Yesteryears: Nov. 1, 2026

2021 — The Tribe decided to hold its 38^th Restoration Celebration online via Zoom for the second year in a row amid rising COVID-19 cases and supply chain issues. The event was only the second time since 1984 that it was not held in-person. A virtual raffle was also planned in which every Tribal member would automatically be entered for a chance to win prizes. Tribal members were encouraged to join the Zoom meeting to discuss the celebration, tell stories and share family photos.

2016 — The Tribe continued exploring Tribal history and culture by hosting the annual two-day History and Culture Summit. The theme that year was “Cultural Continuity” and discussion topics included how to more thoroughly research the Tribe’s history, climate change and new Native media. Approximately 140 people attended.

2011 — The Tribe celebrated the first anniversary of the achaf-hammi Tribal plankhouse’s opening. Celebrations included singing, drumming and dancing from the Grand Ronde Canoe Family, as well as a traditionally cooked dinner featuring lamprey, salmon and elk stew.

2006 — The Tribe launched a redesign of its website that was described as “contemporary yet cultural.” Tribal Web Designer William “Willie” Mercier played an active role in creating the updated site. “We wanted something that would best represent the casino and all of the Tribal departments,” Mercier said. Tribal Council Chairman Chris Mercier also helped with the redesign by writing breakdowns of all the Tribal departments and a summary of Tribal Council. Chris Mercier hoped the site would eventually include a chatroom for Tribal members to have discussions and an archive of Tribal Council meeting videos.

2001 — The Tribe held a fundraising auction to raise money for the construction of the West Valley Veterans Memorial. Items for auction included a treadmill, a coconut cream pie, tickets to a Portland Trail Blazers game, carved antler keychains, Grand Ronde logo gear and Pendleton blankets. The auction raised roughly $5,500, with Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison also donating $1,000. The project had raised about $70,000 toward its $300,000 goal.

1996 — Spirit Mountain Casino donated two LTI 20/20 Marksman speed laser guns to police who were responsible for monitoring traffic on Highway 18 and 22. The equipment was also made available to the Polk and Yamhill County sheriff’s offices. The guns were capable of measuring a vehicle’s speed up to three-quarters of a mile away and were donated as a result of measures to increase safety on busy highways.

1991 — Tribal member Michael J. Larsen was selected as the “Community Encourager” for the planning of the Tribe’s health and human services clinic. Larsen’s main duty would be serving as liaison between the Tribal community and Tribal departments to determine which health services the clinic would offer. Larsen was also working on a report that would detail the community decision making process being used for the project.

1986 — The Tribe met with timber representatives, county commissioners and other concerned citizens in the area to discuss the Tribe’s reservation plan. Tribal representatives met with John Hampton of Willamina Lumber Company and Bruce Summers of Taylor Lumber Company to discuss their concerns over the plan. Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier noted that the meeting felt successful and brought the parties closer to reaching an agreement with Grand Ronde.

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