The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (CTGR) consists of twenty-seven
Native American tribes with long historical ties to present-day western
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
between the western boundary of the
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...
and the eastern boundary of the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
, and the northern boundary of southwestern
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
and the southern boundary of northern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The community has an Indian reservation, the
Grand Ronde Indian Reservation
The Grand Ronde Community is an Indian reservation located on several non-contiguous sections of land in southwestern Yamhill County and northwestern Polk County, Oregon, United States, about east of Lincoln City, near the community of Grand Ro ...
, which was established in 1855 in
Yamhill and
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
*Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missouri ...
counties.
Because the people had lived near each other, and often spoke more than one language for use in trading, after they were grouped together in the 19th century on the reservation, they refined a creole language that became known as
Chinook Jargon. Although long forced to speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, the people are working to conserve this native language named Chinuk Wawa. They have produced native speakers through immersion programs for young children.
Members of the confederation
The tribes who were
removed to the Grand Ronde reservation are:
*
Chasta
The Shastan peoples are a group of linguistically related indigenous peoples from the Klamath Mountains. They traditionally inhabited portions of several regional waterways, including the Klamath, Salmon, Sacramento and McCloud rivers. Shastan ...
(or Shasta; from present-day Oregon and California bands of the
Shasta Nations)
*
Chasta Costa (Southern Oregon
Athapaskan
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
speakers)
*
Kalapuya
The Kalapuya are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American ethnic group, people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Va ...
(Yamel (
Yamhill), Mary's River, Winfelly (
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
),
Atfalati
The Atfalati , also known as the Tualatin or Wapato Lake IndiansRobert H. Ruby, John A. Brown & Cary C. Collins, Atfalati, in ''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest'' (3d ed. 2010, University of Oklahoma Press) are a tribe of the ...
(Tualatin), Yoncalla (
Kommema), Ahanyichuk, Santiam)
*
Molalla (Santiam Band, and Molala)
*
Rogue River (Historically an erroneous name conglomerating
Takelma
The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon.
Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name ''Takelma'' means "(Those) Along the River".
His ...
, Upper
Umpqua and Rogue River
Athapaskan
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
tribes)
*
Klickitat
*
Chinook (Thomas Band Chinook, Williams Band Chinook, Wal-la-lah band of Tumwaters, Johns Band Chinook, Clackamas Chinook (Oregon City))
*
Tillamook Tillamook may refer to:
Places:
* Tillamook County, Oregon, United States
* Tillamook, Oregon, a city, the seat of Tillamook County
* Tillamook River, United States
* Tillamook Bay, a bay in the northwestern part of Oregon
* Tillamook Head, a natur ...
(Salmon River,
Nehalem, Nestucka)
*
French-Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...
(
Iroquoian
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
)
United States treaties establishing the CTGR
*
Treaty with the Chasta, etc., 1854
*
Treaty with the Kalapuya, etc., 1855
*
Treaty with the Molalla, 1855
*
Treaty with the Rogue River, 1853
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
*
Treaty with the Rogue River, 1854
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
*Treaty with the Umpqua-Cow Creek Band, 1853
*
Treaty with the Umpqua and Kalapuya
The Treaty with the Kalapuya, etc., also known as the Kalapuya Treaty or the Treaty of Dayton, was an 1855 treaty between the United States and the bands of the Kalapuya tribe, the Molala tribe, the Clackamas, and several others in the Oregon T ...
, 1854
History
From 1854 to 1856, the U.S. Army resettled Native people from western Oregon, the Oregon coast and along the Columbia River to territory along the South Yamhill River. It was here that the Grand Ronde Reservation was established in 1857. In 1887, with the passage of the
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pre ...
, the Grand Ronde Reservation was reduced through the privatization of property. Land that was not allotted to Natives through the process of privatization was made available to non-Native ownership.
In 1936, Grand Ronde voted to confederate, accept an Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) government, and adopted a constitution and by-laws modeled after the U.S. government. In 1954, US Congress "terminated" the tribe.
The land of terminated tribes was no longer tax-exempt. Faced with the increased cost of land ownership, many lost their property. In addition, people from terminated tribes could no longer attend Chemawa School and had to pay for medical services. In 1956 the reservation was closed and the tribal council disbanded. In 1975, the tribal council was reconstituted. In 1983, House Resolution 3885 restored federal recognition status to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Five years after this resolution, a small portion of the original reservation was returned to Grand Ronde which is used today for timber, recreation, and traditional harvesting practices.
