Rose Cottage

  This weekend marked the 15th birthday of achaf-hammi , the plankhouse at nearby Grand Ronde, which 'provides a traditional space for countless activities, events and ceremonies.'    Pre-European contact, these long plankhouses played a vital role for the indigenous people of the rainy Pacific NW, serving as winter homes, store houses, and meeting places for the large extended families, who've been here over 10,000 years. (Similar Longhouses were used in Europe and Asia)  Tribal Histories - David Lewis I am so grateful we were invited to attend this celebration, and went with 2 of my Native Voices bookgroup friends, Emily and Judy!  Our g roup members read and discuss books by indigenous authors, and we've visited  Chachalu cultural center   at Grand Ronde several times. C hachalu, which translates to 'the place of burnt timbers' the name given the area after a massive forest fire in 1856.     The reservation is home to members of mor...

 This summer, a small group from our church read local author Randy Woodley's book, Becoming Rooted, a small book of daily reflections from an indigenous perspective.  At the end of our time together, we decided to seek out other books from native authors, and I found A Cherokee Book of Days (Joyce Sequichie Hifler).  Clematis Ville de Lyon   For October 20th, Joyce invites us to watch the season come on with peace, as da na li s da yu hu s gv - a feast for the soul.  'The island in the Mississippi are our gardens, where the Great Spirit caused berries, plums and other fruits to grow in abundance .... Black Hawk Last week, several from our group visited the lovely Chachalu  Museum and Cultural Center at the nearby Grand Ronde reservation, enjoying the exhibits and stories, with Alaskan native, Crystal as our guide.  The Yamhill Kalapooia called their valley Chachalu, place of the burnt timbers, from a wildfire that burned through the Grand Ronde Valley...