Yesteryears -- Aug. 1, 2018

2013 – After a decadelong effort by Oregon Tribes, the state Department of Education was advertising for an Indian education specialist. “This was one of our priorities for this session, getting positions of equity for all Oregon students,” said Cindy Hunt, Government and Legal Affairs manager for the Department of Education. She helped shepherd the new position through the Legislature.

2008 – Tribal Member Francene Ambrose, 28, was the recipient of the Tribe’s 2008-09 Mark O. Hatfield Fellowship. She was selected to work in the Washington office of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden from November 2008 through July 2009. “I’ll be there for the election and the inauguration,” Ambrose said. “I will have a front row seat. This is the one thing I’ve been very excited about.” Ambrose lived in Portland and was finishing her master’s degree in Public Administration, focusing on Tribal governance, at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle as an undergraduate and earned a degree from Portland State University.

2003 – The Tribe’s annual Elder Honor Day attracted almost 250 Elders from across the state and the West Coast to the Tribal gymnasium. The day included the traditional array of introductions, a prayer before lunch, an hour of bingo, a break for the hot part of the day, and then a barbecue and dance music. The next morning, breakfast was served at the Community Center.

1998 – Tribal member Jon A. George was hired as a vocational rehabilitation specialist, working for the Tribe’s Health and Human Services Division. He worked out of both the Portland and Grand Ronde offices. George noted that since he was hired the month before, his Portland caseload had jumped from two to six clients, who learned about him through Smoke Signals and he expected to hear from more. “It’s shocking to realize how many people didn’t even know the Portland outreach office existed.”

1993 – Tribal Council joined Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts in signing Senate Bill 61 in her office at the state Capitol in Salem. The bill ensured the protection of Tribal burial sites, remains, sacred objects and funerary objects on state and private lands. It also gave Tribes control over the exploration of archeological sites by allowing them to issue permits to interested parties. The bill signing included representatives from most Oregon Tribes. Tribal Council Vice Chair Kathryn Harrison was given the signing pen.

1988 – The Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes joined efforts to establish a youth alcohol residential treatment center for the region. As a part of the project, the Tribes were reviewing the feasibility of purchasing a facility in Keizer, which was owned by Turnaround Treatment Center and could house 44 patients. The treatment center would provide for Indian youth needing treatment in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Youth treatment services were being handled by Red Willow Treatment Center in Gervais. However, its contract with Indian Health Service was set to expire on Oct. 1.

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