“It is important for me because I’m from El Salvador, of Mayan descent, and the money comes from an indigenous Tribe here,” he said.

CAUSA Oregon will use the money to provide classes in leadership for indigenous peoples from Central American immigrant families now living in the group’s 10-county area.

“This is very significant for us,” he said.

For the fourth quarter this year, Spirit Mountain Community Fund on Dec. 7 issued 28 grants totalling $388,200. The event marked the Tribe surpassing $55 million in giving in less than 15 years. The event, held in the Tribal gym, also was the first funding round for the Community Fund’s new director, Tribal member Kathleen George.

“It’s a proud day for the Tribe and Spirit Mountain Community Fund,” George said. “In less than 15 years, the Grand Ronde Tribe has invested more than $55 million to help with community health issues, improve education, increase public safety and protect our environment. It has always been a Tribal value to share our good fortune. And the Grand Ronde Tribe has been true to that tradition.”

George was recently honored with the Columbia River Hero Award for 2011 by the Columbia River Toxics Reduction Work Group, an interagency group working to improve water quality in the Columbia Basin. The award was for work done before joining the Community Fund when she worked with the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

This quarter’s Community Fund awards went predominantly to education projects. Public safety and health projects received the second and third highest funding in this round of grants.

Twelve education projects received $162,000 while $104,000 went to five public safety projects and $90,000 went to eight health projects. Also, $20,000 went to one Arts and Culture project and the last $12,000 went to two environmental preservation projects.

Among those funded was a $25,000 grant to the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis for a teen drop-in center helping with college readiness for low-income youth.

“This will help us continue to expand our high school teen program,” said club Chief Executive Officer Helen Higgins, “and keep working on (improved) graduation rates and getting kids into community colleges and universities.”

With 35 currently in the program, Higgins said she hopes the grant will bring the number served up to more than a 100.

“There are so many people who need help in our communities right now because of the slow economic recovery,” said George. “It is good for our Tribe to be able to help our neighbors by partnering with non-profit groups that provide such needed services to families.”

A $5,000 grant will help Eugene-based Downtown Languages, a GED readiness program, reach as many as 45 students through June 2012, more than double the 20 it has been reaching. This is the 8-year-old group’s first grant from Spirit Mountain Community Fund.

Tribal members Travis Mercier and Marcus Gibbons led the kindergarten Chinuk Wawa immersion class in a welcome song with drumming. Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. gave the invocation and Tribal Council member Toby McClary welcomed the group.

Following are the rest of the grantees:

• Beaverton Rotary Foundation Inc., $10,000;
• Centro Cultural of Washington County, $10,000;
• Chelsea Hicks Foundation, $5,000;
• Children First for Oregon, $25,000;
• Children’s Vision Foundation, $5,000;
• Dallas Booster Club Inc., $5,000;
• Dinner and a Movie, $4,700;
• Ecotrust, $10,000;
• Friends of Opal Creek/Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, $10,000;
• Head Start in Lincoln County, $10,000;
• Lane County Legal Aid & Advocacy Center, $30,000;
• Loaves and Fishes, $25,000;
• National Indian Child Welfare Association, $10,000;
• Native Wellness Institute, $25,000;
• Neighborhood House, Inc., $25,000;
• Open Door Counseling Center, $7,500;
• Operation Nightwatch – Portland, $5,000;
• Oregon Progress Forum, $25,000;
• Playworks Education Energized, $10,000;
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $20,000;
• Portland State University Foundation, $9,000;
• Raphael House of Portland, $10,000;
• Salem Folklore Community, $5,000;
• St. Andrew Legal Clinic, $35,000;
• And the Friends of the Straub Environmental Learning Center, $2,000.

In 1997, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde created their charitable foundation – The Spirit Mountain Community Fund.  Since then, Spirit Mountain Community Fund has been quietly helping their neighbors and friends by supporting communities in an 11-county area.  Investing more than $55 million since 1997 is a proud accomplishment for the Tribe.