The Tribes began publishing
''Smoke Signals'', then a monthly newsletter, in 1978; it has since shifted to a twice-a-month publication schedule, and a tabloid newspaper format.
Culture
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has a curriculum specialist who created tribal history lessons funded in part by Oregon Senate Bill 13, which supplies funds for each of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon to create curriculum about Native Americans' contributions to Oregon history.
A Chinuk Wawa immersion program is available for kindergarteners and first graders. The tribe published ''Chinuk Wawa: As our elders teach us to Speak It'', a Chinuk Wawa dictionary, in 2012.
In 2010, the tribe built a
plank house
A plank house is a type of house constructed by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, typically using cedar planks.
History
The oldest plank house village found is located in Kitselas Canyon at the Paul Mason Site in western British Col ...
on the reservation. In 2011, ''Grand Ronde Canoe Journey'', an exhibit about the tribe's canoe traditions, was installed at the
Willamette Heritage Center
Willamette Heritage Center is a museum in Salem, Oregon. The five-acre site features several structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Thomas Kay woolen mill, the Jason Lee House, Methodist Parsonage, John D. Bo ...
.
Every year the reservation hosts powwows and a Round Dance.
The reservation today
The community has an
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
, the
Grand Ronde Indian Reservation
The Grand Ronde Community is an Indian reservation located on several non-contiguous sections of land in southwestern Yamhill County and northwestern Polk County, Oregon, United States, about east of Lincoln City, near the community of Grand Ro ...
, located in
Yamhill and
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
*Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missouri ...
counties of Oregon. In the 2000s, the tribe's population was over 5,500 members.
Economy
The Tribes employ around 1,600 people.
Oregon Blue Book: Confederated Tribes of The Grand Ronde Community." Oregon Blue Book: Confederated Tribes of The Grand Ronde Community. Oregon Blue Book, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
Since 1996, the tribes have generated most of their income by operating the
Spirit Mountain Casino (Oregon), Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, between
Lincoln City and
Salem. The most successful casino in Oregon,
it attracts considerable tourist traffic from the coastal beaches and resorts. Six percent of the casino's profits goes to the Tribes' Spirit Mountain Community Fund,
which supports and funds various organizations in the following 11 western Oregon area counties: Benton, Clackamas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, and Yamhill. By 2017, the Spirit Mountain Community Fund had given more than $75 million to non-profit organizations,
making it Oregon's eighth largest charitable foundation.
They also earn revenue from the management of their timber resources. They have developed "other tribal enterprises in construction and environmental management, real estate investment and inventory logistics services."
In the 21st century, the Grand Ronde tribes have opposed the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is a recognized Native American tribe made of three tribes who put together a confederation. They live on and govern the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Tribes
The confederat ...
' plans to build an off-reservation casino in
Cascade Locks, Oregon
Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the ...
. They spent more than $800,000 trying to influence decisions on the issue by supporting certain candidates in the 2006 primary races for Governor of Oregon.
Tribal languages
Historically the tribe had people speaking 27 distinct languages. Numerous members of these tribes could speak more than one language due to their proximity and trading relationships. The Oregon Territory was one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world. On the reservation, most Native Americans began communicating using Chinook Jargon, the trade language that had developed earlier. The Chinook Jargon was widely spoken throughout the Northwest between tribes and newcomers to the region.
At Grand Ronde reservation, Chinook Jargon developed as a
creole language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...
, and was the first language in most native homes. Tribal members continued to use this language, even as their children were educated in English and through the termination era (1954-1983). During this period, children were being sent to Indian boarding schools and forced to learn English; all individual tribal languages at Grand Ronde became extinct as their last native speakers died.
In the 1970s, Grand Ronde elders began teaching Chinook Jargon language classes in the community. In 1983, the Confederated tribes of Grand Ronde regained federal recognition as a sovereign tribe. As part of restoration, they established a formal language program for children, which they could support through revenues generated from gaming. They renamed Chinook Jargon as Chinuk Wawa (Talking Chinuk). The Grand Ronde tribe's immersion language program has produced native speakers, joining another half-dozen Native language immersion programs in such success. This program begins in preschool classes (Lilu) and continues into Kindergarten. The language program officials plan to expand the immersion program to a pre-8 grade program, and offer classes for adults. This will create speakers of the language to help the language survive in perpetuity.
