Yesteryears -- July 15, 2014

2009 - Tribal Elder Steve Rife repeated the Trail of Tears trek from Table Rock near Medford to Grand Ronde. It was his third commemorative walk honoring Tribal ancestors who were marched 263 miles in 33 days in 1856 to what would become the Grand Ronde Reservation.

2004 - Tribal member Jan Michael Reibach and his wife, Rhonda, renewed their wedding vows at the Tribal Community Center in Grand Ronde. Jan told the audience that he wanted to renew his vows in front of his family and friends so they could help them celebrate their life together.

1999 - Grand Ronde Tribal officials and Sherwood community environmental activists gathered to name a recently discovered waterfall after 19^th-century Grand Ronde Chief Ki-a-kuts. The 100-foot falls were nestled out of human sight on privately owned land ceded to the state Forestry Department.

1994 - Tribal member Rosetta Manangan and five other Oregon Native American women were invited by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to a rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square to kick off the president's proposed health reforms. "It was a thrilling experience," she said. "I'm so glad I was invited and could participate."

1989 - Tribal Royalty Court candidates were Jolene Poole, Stephanie Mercier, Tara Leno, Molly Rimer and E'Lisha Lane. The Royalty Pageant was set for Aug. 18 during the annual powwow.

1984 - The Grand Ronde Tribe will start receiving an allocation from New Tribes Money funding, but the amount was still unknown. The Tribe anticipated starting a few new programs with the funding.

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