In a Nature Conservancy video, Coquille Tribal biologist Helena Linnell talks about the Working Landscapes project, which is restoring salmon habitat in the Coquille Valley. View video 

You can read the story of a historic moment —the day when the gates opened to restore tidewaters that had been absent for more than a century.  Click here to read 

Learn more about the tidelands project on the Working Landscapes website.  Click here

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday (Sept.20, 2018) announced the award of more than $4.8 million in grants to six American Indian tribes in Oregon and one tribal commission.  The Coquille Indian Tribe is set to receive $268,425 for its four-officer police department.

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Coquille Tribal member Jason Younker, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Oregon, is part of a team that’s developing state guidelines for managing Native American artifacts.  Read the story

For details about the 2018 Mill-Luck Salmon Celebration scroll down the Entertainment page of The Mill website:

Click here

Interview with Chief Don Ivy

Rick Dancer of “That Oregon Life” interviewed Chief Don Ivy in August 2018.  They discuss the name “Coquille,” the potlatch tradition, the Tribe’s role in community life, and much more.

To see the video, click on the image above.

A nice shout-out from the Oregon Wine Experience starts at 2:05 on this video.  Click here

The World newspaper in Coos Bay featured the Coquille Indian Tribe in its 2018 “South Coast Strong” edition.  See the three stories here:

A Once and Future Forest (A new law changes how the Coquille Tribal Forest is managed.)

A Story Seldom Told (Public school pupils soon will learn the history of Oregon Tribes.)

Ancestral Garden  (Digging camas with members of the Coquille Tribe.)

Tribal fund tackles community needs 

NORTH BEND – Fifty-seven deserving community organizations have received grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund, serving causes as diverse as feeding the hungry, disposing of unused prescription drugs, and performing Shakespeare in a city park.

Supported by revenue from The Mill Casino-Hotel, the fund distributed $291,164 in grants at a luncheon on Friday, March 2. With this year’s total included, the fund has awarded more than $6.1 million since its launch in 2001. During that time it has been Coos County’s largest consistent supporter of community organizations.

Founded in the Pacific Northwest Indian spirit of potlatch, the Coquille Tribal Community Fund seeks to strengthen the community by improving opportunities and lives throughout the region.

Here are links to stories about some great examples of 2018 grantees:

Fresh Alliance

Myrtle Point Fire Department

Egyptian Theatre

Coos Watershed Association

Clambake Music Festival

Click here for more about the community fund.

Members of Marshfield High School’s Swing Club practice their moves in preparation for “Music in the Schools.”

When school

SWINGS

Clambake Festival brings diverse music to local students

(Published March 1, 2018)

Most local kids have heard rock music. Also hip-hop. And country, of course.

Zydeco? Not so likely.

Next week, students from throughout Coos County will sample this Louisiana-born confection of Cajun, French Creole, blues and Afro-Caribbean influences, courtesy of the South Coast Clambake Music Festival.  It promises to be tasty.

“I think what the kids will really think is cool is the washboard,” said Janet Saint, a retired teacher and Clambake board member. “They don’t even know what a washboard is.”

For three decades, Clambake has celebrated jazz, swing and other genres of “America’s original music.” A key element is Clambake’s “Music in the Schools” program, which is backed this year by a $3,000 grant from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund.

“This is an important music program that also brings out a little bit of history to our kids and our community,” said Jackie Chambers, a Coquille Tribal member who coordinates the tribal fund. She recalled attending a Music in the Schools event last year:

“Seeing kids of every age get up out of their seats and dance to music they may have never even heard was a sight to see,” she said. “The program was very interactive, exciting, and fun all around.”

Saint said experiencing a live show not only inspires appreciation for music, it also shows that playing in a band is “cool,” and it teaches the value of mastering a craft.

Visiting bands often invite the kids to sing along or dance. Teachers might even be pulled onto the dance floor.

“Oh my gosh, the kids love it,” Saint said. “Most of the kids will say it’s their favorite assembly of the year.”

This year, the kids will hear Gator Nation, a California band whose music encompasses zydeco, Cajun, and New Orleans rhythm and blues.

“A lot of these kids where we live – they’ve never gotten to see that, and maybe they never will,” Saint said.

Another attraction will be the presence of Marshfield High School’s Swing Club. The teen dancers (coached by Saint) will show the younger kids an extra reason to relish music.

Clambake is one of five artistic and cultural organizations receiving grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund this year.  The five grants account for $16,200 of the more than $290,000 being awarded for 2018.