10
SMOKE SIGNALS
MARCH 1, 2024
NATIVE
AMERICAN
WATCHLIST
Watchlist: ‘An
expression of love’
(Editor’s 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
Baker Technical Institute
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Fall Protection Training
Learn to identify fall hazards and decide how to best protect yourself
and others from dangerous and often life-threatening falls. Falls are
among the most common causes of serious work related injuries and
deaths in the workplace.
Date: March 7, 2024
Time: TBD
Location: GTGR Employment Service
9615 Grand Ronde Rd
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
(Building C)
Register for training by calling 503-879-2146
or email tero@grandronde.org
♦ A Different Kind of Education ♦
A Smarthistory YouTube video pans to a 19th century cradleboard
with bright red wool and colorful beads on display in the Gilcrease
Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Choctaw Nation Tribal member Dr. Chelsea Herr provides a voi-
ceover in the video with curators Jack and Maxine Zarrow, and art
historian Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, explaining the materials in a
cradleboard, how it is properly used and the potential origins of the
19th century version on display in the museum.
“In this singular object, we can learn so much about daily life of
the Koiwe in the 19th century and the knowledge shared among
community members,” a video narrator said.
Cradleboards, traditionally and currently, are used to hold and
transport babies and young children.
According to the video, cradleboards were not specifi c to one area
and the techniques used to make them changed as trade became more
common among Tribes. Products such as wool, patterned fabrics, glass
beads and silver were popular cradleboard materials.
Cradleboards were intended to securely hold a child, entertain
them with elements hanging in front of them and transport a child
on their parents back.
“When propped up vertically, this would allow the child to experi-
ence the world much like an adult while standing,” one of the video
narrators said.
The duration it took to create a cradleboard was about the same
time as a pregnancy. Cradleboards were created to be used for years
and often passed down through families.
“Once a woman found out she was pregnant, then other women in
her kinship network would create a cradleboard like this in commu-
nity with one another,” a narrator said.
Cradleboards can be used for newborns and toddlers, with room for
the child to grow inside the cradleboard.
Specifi c Tribal groups would bead the exterior of the cradleboard
and the shapes and color of glass beads used made the cradleboard
identifi able as belonging a member to that Tribe.
The cradleboard at the Gilcrease Museum that is referenced in the
video was created with the intention of being used but was sold and
now sits on display in a museum.
“This is representative of how harsh life on the reservation – and
in this case on the Kiowe, Comanche and Apache reservations in
the late 19th century – would have been,” the video narrator said.
“This piece was sold at some point and it’s possible that it was to
deal with those harsh conditions on reservations and to be able to
feed your family.”
You can watch more on cradleboards in full Smarthistory video on
YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkab-MPUFic. n
Construction zone
Now through Dec. 31, 2024, construction is occurring for the new
child development center. During this time, there will be construction
traffi c using the loop road around the old powwow grounds across the
street from the Governance Center.
The road surrounding the old powwow grounds will have restricted
access to allow the contractor adequate space to access the site, as
well as store materials and equipment.
For more information, contact 503-879-2404 or Ryan.Webb@gran-
dronde.org. n