The Spirit Mountain Community Fund is constantly striving to recognize those unsung heroes in the community that never ask for recognition. They just ask for a smile in return.  It is with this spirit that the Community Fund created the Ye?lan Lima (Helping Hands) Awards in 2010.  In this second year, Spirit Mountain Community Fund is proud to honor two individuals that truly epitomize “helping hands”.

On December 19, 2011, Spirit Mountain Community Fund Executive Director Kathleen George presented the prestigious Ye?lan Lima Awards to two individuals – Tyrone Spellman and Larry Bardell who exemplify community service and inspire their colleagues through their personal dedication.  As nominated by their peers and selected by Spirit Mountain Community Fund’s Board of Trustees, both Mr. Spellman and Mr. Bardell were selected for their outstanding dedication and inspirational efforts in their respective non-profit organizations.

The first award was presented to Mr. Tyrone Spellman, a volunteer at HIV Alliance, Eugene, Oregon.  Mr. Spellman was selected from among two dozen deserving nominees to honor the dedication of nonprofit volunteers.  The mission of the HIV Alliance, where Mr. Spellman dedicates countless hours educating about HIV, AIDS and prevention is to support individuals living with HIV/AIDS and prevent new HIV infections.  He is treasured as a spokesman-educator for his powerful ability to encourage diverse audiences to take courageous actions toward safe sexual practices, self awareness and understanding.

The second award winner for the paid non-management category is Mr. Larry Bardell, employed by Albany InReach Services.  In Albany, Oregon, Mr. Bardell was selected from among a long list of highly deserving nominees who dedicate their work to serving the community through non-profit organizations.  Albany InReach Services is a safety-net clinic that connects adults and children without health insurance with health care providers and needed services.  After retiring from the VA hospital as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, Mr. Bardell has provided nearly 400 mental health appointments in just six months.  He treats those with anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and suicidal feelings who would otherwise not have access to mental health services.  Being bilingual, Mr. Bardell will also be teaching the postpartum depression education class for Albany InReach in 2012 for Spanish speaking mothers.

“The dedication and service of people like Mr. Spellman and Mr. Bardell is what keeps the work of our non-profit services alive in our communities.  In these hard economic times, many people would not receive health care, counseling or outreach if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of passionate people like these gentlemen,” observed George.  “They are the heroes of our non-profit agencies.”

Spellman says of his work with the HIV Alliance, “Our time for detours grows ever so short; abdicating our birthright to be of service to our entire global family is no longer an option.”

Our search for this year’s Ye? lan Lima Award winners require your assistance by identifying someone who’s courageous, innovative, and unprecedented efforts as well as their sustained excellence of performance demand recognition.  It may be a co-worker, peer, or someone you know that is affiliated with a partner nonprofit organization. We hope you will assist us in finding that one special “helping hand” person in your organization or community by sending us your nomination.

Accordingly, SMCF announces that nomination letters for the this year’s  Ye? lan Lima Award are being solicited and due by November 30, 2011. There are two separate award categories: The first is for a paid non-management staff person and the second is for a non-paid volunteer person.

The criteria for a nominee include one or more of the following qualities:

• Exhibits style and influence to motivate those with whom they interact.
• Performs work tasks in an exemplary manner that inspire others to excel.
• Consistently demonstrates outstanding conduct and performance of duties.
• Demonstrated dedication, superior reliability and cooperation in achieving the mission, goals, and objectives of the nonprofit organization of which they are employed or volunteer.  

Award Rules:

1. The nomination letter is limited to one page (typed, 12 pt. min.) and not exceed 250 words.
2. The nomination letter must be received (not post marked) by 5:00 p.m., November 30, 2011. Nomination letters may be emailed (preferred), faxed, or mailed.
3. Nomination letters must include a recent color photo of the nominee(.jpeg format preferred).
4. Nomination letter must specify whether the nominee is either;
   1. A paid non-management staff person, or
   2. A non-paid volunteer person.
5. Nominee must be currently working in the nonprofit sector & serving within SMCF’s 11 county service area.
6. All materials submitted will become the property of SMCF and will not be returned.
7. Persons may not nominate themselves or their family members.
8. Previous Helping Hand award winners are ineligible to be nominated.

