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APRIL 1, 2023
7
Tribe commemorates opening Wapato Lake refuge
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer
GASTON 3 It took almost 10
years, but Wapato Lake Nation-
al Wildlife Refuge has officially
opened to the public.
Approximately 200 people, in-
cluding several Grand Ronde Trib-
al members, attended a grand
opening event held on Saturday,
March 18, in Gaston to celebrate
the milestone. The Tribe has been
involved with the U.S. Fish & Wild-
life Service, helping to reclaim the
lake as a source for the traditional
orst food it is named after.
Wapato Lake became a desig-
nated wildlife refuge in 2013, but
has been slow in opening to the
public due to the lake and the land
surrounding it needing rehabilita-
tion, including the restoration of
the wetland, lake bed and native
vegetation.
In April 2022, Tribal
members helped plant
approximately 3,000
wapato bulbs at the
lake. The lake9s first
stewards were the Na-
tive Atfalati, who win-
tered around Wapato
Lake because the root
vegetable prospered
in the area and played
an important role in
sustaining the Indigenous peoples.
Later, they were remanded to the
Grand Ronde Reservation after
signing the Willamette Valley Trea-
ty of 1855.
The refuge opened to the public
on Feb. 1, but the ofocial celebra-
tion was postponed to avoid poor
weather. It was held at Gaston
Junior-Senior High School and
included an open house, welcome
ceremony and refuge tours.
Tribal members Jesse Norton and
Tynan George, Tribal Council mem-
ber Jon A. George, Tribal Cultural
Policy Analyst Greg Archuleta and
Cultural Resources Manager David
Harrelson drummed and sang a
welcome song.
Harrelson talked about how the
Tualatin Kalapuya chose Wapato
Lake for themselves and it was
where they wanted to stay.
<This is an important place,=
Harrelson said. <Out of their entire
homelands throughout the North
Willamette Valley when they were
going to be placed in one location,
the place where they wanted to be
at was surrounding Wapato Lake.
There were villages all around
Wapato Lake. This is where the
Tualatin Kalapuya wanted their
Photos by Dean Rhodes
Tribal member Jesse Norton staffed an informational table about the Grand
Ronde Tribe during the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge open house
held in Gaston on Saturday, March 18, as Gaston resident John Sissoyev
examines some of the material.
Tribal member Tynan George hugs
Wapato Lake National Wildlife
Refuge Manager Rebecca Gomez
Chuck after gifting her a necklace
during the refuge9s open house
held in Gaston on Saturday, March
18. Tribal Council member Jon A.
George, left, looks on.
reservation to be, but in 1855 they
signed a new treaty and were re-
manded to the Grand Ronde Res-
ervation.=
Harrelson said that when the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ap-
proached the Tribe about a part-
nership for the new refuge, they
insisted on one thing: wapato.
<We're still linked to this place
today and I remember that I was
fortunate enough to be a staff
person when we heard word that
Fish & Wildlife was going to start
purchasing property and that they
were looking to do this project,= he
said. <The orst thing that we told
them is you have to get wapato
back. We are so grateful that we've
been a part of this journey and pro-
cess. I hope we see the beauty of our
ancestors in this place.=
WAPATO LAKE
Tillamook
Gaston
47
Yamhill
101
Wapato
Lake
22
47
N
Grand Ronde
Gaston
Map created by Samuel Briggs III
AMERICAN INDIAN TEACHER PROGRAM
Then, Jon A. George and his
son, Tynan, gifted Wapato Lake
National Wildlife Refuge Manag-
er Rebecca Gomez Chuck with a
beaded necklace in thanks for the
partnership between the refuge and
the Tribe.
<This partnership is a link for us,
and we give thanks for the part-
nership and the friendship that we
have today,= George said.
Chuck thanked the Grand Ronde
Tribe and other partners who con-
tributed to the refuge becoming a
reality.
<I am humbled by all of the sup-
port from all of you,= she said.
<From our residents, neighbors and
our partners, and all the organi-
zations that are represented here
today. As stewards of this place,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife is committed
to working with all of you. The ref-
uge is a place where all people are
welcome.=
Hugh Morrison, the pacific re-
gional director for U.S. Fish &
Wildlife, said that Wapato Lake is
the newest refuge in Oregon and
also has the distinction of being
open year-round for public use.
<I'm thrilled to be here today to be
part of the welcome ceremony and
the open house, and to begin cele-
brating Oregon's newest national
wildlife refuge,= he said. <It's also
an outstanding example of con-
servation built around community
engagement, where it builds around
community, engages with conserva-
tion and provides a broad range of
beneots for a variety of interests. &
Also, I'm so grateful to the original
stewards of this place who have been
here since time immemorial.=
After the opening ceremony con-
cluded, attendees perused an open
house in the adjoining gym or
visited the refuge. Booths at the
open house included the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Tuala-
tin Kalapuya First Foods, Tualatin
Soil & Water District, Friends of
the Refuge and others.
In addition to drumming for the
ceremony, Norton also helped staff
the booth for Tualatin Kalapuya
First Foods, where he applied
temporary lamprey tattoos. He
also helped design the artwork for
giveaway reusable bags.
<I enjoyed the connection and
relationship building with my
fellow artists that comes with the
artwork process,= he said. <Also, the
continued building of relationships
with our orst foods like wapato and
camas.= þ