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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2023)
sNok signflz JUNE 1, 2023 7 Tribe harvests 15 salmon limit in one day By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor OREGON CITY 3 Tribal mem- bers went to the site of the remov- able Tribal fishing platform at Willamette Falls on Tuesday, May 16, but were unable to erect the platform because water nows were too high and dangerous. However, Tribal oshermen oshed from the rocks instead and caught the Tribe9s full allotment of 15 salmon. <Our oshing season ended in less than two hours,= Tribal Fish & Wildlife Program Manager Kelly Dirksen said. The Grand Ronde Tribe is al- lowed to catch 15 hatchery grown Chinook salmon or summer steel- head for ceremonial purposes per Oregon Department of State Lands rules. The removable platform has been erected since October 2018 and was not used in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishers and construction crew included Andrew Freeman, Bob- by Mercier, Daniel Mooney and Nick Kimsey while Leo Ayala, Kyle Rowe, Kyle McLaughlin and Brandon Weems provided staff and safety support. Shore help was provided by Kim Photo by Dean Rhodes Cultural Education Specialist Chris Rempel, left, and Cultural Policy Analyst Greg Archuleta separate the flesh of a salmon during the First Fish Ceremony held Monday, May 22, near the fish weir on Agency Creek. About 50 Tribal members and employees attended the event and partook of the salmon that were caught the week before at Willamette Falls. The ceremony continues Tribal peoples9 promise to the salmon to remember and honor them, and thank them for providing sustenance in the past, present and into the future. D9Aquila, Lindsay McClary and Matt Zimbrick, and Terry Kowing, Nick LaBonte, Sara Thompson, Jade Unger, Lisa Archuleta, Jor- dan Mercier, Brian Krehbiel, Colby Gas discount at Grand Ronde Station Grand Ronde Tribal members, as well as Tribal and Spirit Mountain Casino employees, can receive a 30-cent per gallon discount on gasoline at the Tribally owned Grand Ronde Station convenience store. There are, however, a few rules. Tribal members and employees must go inside and show either their enrollment card or employee identiocation card to receive the discount. þ Tribal Council nominations will be held on June 25 Drake and Brad Leno maintained their swift water rescue certioca- tions. <All of them continually show selness dedication to the cause. I am sincerely humbled and grateful for the chance to be around this amazing group of folks,= Dirksen said in an e-mail sent to Tribal Council. On Monday, May 22, Tribal mem- bers held a First Fish Ceremony near the osh weir on Agency Creek. Led by Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier and other Cultural Re- sources Department staff, three of the salmon were cooked on stakes next to a wood ore. A drum includ- ing Greg Archuleta, Nick Atanacio, Bobby Mercier, Tribal Council member Jon A. George, David Har- relson, Jordan Mercier, Nakoa Mercier and Brian Krehbiel opened the ceremony. Bobby Mercier said the ceremony continues the pact Tribal ancestors made with the salmon, who offered themselves up for sustenance of Tribal members if they vowed to remember and honor the salmon annually with stories, songs and ceremonies. About 50 people attended the event, sampling the salmon after drinking a cup of water. At the end of the ceremony, Nakoa Mercier returned the salmon carcasses, bones and uneaten nesh to Agency Creek. þ 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. þ INCUMBENTS continued from front page <Serving on Tribal Council has been a privilege and honor,= Lang- ley said in an e-mail to Smoke Signals. <I made the decision to run for ofoce over seven years ago and it has been a rewarding while very challenging job. While every candidate has their own ideas and passions, I promised to be objective in my decision making, transparent in my decisions and available to the members. My body of work demon- strates that I have. <The last six years I have always showed up for the most difficult conversations and decisions. Often, the easiest course is to sidestep these things. After all, each deci- sion we make has the potential to make folks unhappy. Sometimes a single decision leads to folks decid- ing they want to strike back at you, despite a much larger body of work they support. The national political climate stokes these emotions.= Langley cited continued work on the General Welfare Exclusion Act and a comprehensive nine Tribes of Oregon plan for economic develop- ment as some issues he would like to address in a third term. <These issues, as well as many others such as mental health, hous- Lisa Leno Michael Langley ing, education and, of course, the most challenging of them all, our enrollment oles, are not resolved,= he said. <I hope to still have a seat at the table, where one may not al- ways agree with me, but sees that I at least gave everything the atten- tion it deserves. That is why I am running for re-election. There9s still work to be done and the path for- ward is through respect, cooperation and a willingness to compromise if the end goal can still be achieved.= Leno, 54, responded to a Smoke Signals inquiry that she also will be seeking a third consecutive term on Tribal Council. She holds the record for the most votes ever received in a Tribal Council election with 1,047 in 2020. Tribal Council nominations will be held on Sunday, June 25, in Trib- al Council Chambers. This year9s election will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, with new council members being sworn into ofoce on Wednes- day, Sept. 13. þ Please bring your child and get help onding the right car seat for their height, weight and age. Get help installing your car seat from a Cer}oed Child Passenger Safety Technician. Each car seat installa}on and inspec}on will take about 30 minutes. This event is brought to you by Early Childhood Educa}on, working in partnership with several local Child Passenger Safety programs. Parents who par}cipate in car seat educa}on may qualify for a new car seat, ranging from free to a $30 co-pay, depending on grant qualioca}ons. Please be pa}ent with our community volunteers. Friday, June 23, 2023 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CTGR Day Use Park Please RSVP using the link or QR code provided. htps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/623CarSeat