Each of the two award recipients will receive a distinctive recognition award, a complimentary dinner for two and one night stay at Spirit Mountain Lodge & Casino, located in Grand Ronde, Oregon, plus a $500 cash gift.  

If you have questions, please contact Louis King (503) 879-1462 or email: Louis.King@thecommunityfund.com

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including "Native American Heritage Month" and "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month") have been issued each year since 1994.

The 103d Congress, 1st Session, passed H. J. RES. 271, signed by the President of the United States designated the month of November in each calendar years 1993 and 1994 as “Nation American Indian Heritage Month.” To date since 1994 each subsequent President of the United States has continued to issue like proclamations.

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (CTGR) will be participating in the following activities and events during the month of November in celebration of Native American Heritage Month:

October 30th – November 4^th– National Congress of American Indians Conference, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon

November 22^nd – 27^th - Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Restoration Celebration, CTGR Headquarters, Grand Ronde, Oregon

To learn more about these events or other planned activities, please visit CTGR’s website: www.grandronde.org or give them a call at 503-879-5211 or 800-422-0232

Smoke Signals editor

With the distribution of 41 grants totaling $659,350 on Wednesday, Sept. 14, Spirit Mountain Community Fund approached the $55 million mark in giving since it was formed in 1997.

The Community Fund, which distributes 6 percent of Spirit Mountain Casino profits to charitable organizations in 11 western Oregon counties, is less than $5,000 away and will surpass the $55 million mark with its next quarterly check distribution in December.

At the Sept. 14 quarterly check distribution held in the Tribal gym, the Community Fund continued its tradition of helping a wide variety of worthwhile efforts, from AIDS testing to encouraging chess programs in schools to supporting healthy meals for senior citizens to funding a stage production of Yiddish stories.

And much of this quarter’s grant money will have a direct effect on local residents and children.

The Grand Ronde Community Resource Center received $25,000 to help the local food bank on Hebo Road and provide supplemental foods and senior meals, teach nutrition, operate a community garden and teach food preservation techniques to local residents.

The Willamina School District, which educates many Tribal and descendant children, received $50,000 to help pay for the construction of a new six-classroom complex and multi-purpose building at the Oaken Hills campus in Willamina.

The new buildings were required after the cash-strapped district closed the middle school building in Grand Ronde and consolidated its high school, middle school and elementary school operations at the Oaken Hills site.

District Superintendent Gus Forster and Elementary School Principal Carrie Zimbrick picked up the check for the district.

And the Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurship Network received $20,750 to revise and update its Indianpreneurship curriculum, which is designed to help Native Americans start and succeed in starting a business.

“We are proud of what we have accomplished over the 28 years since Restoration,” Tribal Council Vice Chair Reyn Leno told organization representatives before the check distribution. Leno also sits on the Community Fund’s Board of Trustees.

Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy briefly recited the history of the Grand Ronde Tribes, from being herded together at the Table Rocks site near current-day Medford to signing seven treaties that ceded most of western Oregon to the federal government to the Trail of Tears march to Grand Ronde.

“You see the survivors of a great tragedy,” Kennedy said. “We welcome you to our homeland. It pulls on the heart strings to see the good work being done. Your work is very much appreciated.”

Tribal Council Secretary Kathleen Tom gave the invocation for the event and attendees watched the 25^th Restoration commemorative video so they could learn more about the history of the Grand Ronde Tribe.

After the video, Community Fund Programs Coordinator Louis King read the list of recipients, who then posed with Leno and Community Fund Board of Trustee Ron Reibach, a Tribal member who works as Facilities Director at the casino, for a photo taken by Tribal photographer Michelle Alaimo.

