The label is also reflected in the federal laws and policies of the era, i.e., the Indian Relocation Act, etc. The inaccurate term persists even today because of that historic use and the continuing presence of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service in the lives of Native Nations and their citizens. Even in more recent times, some Native people, especially elders, use the word Indian to refer to themselves.
arroz con pollo: a simple dish originating in Spain featuring cooked chicken, tomatoes, herbs, and rice
Azores: a group of nine islands in the Atlantic Ocean west of Portugal that govern their own affairs separate from that country
BIA: an acronym for the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the United States Department of the Interior
catsup: a condiment made mostly from tomatoes and vinegar, now generally referred to as ketchup
Chinook (chah-nook) winds: strong, warm winter winds that blow inland off the Pacific Ocean
confirmation: a sacrament within the Catholic Church for older children or teens who were baptized as an infant or young child in the Church. It is a coming-of-age ceremony during which the child or teen makes a commitment to live out their faith.
Cowboys and Indians: a very common game for children in the 1950s to play, given the popularity of Westerns on television and in film. These media portrayed white cowboys fighting against and defeating Indians every time with rare exception. Given the problematic history of Indian-white relations that generations of children since then have learned about, the game is no longer played regularly.
elder: a term of respect used to refer to those of the older generations
giveaway: a large gathering typically of family, friends, and other community members that celebrates or commemorates someone’s life or an important event. There is always a meal where everyone is fed. Gifts are also distributed to at least some of those attending to help them remember the person or occasion.
Hollywood Indians: stereotyped Native American characters created by the Hollywood movie and television industry. Usually played by white or other non-Native actors, speaking limited English as well as wearing wigs, makeup, and clothes that do not resemble any real Native people.
Indian agent: an assigned federal government worker who managed services provided by the federal government on the tribal reservations like Grand Ronde
Indian Relocation Act of 1956: a federal law aimed at relocating Native families from their reservation homes to cities such as Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles, where they would receive job training and be assimilated into the general population. Many families and individuals from the Grand Ronde community participating in the program went to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Injun (engine): a slang term for “Indian” used during the time period of this story, but which has not been acceptable for decades
lean-to: a simple structure supported on one side by trees to provide shelter from wind and rain
Long Bell Lumber Company: a white-owned logging company that once operated in Grand Ronde with additional mills elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. It harvested mostly Douglas fir trees.
Lone Ranger: a fictional masked former lawman who tracked down outlaws in the western US with Tonto, his Indian sidekick. The show began on the radio in the 1930s, then launched novels, comic books, and finally a TV series from 1949–1957.
matador: a bullfighter
plankhouse: a wooden house, usually made of cedar, where traditionally many families lived under one roof. Today, community gatherings occur there. Also called a big house or a longhouse.
rez: a slang term for reservation
ropa vieja: a slow-cooked beef-and-vegetable stew served with rice, and one of the national dishes of Cuba
Spirit Mountain: the ancestral mountain range on the Grand Ronde reservation
stick game: a Native American guessing game played with two teams and multiple patterned sticks. The “hiding” team tries to distract the “guessing” team from naming the correct pattern on a stick held by a member of the hiding team, thereby keeping the sticks from being taken by the guessing team.
streuselkuchen: a German-style crumb cake
talk story: to tell a story verbally
termination: a federal policy that occurred from the 1940s through the 1960s. The US Congress passed a series of laws during this time that terminated — or ended — the government-to-government relationship between the United States and those Native Nations listed in the law. This meant the end of the federal government providing services like health care, education, and other support as promised in the treaties signed by the US and the tribal leaders. In 1954, Congress voted for Public Law 588, which specifically terminated all of the tribes within The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community and other tribes in Oregon. President Eisenhower signed it into law. The Bureau of Indian Affairs fully implemented the law in Oregon two years after its enactment.
Three Stooges: a slapstick comedy team that formed in the vaudeville era of the 1920s and made black-and-white short films of their physical antics and jokes, which were later shown on television for decades
tipi: a cone-shaped portable living space made from animal skins tied over long poles. Tipis are the traditional homes of some Native Nations who traveled across the plains of North America.
Tonto: the fictional Apache sidekick who saved the Lone Ranger’s life after a shootout with outlaws who killed the lawman’s fellow Texas Rangers. Tonto assisted the Lone Ranger in catching the bad guys across the West. White actors voiced Tonto in the radio series, but Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor from Canada, played the role in the popular TV series. At a time when many non-Natives played the part of Indians on TV, some Native American viewers were happy to see a Mohawk actor in the role, but his stoic demeanor and broken English also perpetuated old stereotypes about Native peoples.
tribal rolls: originally created by the US government to document Indians on reservations. Native Americans were assigned numbers based on blood count and tribal affiliation.
Umpqua (uhmp-kwah):
