Yesteryears -- April 1, 2016

2011 – The first river canoe carved in Grand Ronde since Restoration and probably much earlier went on display at the Willamette Heritage Center at The Mill in Salem. The canoe was part of the Grand Ronde Canoe Journey exhibit at the Heritage Center.

2006 – Two wooden carvings by Adam McIsaac and designed by Grand Ronde Cultural Resources Interim Manager Tony Johnson were erected at the edge of Blue Lake in Fairview. They commemorated the arrival of Lewis and Clark in Indian Country. A formal dedication ceremony was scheduled for May.

2001 – Kim Rogers, the Tribe’s new Policy and Planning director, started working for the Tribe. He had worked for the Tulalip, Sauk-Suiattle and Puyallup Tribes in Washington state before moving to Oregon.

1996 – Phase II expansion at Spirit Mountain Casino was progressing rapidly with employees and customers eagerly anticipating the addition of 36,500 square feet of gaming, dining and family entertainment space in July. The new expansion will include Legends Steakhouse and Lounge, a video arcade and expansion of the gaming space.

1991 – Tribal Chairman Mark Mercier and Tribal Council member Larry Brandon attended a Tribal Leaders Forum in Seattle where they met Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, who was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Inouye said that he is generally supportive of Indian people and he was attending the meeting to take his “marching orders” from Tribal leaders.

1986 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier and fellow council members Merle Leno and Kathryn Harrison met with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employees to discuss the hunting and fishing consent decree.

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