In addition to the previously mentioned grants, recipients were:

• African American Health Coalition, $25,000;
• Arts Action Alliance Foundation, $20,000;
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Portland, $10,000;
• Boys and Girls Club of Lebanon, $35,000;
• Brooklyn Bay, $4,000;
• Campbell Institute, $40,000;
• Cascade Aids Project, $15,000;
• Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence, $30,000;
• Center for Diversity & the Environment, $25,000;
• Chess for Success, $25,000;
• Children’s Course, $10,000;
• Colton Helping Hands, $12,100;
• Compassion in Dying Federation, $4,000;
• Educate Ya, $4,000;
• Elders in Action, $5,000;
• Friends of Polk County Casa, $5,000;
• Friends of the Children Portland, $10,000;
• Friends of @NCRD, $4,000;
• Hacienda Community Development Corp., $30,000;
• Japanese Garden Society of Oregon, $10,000;
• Jewish Theatre Collaborative, $2,000;
• Linn County Child Victim Assessment Center, $12,500;
• Meals for Seniors, $4,000;
• Microenterprise Resources Initiatives & Training, $15,000;
• Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, $15,000;
• Neighbors for Kids, $14,000;
• Oregon Coast Aquarium, $10,000;
• Oregon Mentors, $30,000;
• Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, $25,000;
• Oregon Tradeswomen, $20,000;
• Pendulum Aerial Arts, $4,000;
• Portland Taiko, $10,000;
• Store to Door, $10,000;
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, $15,000;
• Trauma Healing Project, $25,000;
• Triangle Productions, $4,000;
• Understanding Racism Foundation, $5,000;
• and Western States Center, $20,000.

Observed since 1987, Library Card Sign-Up Month is a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all. Reading yields great benefits! It's a fact which cannot be questioned by anyone. Reading improves a person's vocabulary, command of the language, and communication skills. Trends show that children who read are able to concentrate on their lessons more properly than those who don't. More importantly, good reading skills are directly related to good writing skills. A person who doesn't read will always experience a dearth of words when it comes to writing. In this world of competitiveness, it's always advantageous to amass vast knowledge, and there is no better way to do so, other than reading. Spirit Mountain Community Fund’s Board of Trustees have a great appreciation for the important work and benefit libraries provide to our communities as demonstrated by grant support to several non-profit organizations such as The Library Foundation in Multnomah County.

“Our vision is that every child will develop a relationship with reading and libraries that lasts a lifetime,” says Merris Sumrall, Chief Executive Officer. “Spirit Mountain Community Fund helps us realize that vision. Most recently, their support helped us launch and build the Raising A Reader program, now reaching over 36,000 at-risk children and adults each year.”

“In 2005, Spirit Mountain Community Fund made a grant to a new early literacy program called Raising A Reader. Today, it’s the largest early literacy program in the state of Oregon, thanks in part to grants from Spirit Mountain grants over the past six years.  Raising A Reader transforms at-risk parents into confident first teachers for their children. The program reaches 36,450 parents and children each year. More than 36,000 children’s books go into at-risk homes every week. This year, it nearly doubled the number of at-risk parents who read frequently with their young children in the home. After participating, 9 in 10 at-risk parents were reading three or more times a week. Less than half did before. Evaluation shows the program works, even for parents who doubt their own ability to read.”

The Library Foundationis collecting tens of thousands of smiling faces, through its Cardholder Pride campaign. Come see them at http://libraryfoundation.org/ or give them a call.

The Library Foundation
620 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1025
Portland, OR 97204
TEL: (503) 223.4008
FAX: (503) 223.4386

The Bureau of Land Management, Nature Conservancy and Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Saturday, Sept. 10, agreeing to cooperate in an emerging management plan for Table Rocks.

Sept. 10 also is the 158^thanniversary of the Tribe’s Table Rock Treaty, the first treaty negotiated and the second ratified in western Oregon of seven that the Grand Ronde Tribe’s forebears ultimately signed with the federal government.

