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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2024)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 Daylight Saving Time ends Nov. 3, 2024 Turn clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 november 1, 2024 Boarding school abuses exposed Documentary brings long- hidden mistreatment out By Nicole Montesano Smoke Signals staff writer T he voices are quiet, the descriptions of incompre- hensible cruelty told in few words. The documentary film, “Sug- arcane,” accomplishes some- thing few have managed: Convincing Indigenous survi- vors of a Canadian residential school to discuss some of the atrocities they experienced or witnessed as children. Their difficulty in doing so is clear in their strained voices and sparse accounts. The film tells a story that had not previously been told, Director Julian Brave NoiseCat explained at a screening at Spir- it Mountain Casino on Tuesday, See SUGARCANE continued on page 8 Photo by Michelle Alaimo Julian Brave NoiseCat speaks during a question-and-answer session following a community screening of the documentary film “Sugarcane” held at Spirit Mountain Casino’s Event Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The screening was hosted by the Tribe, Native Wellness Institute and Future Generations Collaborative. NoiseCat is co-director of the film and Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier, left, led the post-film discussion. SEE MORE OF THIS STORY @SmokeSignalsCTGR Listening session explains immense task of unearthing records By Nicole Montesano Smoke Signals staff writer T he work is mundane and grueling; hours of combing through an endless suc- cession of boxes of old records and digitally scanning each one, handling the fragile, aging paper with care to keep it from disinte- grating. But those documents, buried for decades in government archives, are vital. They contain the dis- Abuse was rampant and the survivors emerged traumatized. A legacy of broken families, health problems, alcohol and drug addiction and suicide followed. turbing records of thousands of Indigenous children, torn from their families and enrolled in boarding schools to be stripped of their language and culture. Abuse was rampant and the survivors emerged traumatized. A legacy of broken families, health problems, alcohol and drug addiction and suicide followed. On Thursday, Oct. 17, members of the National Boarding School Digital Archives, which is run by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coa- lition, visited the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to talk about their work in bringing See RECORDS continued on page 9 Tribe to celebrate 41 years of Restoration Nov. 22-23 By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals editor N ov. 22, 1983, is a day that will forever be etched in Grand Ronde Tribal history because it was the day that President Ronald Reagan signed House Resolution 3885, restoring the Grand Ronde Tribe to federal recognition. The Tribe had been terminated 29 years before and his signature on the bill officially ended that Smoke Signals file photo dark time. Now, the Tribe is poised to celebrate 41 years of Restoration and all of the accomplishments that have come with it. “Our community has grown so much over the past 41 years,” Tribal Communications Director Sara Thompson said. “Restoration is a special See RESTORATION continued on page 9 Nacoma Leibelt, 15, dances during grand entry of the Tribe’s 40th Restoration Powwow at Spirit Mountain Casino’s Event Center last November. The 41st Restoration Celebration will be on Friday, Nov. 22 and the 41st Restoration Powwow will be on Saturday, Nov. 23.
