First Salmon Ceremony set for Friday, Dec. 16

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon will celebrate its inaugural First Salmon Celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16.

The event is being planned by the Tribal Culture Committee, Cultural Resources Department and Natural Resources with assistance from the Public Affairs staff.

Tribal members are encouraged to attend.

The ceremony will start at 10 a.m. at the Tribal Fish Weir on Agency Creek near the Tribal campus on Grand Ronde Road and be followed by a cedar planked salmon meal at the Tribal gym.

Representatives of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife will be special guests.

The Tribe will celebrate the return of salmon to Agency Creek. In 2010, the Tribe's Natural Resources personnel captured a record 995 Coho salmon returning to the Tribal Reservation, approximately 4.5 percent of all returning Coho in the Willamette Basin.

For more information, call the Public Affairs Department at 503-879-1418.