“This is a landmark event for the Tribe,” said Tribal Public Affairs Director Siobhan Taylor. “On Sept. 10, 1853, the ancestors of the Grand Ronde people signed a treaty with the government. That treaty ceded the Tribe’s traditional lands in exchange for being force-marched to a land reserve in Grand Ronde. 

“Everyone knows those Tribal leaders had no other choice in order to save their families. This Sept. 10, 2011, the Tribe comes to Table Rocks as a sovereign government. This Sept. 10 we are signing a Memorandum of Understanding. The federal government, the Bureau of Land Management, is seeking the Tribe’s involvement in improved environmental and cultural stewardship of the land.

“This Sept. 10, we are at the table as equals, as a sovereign nation bringing our knowledge, history and culture back to our ceded lands at Table Rocks.”

“It reinvigorates our stake in southern Oregon,” said Tribal member and Cultural Resources Department Manager David Lewis.

The Grand Ronde Tribe has “a long history of involvement in the area,” said Mark Stern, director of Klamath Conservation Area, Soutwest Oregon and Klamath Basin for The Nature Conservancy. “The Tribe has ancient knowledge, a connection with the land and an interest in protecting the site. We’re looking forward to working with our partners.”

Tribal Elder Jolanda Catabay will sing the national anthem at the event. Her relations in the area include her great-great-grandmother, Indian Mary, and Indian Mary’s father, Umpqua Jo, chief of the Grave Creek Band of Umpquas, who were members of the Takelma Tribe in those days.

Umpqua Jo signed the two Rogue River treaties for what became the Grand Ronde Tribe. He also signed the 1854 amendment to the 1853 Treaty as Aps-so-ka-hah, horse-rider, or Jo.

Takelmas inhabited the Table Rocks area for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. In the 1850s, the group was given land in the area that Catabay says was, for a time, “the smallest reservation in the nation.” The Takelmas ultimately merged with other Rogue River Indians under the treaty.

“It’s important to reacquaint ourselves with the area,” said Tribal member John Mercier, who also is Tribal Director of Program Operations and Tribal lead for the management plan, “and be able to participate in the management of that area.

“My hopes personally, and I think it’s a reflection of what the Tribe hopes, is to be able to visit the area regularly, keep the Table Rocks area healthy and see it prosper as a natural landscape.”

This culturally significant place, north of Medford, is also where the Tribe’s Trail of Tears began. Many of today’s Tribal Elders and members have direct ancestors who made that forced march from Table Rocks to Grand Ronde in early 1856.

Today, the federal bureau, with responsibility for 1,280 acres of the Upper and Lower Table Rocks area, is working with The Nature Conservancy, which has acquired 2,789 acres in the area since 1978 and has a conservation easement on another 795 acres.

Together, as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding, the bureau, Nature Conservancy and Grand Ronde Tribe will “consider a variety of habitat enhancement activities, protect sensitive resources and provide a suite of diverse recreational and environmental education uses,” according to a BLM Web page.

Based on a federal commitment to consult with Tribes on issues of mutual importance and because the Upper and Lower Table Rocks are located in the Grand Ronde Tribe’s ceded lands, the federal bureau and Nature Conservancy will agree in the memorandum to work with the Tribe on the management plan.

The memorandum addresses a number of issues:

• Establish a Table Rocks management committee;
• Develop the management plan that integrates protection, management and restoration of unique plants and animals; as well as honoring geologic, cultural and scenic values for recreation and education;
• Pursue land acquisition of lands adjacent to the nearly 5,000 acres owned or managed by BLM and the Nature Conservancy;
• Explore opportunities for ceremonial hunting for the Grand Ronde people on the BLM-administered lands;
• Develop educational and interpretive signage that describes a historical and spiritual connection;
• And encourage Tribal fire management in the area with Grand Ronde wildland firefighters taking the lead in using fire as it traditionally was used to maintain the land.

