12
JANUARY 1, 2023
Smoke Signals
NATIVE
AMERICAN
WATCHLIST
Watchlist: 8Cahokia’s Celestial
Calendar (Woodhenge)9
(Editor9s note: It is estimated that there are approximately 149
billion videos on YouTube, and the number continues to grow.
Grand Ronde Tribal member and Social Media/Digital Journalist
Kamiah Koch sifts through those myriad videos twice a month to
recommend a worthwhile Indigenous video to watch. Follow her
bimonthly recommendations and enjoy!)
By Kamiah Koch
Social media/digital journalist
In the Dec. 15, 2022, Watchlist, we looked at the origin stories told
during the winter solstice on Dec. 21.
Dec. 21 is the day of the year with the least amount of daylight in
the northern hemisphere and is an important time of year for many
Tribes. Ever wonder how Tribes knew when a solstice would occur?
The answer to that question is found in a PBS video published four
years ago. PBS runs a series called <Native America= covering stories
from Indian Country.
The video follows archaeologist Timothy Pauketet through a corn
oeld in southwest Illinois. Above the rows of corn tower large mounds
called the Cahokia Mounds.
<The mounds are positioned is various ways to reference something,=
Pauketet says. <They are not arbitrarily, randomly placed.=
The video9s narrator says research suggests the Cahokia Mounds
are similar to the ancient Mayan city Teotihuacan and are laid out
on a celestial blueprint.
The video explains the data Pauketet and his team are collecting,
using a gradiometer to ond holes in the ground that would be con-
sistent with post holes.
Where those holes are found suggests a circle of posts with one post
at the center. It9s now known as <Woodhenge.=
<Woodhenge is a large ring of sizable cedar posts,= Pauketet says.
<If you look from across the post to perimeter posts, you can watch
the sun rise and set, and you9d know when the solstices were.=
If you9d like to watch the rest of the video for yourself, you can
visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=on6JybDqLRc or ond it linked in
the Smoke Signals <Watchlist= playlist. You can also read more if
this story on Newsweek9s website, https://www.newsweek.com/win-
ter-solstice-native-american-ritual-ancient-religious-ceremonies-ca-
hokia-1263001. n
Grand Ronde Editorial Board
position openings
The Grand Ronde Editorial Board, a Tribal board assigned the
duty by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (<Grand Ronde=)
of overseeing its independent Tribal press (Smoke Signals), invites
applications to serve on the Grand Ronde Editorial Board. There will
be two (2) open board positions occurring in March 2023.
The ove-member Grand Ronde Editorial Board is responsible to the
Grand Ronde Tribal Council. It oversees the editor of Smoke Signals
to ensure the independent Tribal press reports news free from any
undue innuence and free from any political interest, and that Tribal
news employees adhere to the highest ethical journalistic standards.
The Editorial Board meets monthly. From time to time, addition-
al special meetings may be held. Board members are expected to
attend all meetings in person, although participation by telephone
or video will be permitted. Each board member receives a monthly
stipend for attending meetings. Travel reimbursement is limited to
travel within the six counties of Polk, Yamhill, Marion, Tillamook,
Multnomah and Washington.
Board members must be 18 years of age, have qualioed experience
in management and/or publications, be of good character and integri-
ty, and certify that he or she will adhere to the standards of accepted
ethics of journalism as deoned by the Society of Professional Journal-
ists and endorsed by the Native American Journalists Association.
Experience with and knowledge of Native American organizations
is also preferred, as well as dedication to protecting and advancing
a free press for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
Applicants will be interviewed by the Grand Ronde Editorial Board
before a recommendation is forwarded to Tribal Council. Terms run
for three years.
Preference will be given to qualioed Tribal members.
Submission deadline: Friday, Jan. 13
Interested individuals should submit a letter of interest describing
their qualiocations, a résumé and three references to:
Grand Ronde Editorial Board
c/o Smoke Signals
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
Phone: 503.879.1463
E-mail: editorial.board@grandronde.org
Oregon State archaeologists
find oldest points
CORVALLIS 3 Oregon State University archaeologists have un-
covered projectile points in Idaho that are thousands of years older
than any previously found in the Americas.
The 13 full and fragmentary projective points, razor sharp and rang-
ing from about half an inch to two inches long, are from approximately
15,700 years ago, according to carbon-14 dating. That is about 3,000
years older than the Clovis nuted points found throughout North
America and 2,300 years older than the points previously found at
the same Cooper9s Ferry site along the Salmon River in Idaho.
The Salmon River site where the points were found in on traditional
Nez Perce land, known to the Tribe as the ancient village of Nipehe.
The newly discovered points are part of the Cooper9s Ferry record,
where OSU archaeologists have previously reported a 14,200-year-
old ore pit and a food-processing area containing the remains of an
extinct horse. The projectile points were uncovered over multiple
summers between 2012 and 2017. n
Smoke Signals screenshot
Post holes at the Cahokia Mounds in southwest Illinois line up with
when the winter and summer solstices occur, as well as the equinoxes.
The mounds are similar to the ancient Mayan city Teotihuacan, which
also is laid out on a celestial blueprint, and help explain how Native
American Tribes knew when those events were occurring.
Tribal nonemergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemergency
text line at 541-921-2927.
<If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to contact
my ofocer via text through this line,= said Grand Ronde Tribal Police
Chief Jake McKnight. <When one of my ofocers receives the text, they
will call you back when they have time.=
McKnight said that emergency situations still require calling 911.
For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474. n
AMERICAN INDIAN TEACHER PROGRAM