Membership
![Grand Ronde flag at Walk of Flags](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Grand_Ronde_flag_at_Walk_of_Flags.jpg)
The elected tribal council sets the rules for membership. Generally, membership requires direct descent from a person listed on the rolls at particular times and a percentage of Native American ancestry from among the tribes in the Confederation. Being a member of the tribe has an estimated financial benefit of between $3500 and $5000 per year when such things as housing benefits, elder pension, student scholarships and per capita payouts from casino revenue are added up; however, that does not include health care.
Created by the Tribal Constitution, the Grand Ronde Tribal Council was set up to be the tribe's primary governing and legislative body. The council is made up of nine standing members. Each member is meant to serve a three-year term with three council seats up for re-election every year and no restrictions for how many terms a council member can serve. To qualify for a position as a council member, a person simply needs to be 18 years or older and be an enrolled member of the Tribe according to the Tribal Constitution. To vote for council members, confirmed tribal members mail in ballots with verified signatures on file with the Tribal Election Board, and the forty-five days preceding the September General Council meeting is when the elections are officially held.
Mass tribal dis-enrollment of descendants of Tumulth case
As a result of political conflict, in 2014 the tribal council voted to dis-enroll en masse 66 living descendants and six deceased descendants of the 19th-century Chief Tumulth. Chief Tumulth of the Cascade Band of Chinuk had signed the 1855 treaty with the United States that ceded tribal land and agreed to relocation to the Grand Ronde reservation, established by this treaty.
"The Chief Tumulth descendants were classified as "provisionally dis-enrolled" Grand Ronde members in July 2014, which stripped them of almost all their tribal rights, including voting rights in the Grand Ronde elections. A three-judge Tribal Court of Appeals panel restored the 66 descendants as full tribal members." But, based on tribal law, the court could not restore membership to six members, who were posthumously dis-enrolled in 2014. The law prohibits heirs and descendants from challenging such action.
Attorney Gabriel Galanda defended the Tumulth descendants and has strongly opposed such "politically motivated" dis-enrollment. Russell Wilkinson, a spokesperson for the descendants, said that such dis-enrollment was a self-destructive practice of tribes. Tribal council elections were scheduled for September 10, 2016.
In August 2016 the tribal Court of Appeals (en banc) overturned the tribe's mass
dis-enrollment in 2014 of 66 living descendants of Chief Tumulth of the watlala Band of Chinuk, who had signed the 1855 treaty with the United States by which his tribe ceded communal land and agreed to the Grand Ronde reservation. This was the first such action by a tribal court overturning dis-enrollment of members by a tribe.
[ICTMN Staff, "Grand Ronde Disenrollment Reversed by Tribal Court"](_blank)
''Indian Country Today,'' 9 August 2016; accessed 11 August 2016
''Tomanowos,'' or
![Willamette Meteorite AMNH](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Willamette_Meteorite_AMNH.jpg)
Since 2000, members of the tribe travel to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
annually in July to see ''
Tomanowos,'' also known as the Willamette Meteorite. This meteorite was taken from Oregon years ago and has been displayed at
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
as a natural curiosity.
The
Clackamas people
The Clackamas Indians are a tribe of Native Americans of the U.S. state of Oregon who traditionally lived along the Clackamas River in the Willamette Valley. Lewis and Clark estimated their population at 1800 in 1806. At the time the tribe lived ...
, one of the Grand Ronde tribes, traditionally believe that this 15-ton
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
was a sacred 'sky person' who fell to earth thousands of years ago and helped create their people and their world. Efforts since the late 20th century to repatriate the meteorite to Oregon were not successful, but the CTGR (successor to the Clackamas, one of the confederation) reached a historic agreement in June 2000 with the American Museum of Natural History. The tribe can have periodic access to Tomanowos for religious and cultural purposes. They perform rites and ceremonies related to their belief in the Tomanowos' role in their sacred history.
["Willamette Meteorite Agreement"](_blank)
June 2000, American Museum of Natural History, accessed 4 September 2015
The
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
of New York City bought the meteorite in 1906 from the Oregon Iron and Steel Company, which at the time owned the land on which it was found. This land was historically occupied by the Clackamas prior to European-American immigration. The museum has displayed the meteorite since then, known as the largest found in North America. Since 1999, it has been featured at the new addition known as the
Rose Center for Earth and Space
The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the no ...
