Yesteryears -- March 1, 2020

2015 – The Tribe filled the top spot in the Education Department that had been vacant for three months. Leslie Riggs, 47, a former supervisor for the Tribe’s 477 Program, moved into the job. He moved from managing six employees to almost 50, and said he strived to be the kind of manager who “gets out of the way and lets people do their jobs.” Bringing in grants and other new funding sources, creating new opportunities for the department and expanding the availability of a solid educational foundation for Tribal membership were among his top priorities.

2010 – The Tribal Library received a $325,000 Indian Community Development Block Grant that would help double the size of the current 1,390-square-foot building. Added to $108,334 in Tribal matching funds, the federal grant would pay for the addition of the 1,500 square feet, and address one of the most pressing needs on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus.

2005 – A joint session of the Oregon Legislature was held in honor of Native American Day and the kickoff of the state’s Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commemoration. The Grand Ronde Honor Guard posted the colors and Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison offered an invocation. The day also included basket weaving demonstrations, a talk about Native American perceptions of Lewis & Clark, and an exhibition drum group and dancers.

2000 – Former head of the Oregon Corrections Department and Tribal Elder Bob Watson was selected as interim executive officer and president of Spirit Mountain Casino. “The dedicated and capable staff of Spirit Mountain Casino has made it the premier casino in the Northwest and Oregon’s favorite attraction,” Watson said. “I’m proud to have this chance to be more closely associated with them and to be of service to my Tribe.”

1995 – Tribal Council Chair Mark Mercier spoke at a symposium at American University in Washington, D.C. He was one of several guest speakers from Tribes across the United States. The topic of the symposium was, “The Republican Congress – Federal Indian Policy for a New Millennium.” Mercier and Tribal Council member Ed Larsen also met with representatives from Sen. Mark Hatfield’s office to discuss some of the projects and plans the Tribe had for the future.

1990 – Hearings were set for the future of Tribal trust funds. The purpose was to collect information from the Tribal membership on the draft policies for Housing, Health and Education trusts. The information collected during the hearings would be forwarded to Tribal Council and reviewed for consideration in the formulation of the final policies.

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