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July 16, 2022
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WEEKEND EDITION
Now you
can ‘Double
Up’ on fresh
produce
NOT ALONE
Justice lags for Indigenous survivors of domestic violence
La Grande’s Market Place Fresh
Foods increases access to fruits,
vegetables through SNAP program
By SHANNON GOLDEN
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Liz Blake, the produce
director at Market Place Fresh Foods, knows
how to ensure her three children make good
food choices — keep the fridge stocked with
fresh fruits and vegetables.
For Oregonians who receive Supple-
mental Nutrition Assistance Program ben-
efi ts, aff ording fresh produce can be a chal-
lenge. But with the help of Oregon Food
Bank’s Double Up Food Bucks program, La
Grande’s Market Place Fresh Foods is helping
residents have access to fresh, local produce
year-round.
“It just comes down to us wanting to make
sure our community is fed,” Blake said.
One in six Oregonians — more than
680,000 residents — receive benefi ts from
the federally funded SNAP program. Blake
estimated that approximately 25% of Market
Place’s customer base are SNAP recipients,
using their Oregon Trail EBT cards to help
prevent food insecurity.
Market Place partnered with Oregon’s
Double Up Food Bucks program in late
April, joining the coalition of more than 25
participating stores. For EBT card users, cou-
pons at the bottom of their printed receipt can
be used during their next visit for free fruits
and vegetables.
The programs work alongside SNAP
See, Fresh/Page A3
Kathy Aney/Underscore.news
By BRYCE DOLE and ZACK DEMARS • The Bulletin
M
ISSION — Desireé
Coyote stared at the red
and white confi dential
envelope she’d spent four days
fearing to open. Inside was a police
report from 30 years ago detailing
the Indigenous woman’s account of a
sexual and physical assault.
Until May, she had no idea the
report existed.
Shannon Golden/The Observer
The police record documented what Coyote told
tribal police. Coyote’s ex-husband, William Cruz, from
whom she had fi led for divorce following years of alleged
domestic abuse, came to her house on the Umatilla Indian
Reservation and kidnapped her. She said Cruz drove her
up to the foothills of Oregon’s Blue Moun-
tains, beat her and sexually assaulted her,
according to the report.
She’d lost an earring that night, and she
told a tribal offi cer where he could fi nd it up
in the tall grass on the hillside, the report
says. A few months later, Coyote heard a
knock at the door. The offi cer returned her
Coyote
earring.
It wasn’t the fi rst time Coyote, an enrolled member of
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation, reported Cruz’s alleged domestic abuse to tribal
police, she said. But since Coyote is Indigenous and her
ex-husband is not, and the reported assault occurred in
1991 on tribal land, federal law barred the tribe or state
from prosecuting him. Tribal police forwarded the case to
the FBI, according to the police report.
“Nothing happened,” Coyote said with tears in her eyes.
Cruz never faced charges in the wake of Coyote’s report.
Coyote is not alone.
A study released this year estimated Indigenous people
in Oregon reported experiencing domestic violence
during the previous year at a rate more than three times
Fresh vegetables line the produce case at Market
Place Fresh Foods on Fourth Street, La Grande, on
Monday, July 11, 2022. SNAP recipients can now
purchase twice as much fresh produce at the store
with Double Up Food Bucks.
VOICES OF RESILIENCE: Indigenous women across the country have
endured disproportionately high rates of violence stemming from
systemic and cultural obstacles: Mistrust, limited policing, a lack of
resources for support services and a dizzying array of jurisdictional issues
for crimes committed on tribal land are all factors. This is the second
installment of a two-part investigative project in partnership with
Underscore News, a nonprofit publication focused on Native American
issues. The series shows how obstacles to prosecution prompted
Indigenous survivors to use their stories of trauma to empower others,
inspired initiatives encouraging change
and how evolving policies are shaping
the legal landscape. Read the full series
online at lagrandeobserver.com.
the state’s average, and nationwide, Native Americans
suff er higher rates of violence than other Americans.
Violence is more often committed against Indigenous
people by those who aren’t Indigenous than those who
are, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Jus-
tice study. Most Native victims of violence, including
97% of women and 90% of men, have experienced vio-
lence committed by a non-Native person, while 35% of
female victims and 33% of male victims have experi-
enced violence committed by another Native person.
For Indigenous families, the struggle to prosecute
crimes committed by non-Natives on tribal land has
created lasting trauma. And a lack of crime data, high
rates of cases being declined by federal prosecutors
and meager resources for help leave some feeling aban-
doned, a consensus among tribal offi cials, advocates and
survivors.
Violent criminal acts committed on tribal land by
non-Natives have historically fallen through the cracks
due to a dizzying jurisdictional maze that critics say
See, Resilience/Page A3
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified ......B2
Comics ...........B5
Crossword ....B2
Dear Abby ....B6
Merle Kirk, standing at a spot high above her nearby home on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation, holds a portrait of her sister Mavis
Kirk-Greeley, who died in 2009 after her boyfriend allegedly
deliberately hit her with his vehicle on the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation. The U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce dropped the case and no
one has been prosecuted for the death.
Horoscope ....B3
Local...............A2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Outdoors ......B1
Sudoku ..........B5
Weather ........B6
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
59 LOW
88/52
Clear
Sunny and nice
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 85
2 sections, 12 pages
La Grande, Oregon