.
In the late 20th century, the tribe attempted to repatriate Tomanowos under NAGPRA, the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Pub. L. 101-601, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States federal law enacted on November 16, 1990.
The Act requires federal agencies and institutions that ...
of 1990. The museum argued in federal district court in 2000 that the law applied to ceremonial objects ''made'' by the tribes, not to objects such as the meteorite, which occurred naturally and may be revered by peoples. It sued to be named as official owner of the meteorite.
The museum and CTGR tribe reached agreement in June 2000 to share custody of the meteorite to preserve it for both religious and scientific purposes.
The American Museum of Natural History and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon today signed a historic agreement that ensures access to the Willamette Meteorite, a world famous scientific specimen at the Museum, by the Grand Ronde for religious, historical, and cultural purposes while maintaining its continued presence at the Museum for scientific and educational purposes. The agreement recognizes the Museum's tradition of displaying and studying the Meteorite for almost a century, while also enabling the Grand Ronde to re-establish its relationship with the Meteorite with an annual ceremonial visit to the Meteorite.
In addition, the museum committed to establishing internships for Native Americans, to create new connections between the communities and make opportunities for young students.
Tumwater
See also
*
Indian termination policy
Indian termination is a phrase describing United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream ...
Footnotes
Further reading
*
Aikens, C. Melvin (1975) ''Archaeological Studies in the Willamette Valley''. Eugene,
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
.
*
Applegate, Jesse (1907) ''The Yangoler Chief''. Roseburg, OR, Review Publishing Co.
*
Applegate, Jesse (1914) ''Recollections of My Boyhood''. Roseburg, OR, Review Publishing.
*
Applegate, Jesse (1931) ''Umpqua Agriculture 1851''.
Oregon Historical Quarterly
The ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed public history journal covering topics in the history of the U.S. state of Oregon, for both an academic and a general audience. It has been published continuously on a quarterly schedule by th ...
. 23: 135-144.
* Applegate, Shannon. (1988) ''Skookum: An Oregon Pioneer Family's History and Lore''. New York, Quill, William Morrow.
* Applegate, Shannon. and T. O' Donnell, eds. (1994) ''Talking on Paper: An Anthology of Oregon Letters and Diaries''. Corvallis,
Oregon State University Press
Oregon State University Press, or OSU Press, founded in 1961, is a university press that publishes roughly 15 titles per year and is part of Oregon State University. The only academic publisher in Oregon, the press produces works related to the Pa ...
.
* Coan, C.F., "The Adoption of the Reservation Policy in Pacific Northwest, 1853-1855," ''Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society,'' vol. 23, no. 1 (March 1922), pp. 1–38
In JSTOR
*Frachtenberg, Leo J., "Myths of the Alsea Indians of Northwestern Oregon," ''International Journal of American Linguistics,'' vol. 1, no. 1 (Jul., 1917), pp. 64–75
In JSTOR
*Jetté, Melinda Marie, "'Beaver Are Numerous, but the Natives...Will Not Hunt Them': Native-Fur Trader Relations in the Willamette Valley, 1812-1814," ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly,'' vol. 98, no. 1 (Winter 2006/2007), pp. 3–17
In JSTOR
*Leavelle, Tracy Neal, "'We Will Make It Our Own Place': Agriculture and Adaptation at the Grand Ronde Reservation, 1856-1887," ''American Indian Quarterly,'' vol. 22, no. 4 (Autumn 1998), pp. 433–456
In JSTOR
*Lewis, David
"Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (essay),"''The Oregon Encyclopedia'', updated July 10, 2019.
*Lewis, David,
Termination of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon: Politics, Community, Identity'' PhD dissertation. University of Oregon, 2009.
*Oregon Council for the Humanities, ''The First Oregonians.'' Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2007.
* Spores, Ronald, "Too Small a Place: The Removal of the Willamette Valley Indians, 1850-1856," ''American Indian Quarterly,'' vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring 1993), pp. 171–191
In JSTOR
External links
* , includin
an
history NACO CNews, February 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederated Tribes Of The Grand Ronde Community Of Oregon
Grand Ronde Community Of Oregon
Yamhill County, Oregon
Polk County, Oregon
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast