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