Internet or in a library. She says
now State Parks is more mindful
of how they can be more respectful
of Tribal culture and gain more
input from the Tribes on what they
should or should not share.
Jared Nichol, Bureau of Land
Management’s field manager for
the Butte Falls field office in the
Medford district, agreed with Pa-
dilla.
Tribal nonemergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemer-
gency text line at 541-921-2927.
“If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free
to contact my officer via text through this line,” said Grand
Ronde Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight. “When one of my
officers receives the text, they will call you back when they
have time.”
McKnight said that emergency situations still require call-
ing 911.
For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474.
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“We are in a historic moment. We
have Secretary (Deb) Haaland in
the Interior,” Nichol said. “Speak-
ing about shifts, Tribes and federal
agencies are working together. It is
a key moment in time here.”
Nichol did elicit a few uncom-
fortable laughs after he mentioned
the MOU signed in 2011 between
Grand Ronde, BLM and The Na-
ture Conservancy expired recently.
“There were some great things
done under that MOU and I think
it's a good opportunity for us to
revisit those and look at what is
the next step to improve those re-
lationships,” he said.
The conversation continued into
its second hour with BLM Med-
ford District Manager Elizabeth
Burghard saying they are partic-
ularly interested in documenting
traditional ecological knowledge in
regards to fire management.
Edwards jumped in the conversa-
tion to caution that in many ways
that sort of documentation could be
seen as a “taking.” He mentioned
Tribes have been through system-
atic oppression, relocation and
assimilation, yet knowledge on the
landscape managed to survive and
is held very tightly.
Edwards said if that ecological
knowledge is shared, it should be
done without overindulgence of
information.
“Every Portlandian in their fleece
is going to be out there doing (pre-
scribed fires) and they are going to
be doing it wrong,” Edwards said.
Lomakatsi Restoration Project
Communications Director Tom
Greco and his colleague, Commu-
nications Associate Allayana Dar-
row, addressed their organization’s
effort to say that Tribes are still
currently involved in projects as
opposed to the common past tense
used with Tribes.
Toward the end of the meeting,
George, Kennedy and Tuomi gave
closing remarks.
“Our words are not just fleeting
in the air,” Kennedy said. “They do
have life.”
After the meeting, Tribal em-
ployees left for an Acorn Camp,
a weekend event hosted by the
Indigenous Gardens Network, at
TouVelle State Recreation Site. To
conclude the weekend, participants
also joined in a sunrise hike at Ta-
ble Rocks.
Baker Technical Institute
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Heavy Equipment Operator Training
This course is for participants who want to train on Dozers, Wheel Loaders, Excavators,
and more. Students will learn, both in our high tech CAT Simulator mobile classroom
and in the field, running equipment side by side with our experienced instructors. This
training will prepare you for a great career!
•
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3-week course - some type of construction experience is preferred
Must be 18 years of age and enrolled in the TERO skills pool
Must sign a contractual agreement that you will complete the course
A valid driver’s license is required
Some travel is required
Course Dates and Times:
Simulated Training - Tribal Campus
November 7-18, 2022 7:30-4:30 Monday-Thursday, 7:30-Noon Friday
(No training on Veterans Day)
Land Lab - Knife River Outdoor Arena, 35973 Kennel Rd SE, Albany
December 12-16, 2022 7:30-4:30 Monday-Thursday, 7:30-Noon Friday
Register for training by calling 503-879-2188 or email tero@grandronde.org
•A Different Kind of Education•