News for February, 1998

I must apologize for missing my January letter. The winter solstice and following dreary weather, of the last half of December and most of January, turned me into a hermit. My personal feelings are that both could have been crossed off and they would not have been missed. I would like to say that there are other things that mark the passage of these months. They are the wildlife, birds to be specific. The cool days of December and January bring to my yard two small birds, just a little bit larger than the decorative salt and pepper shakers than people have on their tables. One of those birds has a black hood down below its neck and a light grey tan body, with a narrow flat tail. The other has a wings that fold back into a triangular tail and a light rust brown head. While the latter seems to be more tolerant of me and will stop and watch as I work; both do dart and skit around when I'm near.

There is a natural progression of birds that follow more with the weather than the seasons. The Variated Thrushs have come back, at least for a time, and while I have not seen them, there is some sort of song bird that has taken up refuge in my shelter belt. I have also seen a couple of Kingfishers perched on the power lines. Another bird that marks the season is the woodpecker. I believe they are Peleated woodpeckers, but again my knowledge of birds is limited and this is only a guess. I do know that the hawks are still around and seem to be further out in the valley than they were last year. The Basket slough is full of water and Canada geese and there is at least one heron prowling the fields. There is another bird here that I have not seen before, it looks like an Egret, but I can't be sure or even guess. It looks like that sort of a bird, But I can't imagine them being this far north.

Considering human news; the new tribal center is moving right along. The west end is complete and the east end is close to being closed in. This leaves only the center and second floor to be finished. There was a dinner held at Willamette University in Salem honoring Senator Mark Hatfield. It was he and his staff that were more than instrumental in re-establishing the Grand Ronde Tribe. There were delegations from the Siletz, Warm Springs and Cow Creek nations ; along with a number of state politicians present. The real purpose of the dinner was to initiate the Mark Hatfield fellowship. This is set up to send qualified Native Americans to Washington D.C. to work with the Oregon congressional delegation. We hope that by doing this that there will be at least some representation for the cause and betterment of the Indian peoples.

There are many things that mark the progression of the seasons and dates the age of this publication. The most current is that it is now once again the time for tribal members to begin the application process for Tribal Royalty selection. Again this year Donna Casey and Norma Billings will be taking and overseeing the application process. They can be reached at 503-876-4663 or write them at Royalty Court Advisor, Donna Casey, P.O.Box 901, Willamina, Oregon,97396. The dates for the summer events sponsored by the tribe have been set. The Spirit Mountain Stampede will be held this year on June 20-21; call 1-800-422-0232 for info and sign-up packets. The Grand Ronde Veterans Pow-Wow is July 10-12. Marcellus Northwest at 503-879-5878 will have all of the necessary information for that gathering. And of course, The Grand Ronde Annual Pow-Wow is going to be the 14th thru the 16th of August and the number to call concerning this years encampment is 800-422-0232 or 503-879-5211.

Another cycle of the season is the winter stocking of the Willamina pond. This month it was with Brook Trout. They were being caught fast and furious. The plantings will continue on through March, but I do not know what will be introduced next.

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