People of the Falls

On this date in 1954, President Eisenhower signed the Western Oregon Termination Act. This law was an effort to assimilate us. It stopped all our services, terminated our status as a federally recognized Tribe, and would have traumatic long-term impacts on the lives of our people. In the eyes of the Government, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde no longer existed.

Our ancestral homelands once stretched throughout Western Oregon. We have always been the stewards and caretakers of these lands. The forced removal from our homelands and the termination of our Tribe could not diminish our connection. This video, People of the Falls, is just one of those stories.