Participants are also supportive of Tribal plant gathering and propagation, according to Trish Lindaman, Recreation planner and project lead for the Bureau of Land Management.

In fact, says Lewis, the Cultural Site Protection program has begun work to help develop the former Fort Lane site, across the river from Lower Table Rock, as a state park.  

The management plan is now being developed and will go out for public comment in the September-October time period, Lindaman said.

The memorandum specifies a five-year time period, when the parties can take “a second look,” before renewing it.

BLM-administered lands on both Table Rocks were designated an Area of Critical Concern in 1986, said Lindaman, but a management plan was never completed.

Attending the signing, set to take place at Lower Table Rock Trail Head, is by invitation from the three partners and open to the media.

The Tribe created a task force to represent the Tribe for development of the memo. Members are John Mercier, Tribal Attorney Rob Greene, Staff Attorney Lisa Bluelake, who drafted the memorandum, Public Affairs Director Siobhan Taylor, Publications photographer Michelle Alaimo, Tribal member and Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Kristin Ravia, David Lewis, Tribal member and Cultural Collections Coordinator Khani Schultz and Tribal member and Realty Specialist Ann Lewis, who lived in the area.

The focus of NIAM is to produce an increasing awareness regarding immunizations that are available across the life span of populations from infants to the elderly. As we get ready for the beginning of another Oregon school year, August is a good time to remind co-workers, friends, family members, and community members on the importance of vaccinations. Since this is the time of year when youth are enrolling in school, students are starting college, and healthcare professionals are gearing up for the approaching flu season.

As you may be aware, immunizations are one of the most significant health care achievements of the past century. Because of immunization, the public health community has significantly reduced the number of diseases. However, it is unfortunate to note that thousands of people in America still die today from preventable disease. Yet this can be changed through efforts to inform the public on the benefits of immunization. Keeping individuals healthier through immunizations can result in lower social and financial costs, such as time lost from school or work, and the expense of medical bills. Vaccinations begin soon after birth and continue through adulthood, and it is vital to get the appropriate vaccines in the precise doses at the correct time.

Always talk with your doctor about your healthcare concerns and depending on your health conditions or allergies, some immunizations may not be required. Consult with your healthcare professional about available options.

Please join Spirit Mountain Community Fund in recognizing a number of Oregon’s nonprofit organizations such as but not limited to Wallace Medical Concern, Tuality Healthcare Foundation, and Friends of Oregon Adult Immunization Coalition, and scores of others whose work contributes to the public’s access to immunization.

During this year’s lamprey harvest at Willamette Falls, a Portland General Electric video crew interviewed Grand Ronde Tribal representatives for a short history of the Falls.

“All we can do is scratch the surface,” said Jeff Gersh, owner of Portland-based NarrativeLab Communications and producer of the upcoming PGE video. “I’m 50 and I could spend the rest of my life on this project.”

“One of the most historically rich places in the Pacific Northwest,” in Gersh’s words, the Falls also are a marvel of cultural, biological, geological and, of course, electrical history.

Following the long Native experience of collecting lamprey at the Falls, the area became “a laboratory for electric power generation,” Gersh said. “When Westinghouse sent his turbines to the Falls (at the end of the 19^thcentury), he didn’t guarantee they would work. He didn’t know. Obviously, they did work and Westinghouse had an ongoing business and electricity in this country was changed forever.”

The project was the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the country, Gersh said, and it drew industry to the site, much of which has now moved on.

“It’s a hidden gem,” said Gersh, “a secret. It’s the second largest waterfall in the country by volume, behind Niagara Falls. It’s a magical, deeply powerful place.”

“Holding on to traditions is really, really difficult,” Grand Ronde Cultural Protection Coordinator Eirik Thorsgard told Lindsey Grayzel, field producer for NarrativeLab Communications, as the camera rolled, “but through the annual lamprey collection, the Tribe keeps this tradition alive.”

