Yesteryears -- April 15, 2018

2013 – The annual Easter Egg Hunt was revived by two community members after being unexpectedly cancelled. Zach and Melissa Bly volunteered to step up and host the hunt after reading about it being cancelled in Smoke Signals. Tribal Council contributed $500 to cover expenses and the hunt went on as it had in years past. Budgeting and staffing issues combined with personal health issues were cited as the reason behind the original cancellation.

2008 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde was ready to add to its small screen resume with an upcoming appearance on the European Travel Channel when the channel was set to air a 15-part series called “Oregon Uncovered” beginning in January 2009. The show featured the attractions, people and experiences of Oregon. A European Travel Channel film crew began shooting the series in Portland in October 2007 and it was expected to wrap up in southern Oregon in September.

2003 – Native star Elaine Miles was a featured speaker in Grand Ronde when she spoke to Tribal youth during the Tribe’s first Native Youth Wellness Day. Miles, a member of the Umatilla Tribe, was best known for her portrayal of Marilyn Whirlwind on “Northern Exposure” and her numerous appearances in movies. She was also a prize-winning traditional dancer and was the head woman at the 2000 Gathering of Nations Powwow.

1998 – A public hearing concerning Senate Bill 1691, sponsored by Washington Sen. Slade Gorton, called for a waiver of sovereign immunity of Indian Tribes and sparked much interest, debate and protest on both sides. The hearing was conducted by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Seattle. Tribal members, advocates of Tribal sovereignty and the president of the National Congress of American Indians all testified in favor of continued sovereignty. Hawaii Sen. David Inouye, a longtime supporter of Tribal sovereignty, said that 800 treaties were signed by the U.S. government with Tribes across the country and only 370 were ever ratified. “Of those 370 treaties, every one has been violated by the federal government,” he said. “This is not a great record for a great country.”

1993 – Past Tribal Council member Bob Mercier was the featured “Entrepreneur of the Month” for his business, Bob Mercier Trucking, a contract log hauling business with four trucks and three employees. Previously, he worked for a Siletz trucking company for 15 years and had always dreamed of owning a business. He also was chair of Spirit Mountain Development Corp., an organization established to bring business and industry to the Grand Ronde area.

1988 – Indian Health Service began offering massage therapy for Tribal members with injuries, disabilities, chronic pain, stress, grief and life changes. Dawn Faith Cloud was a licensed massage technician and had been in private practice as a body/mind therapist since 1981. “I am very pleased to be able to offer this nurturing, healing experience to my Grand Ronde friends,” she said. “I sense that I was sent to Mother Earth not just to take but to give back something. The greatest gift that I can offer is myself.”

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