Yesteryears - July 15, 2026

2021 — The Tribe dispatched two 400-gallon engines with six wildland firefighters to the Hualapai Reservation in northwestern Arizona to assist with wildfire suppression efforts. A 20-person crew also returned after 21 days of battling the 11,000-acre Jack Fire in the Umpqua National Forest outside of Glide, Oregon. Additionally, the Tribe’s Emergency Management Department sent two volunteer firefighters and department manager Steve Warden to assist with the 150,000-acre Bootleg Fire near Klamath Falls.

2016 — The Tribe hosted the annual Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow at the uyxat Powwow Grounds and honored veterans who served during the Vietnam War. Every veteran who attended received a commemorative eagle pin. The Tribe was also gifted a breastplate made out of spent shell casings from an M16 rifle by the Oregon Veterans Motorcycle Association’s Eugene-area Kalapuya Chapter.

2011 — The Tribe was waiting for Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to sign a bill that would make Tribal officers recognized as police officers under state law. The bill would allow Tribal officers to have police powers off reservation lands if they completed state-approved training. The bill faced opposition from non-Tribal police because they lacked the authority to unilaterally go on reservation lands.

2006 — Dedication ceremonies took place for three Tribal Elder housing facilities: Black Bear Lodge, Cougar Lodge and Elk Lodge. Each building was 5,200 square feet and operated by the Tribe as facilities for Elder foster care housing.

2001 — Smoke Signals profiled Tribal sisters Connie Lopez and Carmen Brown after they participated in the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego, California. The 26.2 mile-long marathon was completed by Lopez in 5 hours and 45 minutes and Brown in 6 hours and 11 minutes. Lopez was inspired by Billy Mills, a Native American from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and first American to win Olympic gold in the men’s 10,000 meter race during the 1964 Tokyo games.

1996 — Legends Steakhouse and Lounge, a SuperPlay area for kids and new banquet rooms opened at Spirit Mountain Casino during a four-day grand opening celebration. Special prizes were awarded each day to visitors, with cash prizes up to $500 given out at a cash wheel every 20 minutes. One grand prize was also raffled off each day, which included season tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers, tickets to the 1997 Super Bowl in New Orleans, an all-expenses-paid trip to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and a brand-new Chevrolet Blazer.

1991 — The Grand Ronde veteran’s group was hoping to join the Northwest Indian Veteran’s Association. Representatives from NIVA visited the group to discuss activities. The veteran’s group also planned to establish a Tribal Honor Guard for special events, veteran funerals and to ensure Native American veteran needs were being met.

1986 — The Tribe was looking to hire a full-time social worker. Duties included processing existing and new Indian Child Welfare Act caseloads, conducting individual and family counseling, assisting the Tribe in developing state-Tribal agreements and assisting in developing a statistical database of social service needs.

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