Oregon tribes have plans to develop old paper mill property

By Jamie Hale

The Oregonian/OregonLive

After a private blessing and a prayer, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde invited gathered media to watch as an excavator tore into a wall of the old, abandoned paper mill at Willamette Falls, Oregon, that the tribe says has stood on its ancestral grounds for too long.

The tribe held a symbolic demolition event at the old Blue Heron Paper Mill on Sept. 21, representing a small step toward removing the industrial site and returning it to Indigenous hands.

Chris Mercier, vice chair of the Grand Ronde Tribal Council, said the tribe has been trying to rec...