Smoke Signals 7
OCTOBER 1, 2002
Community Fund Passes the $16 Million Mark
Fund continued from front page
and broken. Tribal status was ter
minated for almost 30 years and all
the while, the Indian peoples
struggled forget edu
cation, forget housing,
forget occupations,
sometimes forget even
family.
On the backs of these
many generations, and
with the stewardship of
the Tribe's leaders, the
Spirit Mountain Casino
has become a great success. It has
led the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde not only back to a place where
homes, health and community are
again on center stage, but also to a
place where six percent of profits now
go to helping neighbors.
Half of these gifts have gone to
support educational opportunity,
according to Angela Blackwell, Di
rector of the Tribe's Community
Fund. Many others have gone to
those providing food and shelter to
the homeless, and still others to giv
ing protection and a new future to
victims of domestic abuse.
Among the gifts have been
$250,000 to save OMSI, $200,000 to
the Oregon Food Bank, $270,000 to
the Raphael House of Portland, an
emergency shelter, and three grants
totaling nearly $50,000 to the
Henderson House Family Crisis
Shelter in McMinnville. The Fund's
largest grant was $500,000 to the
"As a Tribal member, I am honored to say that we are giving back to the
community. The awards that I take the most satisfaction in are those to
projects that are reaching people that would otherwise slip through the
cracks, lacking healthcare, personal safety and education.
"Angela Blackwell, Community Fund Director
v I
v t
...'
V ' ; o
Portland Art Museum for develop
ment of a Native American collection,
and the smallest was for $1,500 to
the Grand Ronde Women's Club for
re-roofing the library.
There is a great satisfaction in
returning some of the Casino's suc
cess to the community.
"As a Tribal member," said
Blackwell, "I am honored to say
that we are giving back to the com
munity. The awards that I take the
most satisfaction in are those to
projects that are reaching people
that would otherwise slip through
the cracks, lacking healthcare, per
sonal safety and education."
The director's personal favorite
grants are those to Safe and Sound,
a Eugene group that works with
homeless youth and to the Sisters
of the Road Cafe, serving the
homeless in Portland.
The casino's success has allowed
the fund to take the lead among the
granting arms of other Oregon
Tribes now enjoying the benefits of
casino ownership.
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Indians, which gives five percent
of profits, has granted $349,000
since its 1999 compact with the
state, according to Trish Casey,
Administrative Assistant to the
Tribal Council.
The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla, which is starting its chari
table fund, the Wildhorse Founda
tion, this month, has been giving
$300,000 a year informally, accord
ing to Michelle Liberty, Marketing
Director for the Tribe's Wildhorse
Casino. That represents between
3-6 percent of the annual profits
from the casino, she said.
The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian
Foundation has given out nearly $3
million since 1997 from the profits
of its Seven Feathers Resort, ac
cording to Martha Young, Founda
tion Administrator.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs does not presently have a
community fund.
"We always said, if they helped
us with restoration, we would help
them back," said Tribal Council
member Ed Larsen, of the neigh
boring communities. "I remember
when we hit the $10 million mark,"
Larsen added. "Didn't seem like so
long ago." 0
Spirit Mountain Community Fund Supports Friends of The Canby Public Library
Grand Ronde
f. A The Friends of the
Library have re-
JflWT MOUNTAIN ceiyed a t jn
COMMUNITY FWNB ,
the amount oi
$7,800 from the Spirit Mountain
Community Fund. The grant
money will be used to purchase
large-print fiction books and books
on tape for seniors and vision im
paired readers. In addition, books
of interest to the senior community,
like healthcare, estate planning
and spirituality, will be added to the
library collection. All library users
will benefit from the new additions.
The Canby Public Library staff
is elated about the grant and has
already begun ordering the new
materials.
"Reading is such a necessity for
all of us. The Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde are pleased to sup
port this program. It's in keeping
with our traditions of giving back
to our community," said Angela
Blackwell, Community Fund Direc
tor. This is the first phase of a three
phase Senior Outreach project by
the Friends of the Canby Public
Library. Additional phases will in
clude technology adaptation for
computers and extended service for
homebound seniors.
The Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde distribute six percent
of the profits from the Spirit Moun
tain Casino to non-profit organiza
tions in 11 western Oregon coun
ties. The money is distributed
through Spirit Mountain Commu
nity Fund. To date, the fund has
given more than $16 million to non
profit organizations. To learn more
about Spirit Mountain Community
Fund, log onto the web site at
thecommunityfund.com.
Community Welcomes New Clinical Director To The
Health and Wellness Center
Dr. Diane Pratt is board certified in family medicine and spent time in Micronesia.
The Grand Ronde Health &
Wellness Center welcomes Dr.
Diane Pratt as our new Clinical
Director. Dr. Pratt is Board Certi
fied in Family Medicine. She
graduated from George Washing
ton University, in Washington DC,
in 1987 and completed her Family
Practice Residency in 1990 at the
North Colorado Family Medicine
facility in Greely, Colorado.
From residency, she went directly
into Indian Health Service as a
Commissioned Officer in the Pub
lic Health Service. Her first assign
ment was at Santa Fe Indian Hos
pital in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
where she worked as a staff physi
cian and served as the Director of
the Emergency Services. While in
Santa Fe she also worked to set up
the Continuing Education Program
and chaired the Medical Student
Residents Committee.
Her next assignment was in
Palau, Micronesia, where she spent
four years assisting the local health
authority in setting up a dispensary
program to deliver health care to
those in the outlying areas, train
ing local health care workers to pro
vide appropriate health care for
their own people, setting up a school
health dispensary program, an El
der home health care program and
a foreign worker screening pro
gram, and also served as the TB
comptroller.
Next she came back to New Mexico
as the Clinical Director of the Santa
Clara Health Center serving prima
rily the Tribes of Santa Clara, San
Juan, San Iledefonzo, Pojoaque,
Nambe, and Tesuque. She worked
there for the last four years and con
centrated on developing a compre
hensive pro
gram for diabe
tes manage
ment. She is mar
ried to her col
lege sweet
heart, Dennis
Marker, and
they have a
five-year-old
son, Melib. In
addition to tak
ing care of pa
tients, Dr. Pratt
loves spending time with her fam
ily. Her hobbies include garden
ing, cooking, and international folk
dancing.
Her goal is to work with the
Health Board, the staff and the
patients to make the Grand Ronde
Health & Wellness Center the kind
VkV ' r 4 A f .
r- v - P i,- - . f T 1 fe
Dr. Diane Pratt
of Health Center that you and your
family will want to come to, empha
sizing health and wellness promo
tion. B