Yesteryears -- March 1, 2014

2009 - Canoe paddles created by Tribal member Santiago Atanacio and descendant Joey Holmes were among a collection of Native American canoe and paddle artwork going on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Mall Resource Center in Washington, D.C., in early March.
2004 - The Tribe received a $500,000 Indian Community Development block grant to help widen and improve Grand Ronde Road. The road was slated for a two-year, $2 million expansion that will include a wider road, new crosswalks, sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
1999 - Tribal Cemetery Groundskeeper Russ Leno was featured as he sought more respect for the cemetery. "This winter we've had some vehicles coming here at night and driving through the grounds," he said. "We know because the next day I found tire marks all through the grass. … My parents taught me that the cemetery is a place for respect. You don't ever walk on a grave. Some people don't bother with that anymore."
1994 - The Tribe received a $270,000 award from the U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development to help construct a 5,000-gallon steel water storage tank on the ridge south of Highway 18 across from the proposed Spirit Mountain Development resort site. Tribal Council voted to match the grant with Tribal funds up to $230,000.
1989 - Tribal members and Willamina High School students Trevor Aaron, Angela Leno, Leanna and Tommy McKnight and Cory Menely started fundraising activities to participate in a four-day, three-night trip to Florida to visit the Kennedy Space Museum, EPCOT Center and Sea World.
1984 - Community Organizer Kathryn Harrison gave an oral presentation concerning the history and Restoration of the Tribe to the Daughters of the American Revolution in Salem. The group had supported Tribal efforts to gain Restoration.

Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.