Especially these days, when the numbers of lamprey and the number of Indians who still eat lamprey, have dwindled. The Tribe collects lamprey each year to make it available to the Tribal community. Elders may find it difficult to collect lamprey the way they used to and Tribal youth may know little about this part of their culture.

Thorsgard called the collecting and preparation of lamprey an important part of Tribal culture.

The catch was better this year than last. The first look at a spot at the foot of the Falls yielded only a few, but Thorsgard found a cache in a small pool he had sat down by while waiting for the camera crew.

“I saw something move, and I reached in and pulled out five of them,” he said. Then he reached back in for more.

“No matter how many we catch,” said Tribal Fish and Wildlife Coordinator Kelly Dirksen during his interview with NarrativeLab, “they’re always all gone in the first half-hour (of the giveaway to the community). There’s a huge demand, but if you’ve ever eaten it, you might wonder why.”

He described the taste of lamprey as a cross between “burnt tire and fish.”

“My grandfather called them ‘slave food,’ ” said Thorsgard, “which is ironic because he ate them himself.”

The interviews covered Thorsgard’s and Dirksen’s early experiences with lamprey. They included public disinterest in preserving the lamprey runs, (“They suffer from bad p.r.,” said Dirksen) and some of the reasons that the public should care. 

Beyond their cultural importance and ancient origins, Dirksen said, if other predators don’t have lamprey to eat, they’ll probably be dining on fish that humans do like to eat.

Tribal member and Natural Resources staff member Torey Wakeland was thrilled, as he always is, by the experience. He has been participating for years, he said.

“I really enjoyed it. It’s fun and it’s exciting. I always like it. It’s something I look forward to every year.”

The interviews also touched on some concrete cultural history. An “eel man” petroglyph still is visible, when the water level is low, on one of the rocks seen as the boat approaches the Falls.

Back in the day, said Thorsgard, “When the water went down, the eel man showed up and our ancestors knew it was time to fish for lamprey.”

The history “is alive” in Thorsgard, Gersh said.

While the mostly deserted mills and factories across the river from the Falls detract from the cultural scene, Dirksen said, once you’re under the falls everything else disappears and the feel of the history and culture return.

There will be two versions of the video, due for completion in the first quarter of 2012, Gersh said. One will be a 10-minute, You Tube piece, and the second, for distribution to community groups, schools and others, will be 30 minutes long.

“At Willamette Falls,” Gersh said, “we can reach back deeply into Oregon’s history. The Falls is a touchstone for who we are, where we come from and perhaps where we’re headed.

 “People who know the Falls are passionate about it.”

“Stay tuned,” he added. “We’d love to do a screening in Grand Ronde.”

The Children’s Course, a Portland non-profit, mission is to positively impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. “The support of the Spirit Mountain Community Fund allows our organization to continue its focus on serving at-risk, disadvantaged and special needs youth, in addition to providing The First Tee curriculum and golf instruction to all children”, said Cathy Porter, Outreach Director, The First Tee of Greater Portland.

The organization’s camps and classes provide children with a youth development program that uses the game of golf as its platform.  “We believe golf has inherent values that apply to everyone’s lives at home, school and work.  We stress the importance of learning interpersonal skills, decision making, and conflict resolution.”

The Children’s Course character education includes lessons on nine core values: Sportsmanship – Judgment – Responsibility – Perseverance- Respect- Integrity – Courtesy-Honesty - Confidence

Cathy Porter went on to say:“We present a “bridge to life” explaining the way these pivotal values come into play on the golf course and how they are used off the course as well.”

“The success of our partnership with the Spirit Mountain Community Fund was easy to see on the 13^th and 14^th of last month as The Children’s Course held a two day clinic for 45 youth at the Education Facility in Grand Ronde. Both instructors and participants had a terrific experience learning golf and creating relationships. The Children’s Course greatly appreciates the support of the Fund.”

For more information about The Children’s Course and The First Tee of Greater Portland visit their website at: www.thefirstteeportland.org