Yesteryears: Jan. 1, 2025

2020 – Tribal member Allison Empey, who was working part-time as a pediatrician, took  job as deputy director of the Northwest Native American Center for Excellence, to oversee a program to help Native American and Alaska Native students prepare for medical school.

The center was formed as a collaboration between Portland State University, Oregon Health and Science University and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. It was funded by a 5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, OHSU School of Medicine and the support of all 43 Tribes in the Pacific Northwest. The program, Wy’East Post Baccalaureate Pathway, began accepting students in 2018.

2015 – Some in Grand Ronde, including casino employees, reported feeling a 3.2 magnitude earthquake that took place about 6 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19 near Willamina. However, the quake did not cause damage to Tribal buildings or Spirit Mountain Casino. According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, the quake was about 16 miles deep, about 25 miles west of Salem.  

2010 – Spirit Mountain Casino delivered a semi-truck of new, unwrapped toys to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland for Christmas. It marked the second consecutive year the casino held an annual holiday toy drive, participated in by both casino guests and employees.

2005 – Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy was scheduled to open the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Portland Rose Garden. Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison was to offer the invocation, and the Grand Ronde Veterans Honor Guard presented the flags.

2000 – The Elders Committee held a surprise recognition ceremony for Tribal Council Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison, who had been recently named one of three Oregon Women of the Year by the Oregon Commission for Women. They presented Harrison with a bouquet of red roses and a beaded necklace.

1995 -   Smoke Signals Editor Tracy Olson announced that the newsletter would begin publishing twice a month, to allow more timely publication of news, and would hire a part-time assistant.

1990 – No edition available.

1985 – The Tribe’s ordinance committee announced that an election for the first Tribal Council following Restoration would be held in March. The Restoration Act stated that the election must be held within 120 days of when the Secretary of the Interior signed the Tribe’s Constitution, which had occurred on Nov. 30, 1984. An interim council was serving in the meantime.

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