Yesteryears -- June 1, 2016

2011 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde agreed to purchase the soon-to-be vacated middle school facility on the east side of Grand Ronde Road from the Willamina School District, which was consolidating its student population at the Oaken Hill campus in Willamina.

2006 – The government-to-government process is working, said Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy on the 10^th anniversary of American Indian Week being declared in Oregon during Tribal Information Day held in Salem.

2001 – The Tribal Rodeo Grounds were under construction. The 140-by-250-foot competition size grounds will feature two camping areas and bleachers to seat the expected crowds. The site was located on a flood plain, but yards of dirt were built up to make a difference.

1996 – Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed an executive order on State-Tribal government-to-government relations that will hopefully set a national precedent for other states to follow. “Our Tribe takes government-to-government relationships very seriously,” said Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier. “I hope this will be the starting block of an effort between all of us.”

1991 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier and Junior Miss Grand Ronde Tara Leno presented a $1,500 check to Willamina Elementary School Principal Joan Rivenbark to purchase computer equipment for the school.

1986 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier reported that negotiations with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife were nearly complete. “The agreement will set aside future litigation and claims by the Grand Ronde Tribe for hunting and fishing rights,” he said. “The council sought to leave this issue out of the Reservation Plan until a bill was passed. The council felt that a land resource base was the key. Hunting and fishing was an issue that could have been taken up at a later date.”

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