Yesteryears - May 1, 2016

2011 – Camas, lamprey, salmon, deer and elk were among some of the food items to be discussed during Tribal Government Day to be held at the State Capitol in Salem on May 13.

2006 – Willamette University repatriated a 2.2-pound piece of Tomanowos, the Willamette Meteorite, to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The piece was found in a supply closet in the school’s Olin Science Building. “The piece is home,” said Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy.

2001 – Representatives from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City visited Tribal Council and members of the Tribe’s Education Committee to discuss the Tribe’s planned visit to Tomanowos, the Willamette meteorite. The Tribe signed an agreement with the museum in June 2000 that gave Tribal members private access to the sacred meteorite.

1996 – General Council was briefed on the progress of the new health clinic. Frank Whalen, health facility architect, said construction documents and legal review should be complete by June and groundbreaking should occur in August. “We are still within the budget of around $3.5 million,” he said.

1991 – Grand Ronde Tribal Health Director Cheryle A. Kennedy received the 1991 Minority Health Conference’s Outstanding Individual Award. She was nominated for the honor by the Tribe’s Health Committee. She has been director of the Tribe’s Health Program since October 1984.

1986 – Tribal Council and Tribal staff received two W2 forms for income earned in 1985. One was for income earned while working for the corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the other was for when the Internal Revenue Service issued a new identification number for Tribal Council, which is a sovereign government recognized by the federal government. “All that occurred was technical house cleaning which had been overlooked,” the general manager reported.

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