Yesteryears - May 15, 2026

2021 — The Tribe withdrew its membership in the Willamette Falls Trust after being unable to resolve ongoing frustrations with other Tribes involved the trust.

2016 — The Tribe held its fourth annual First Salmon Ceremony in West Linn after harvesting the fish at Willamette Falls. Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno said the ceremony had additional meaning this year after regaining the right from Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to take fish in a traditional way from Willamette Falls for ceremonial purposes.

2011 — The board of the Heritage Center at The Mill in Salem voted unanimously to repatriate one of the oldest Native canoes found in Oregon to the Grand Ronde Tribe. The historic Kalapuya shovel-nose river canoe was donated to the Heritage Center in 1980. The donor said it was found when the riverbank was washed away in a flood on the Santiam River near Tangent.

2006 — Tribal Community meetings underway in Oregon and Washington provided the widest access ever to Tribal members in the region, with the Tribe focusing on the challenge posed by off-Reservation and non-Indian gaming proposals.

2001 — The Tribe held the first of what was intended to be an annual conference on Elder abuse at Spirit Mountain Casino. An Elders panel convened to speak about views of what abuse is and what it means to them, as well as the need for vigilance.

1996 — Two attractions were scheduled to open on Highway 18 near Spirit Mountain Casino: Song Basket Marketplace, featuring hand-crafted arts and crafts, with an emphasis on Native American art and the Strawberry Patch, offering fresh fruit milkshakes and strawberry shortcake.

1991 — The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde was waiting on a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge William L. Dwyer of Seattle, on the requirements of the U.S. Forest Service with regard to endangered spotted owls. One pair of spotted owls was nesting on reservation land at the time, according to head Tribal Forester Cliff Adams.

“What we’re going to try to do is see if we can’t work around the pair of spotted owls,” Adams said. “We think it is important to try and provide the revenue to the Tribe, but in a way that is not detrimental to the owl.”

1986 — After failing to provide a new federal number to differentiate the Tribe from its corporation after Restoration, the IRS discovered the error in 1985, and following discussions with the Tribe, agreed that it would provide a separate number to Tribal Council for employees. The end result was that all council and staff received two W-2 forms for the year, resulting in some confusion.

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