Yesteryears: March 1, 2024

Yesteryears

2019 – A 4.5-ounce sliver of the sacred meteorite Tomanowos was returned to the Grand Ronde Tribe. The meteorite slice was repatriated by Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville during a ceremony at the museum’s theater. Those gathered watched in respectful silence as Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy accepted the piece in a red cloth-lined box from Evergreen Museum Collections Manager Lydia Heins.

2014 – Tribal Council voted to purchase a 17.5-acre island in the Clackamas River. Apsug Itcalxum, “the area of Eagle Creek” in the Clackamas Chinook language, is located west of Eagle Creek and near Bonnie Lure State Park within the Tribe’s ceded lands. “The history of the area is very important to the Tribe,” Tribal Land and Culture Manager Jan Looking Wolf Reibach said. “In addition to being a summer fishing place for the Clackamas Chinook people, this was near the birthplace of John Wacheno, son of Chief Wacheno, who signed the Willamette Valley Treaty for the Tribe.”

2009 – Ten-year-old Tribal member Brayden Langley won the Daisy/Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Youth Video Contest. His gun safety video featured quick cuts and bright photos interspersed with his commentary on the importance of gun safety. Brayden’s prize was a paid trip to attend the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Elk Camp & Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Fort Worth, Texas. He also received a Daisy Ryder BB gun and gift card from Cabela’s.

2004 – Spirit Mountain Community Fund was awarded the Regional Cooperative Project Award by the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments at the COG Annual Awards meeting. The award honored “a project or initiative that has best exemplified regional, intergovernmental cooperation.”

1999 – A committee was formed to help set up a food bank in Grand Ronde. The Grand Ronde Community Resource Center committee had elected officers and written a mission statement.

1994 – Several Tribal members attended the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Visitation Day at Oregon State University in Corvallis. The day’s activities included touring the campus and visiting the offices of various Indian programs.

1989 – The Tribe’s Social Services Department sponsored a Positive Indian Parenting class. Frank Peterson, parent trainer, traveled to Grand Ronde to teach ways in which to better parent children. Participants included single parents, soon-to-be-parents and longtime parents. Tribal Council members Russ Leno and Ray McKnight were among those who attended the workshop.

1984 – The interim Tribal Council was sworn in at the Saint Michael Catholic Church cafeteria by Bureau of Indian Affairs official John Weddel. Kathryn Harrison, Dean Mercier, Candy Robertson, Frank Harrison, Darrel Mercier, Mark Mercier, Russ Leno, Merle Leno and Henry Petite were sworn in. Thirty-five people attended the event.