Yesteryears - September 15, 2025

2020 — Meeting virtually because the Tribal Government Center was closed due to extreme fire danger, Tribal Council approved another round of virus relief payments for adult Tribal members for September to November.

2015 —The Tribe accepted a donation of 14 acres from the Tillamook County Board of Commissioners at Kilchis Point on the eastern shore of Tillamook Bay. It was located near the site of one of the largest Native villages on the northern Oregon coast.

2010 — The Tribe submitted a 155-page document to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, opposing the “preferred alternative” of the Warm Springs Tribe, which was seeking to build a new off-reservation casino in Columbia River Gorge.

2005 — The Tribe and Portland State University were preparing to offer a class on “Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times” in the Education Building on the Tribal campus. Nearly 30 Tribal leaders had been interviewed for the series, including Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison.

2000 — After signing a memorandum of understanding earlier in the year, the Tribe hosted representatives from five ranger districts in the Willamette National Forest for a tour, to develop a closer government-to-government relationship and discuss joint projects.

1995 — Tribal Elders attended a “Moonlight Pour” in Troutdale, of the bronze statue the Tribe had commissioned of Martha Jane Sands and her granddaughter, Gertrude. It was created by Oregon artist Rip Caswell. Today, the statue is on display at Spirit Mountain Casino.

1990 — Tribal Chairman Mark Mercier reported that the Office of Housing and Urban Development had approved funding to build a community center to house community and Elder services, marking the Tribe’s first facility on the reservation. It was to be about 6,000 square feet. The Tribe was also purchasing property and hoped to acquire 140 acres by the end of the year.

1985 — The draft of the Tribe’s Reservation Plan was nearing completion, as the Tribe continued to fight for federal reinstatement. The Tribe was planning to release an executive summary of the plan for Tribal members as soon as it was completed.

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