Yesteryears - April 15, 2026

2021 — For the second year in a row the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde canceled its two main powwows, the Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow in July and the Contest Powwow held in August, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This was a difficult decision to make and one that we do not take lightly,” the Tribe announced on its Facebook page. “The ongoing gathering restrictions as well as the lack of time to plan these events if restrictions are lifted led to the decision to cancel.”

2016 — Tribal Council awarded an $888,777 contract to Konell Construction & Demolition Corp. of Sandy, Oregon, to demolish the structures on the 31-acre site in Wood Village that used to house Multnomah Greyhound Park.

2011 — The Tribe purchased nearly two acres of land immediately north of the Tribal Cemetery, just two months after purchasing 139 acres that connected Tribal lands together in Grand Ronde, Tribal Lands Manager Jan Reibach said in a report to the membership at the April General Council meeting.

2006 — Tribal Council members toured the new Tribal Housing Development set to open in the summer, as the Tribe advertised rental openings for Tribal member families. The units offered from one to five bedrooms, with general rental and low-income rental units available.

2001 — Tribal Elders Mabel Gaston, 89, Ila Dowd, 92, and Nora Kimsey, 92, retired from the Enrollment Committee after serving a combined 58 years, tracking ancestors and family members for Tribal descendants wanting to be enrolled. The committee was created in 1979.  

1996 — Tribal Council passed a Housing Ordinance, establishing the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority and a plan to guide the new agency in developing and implementing housing projects. It also appointed a seven-member board of commissioners to manage the new agency.

1991 — Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier gave a report on attending a Tribal Leaders Forum with council member Larry Brandon in Washington, D.C., where the assembled leaders heard a presentation by Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.

1986 — Enrollment Clerk Margo George reported that Tribal membership had reached 1,835. George said she was preparing requests for blood degree corrections. In addition, she was compiling a resource library for Tribal members seeking information on their family backgrounds and was interested in copying any old Tribal records that families had in their possession for the collection. 

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