Yesteryears - Aug. 1, 2025

2020 — The Tribe, along with school districts across the state, was trying to figure out the safest way to open school in the fall, with COVID-19 case numbers still high nationwide. Although school leaders had advocated for a hybrid model combining virtual and in-person classes, updated guidance from the state was resulting in an all-online experience for at least the first few weeks or months of school.

2015 — Archeology students from the University of Washington in Seattle set up camp for a field school in Grand Ronde, in collaboration with the Tribe’s Historic Preservation Office. The school, taught by Dr. Sara Gonzalez of the University of Washington, also drew students from other colleges, including Portland State University. After excavating items from the reservation’s old grade school and analyzing them, students returned them to the ground where they were found.

2010 — The Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., visited Grand Ronde for five days in mid-July. Volunteers helped to set up the 72-panel, 253-foot wall at the old powwow grounds in front of the Governance Center.

2005 — Changes to the Tribe’s enrollment ordinance, mostly to make enrollment easier, topped the list of issues important to Tribal members in four community meetings held across the Northwest. Members did not agree how the ordinance should be changed, however.

2000 — Grand Ronde’s Polk County Sheriff’s Office team grew to six full-time deputies with two additional hires.

1995 — The Oregon Historical Marker Program installed a historical marker on Highway 18, a quarter mile from Grand Ronde Road, depicting Tribal photos and a summary of the history of the Grand Ronde Tribe. It was a project Tribal Council and staff members had been working on for a few years.

1990 — No edition available.

1985 — No edition available.

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