Yesteryears: January 15, 2024

2020 – Three Grand Ronde Tribal Council members traveled to Tacoma, Washington to attend a rally in support of the Chinook Indian Nation’s fight for federal recognition. Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George and Tribal Council members Denise Harvey and Lisa Leno attended the rally at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Employees from the Cultural Resources Department also attended, along with other Tribal members and government employees.

2015 – The Tribe closed on the purchase of a 91-acre parcel worth more than $900,000 on the Chahalpam property along the North Santiam River in Marion County. The purchase, funded entirely by the Bonneville Power Administration’s Wildlife Mitigation Program, brought the Tribe’s total acreage to more than 429 acres managed for conservation purposes at the site downstream from Stayton.

2010 – The Tribe’s Natural Resources Youth Crew was named the Frank Roberts Oregon Youth Conservation Corps Project of the Year, for the fourth time in seven years.

2005 – The Tribe provided a $10,000 donation to the American Red Cross Willamette Chapter’s International Relief Fund, to aid victims of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, which occurred on Dec. 26, 2004. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. More than 220,000 people died in 14 countries.

2000 – As the Tribal campus continued to grow, four offices moved locations. The Cultural Resource Protection and Office of Museum Development departments moved from the Governance Center into the newly remodeled Community Center, while the Tribe’s Small Business Development Department moved from the Human Resources Department building on Highway 18 to the Governance Center. The Grand Ronde Gaming Commission moved to a building off of Salmon River Highway, shared with Spirit Mountain Casino’s Human Resources Department.

1995 – The Tribal Council adopted a budget for 1995 that included a pension program for Tribal Elders from its timber revenues, an economic development fund, a cultural board and additional funds for education and training scholarships.

1990 – No edition available

1985 – The Tribal Council authorized the general manager to develop and submit a proposal to the Housing and Urban Development Agency for construction of a 4,000 square-foot Social Services facility near the Depot. The Tribe’s $250,000 proposal was competing for funding with all of the other Tribes in the Pacific Northwest.

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