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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2011)
Smoke Signals 5 OCTOBER 1,2011 Archuleta describes ways tto Food Policy Council By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer Tribal member Greg Archuleta introduced the Grand Ronde Tribe to the PortlandMultnomah Food Policy Council at Portland City Hall in mid-September. "I'm just sharing information," said Archuleta. "Educating." As cultural consultant for the Tribe, Archuleta's introduction included Grand Ronde history and a few ikanum (historical Native stories), summarized because that same tradition only allows the sto ries to be told in winter. He described traditional ways and Portland places where local Indians gathered, fished and hunted, and how Natives prepared such staples as camas and wapato. He also de scribed the Tribe's success in forg ing partnerships among the parties involved in the Superfund cleanup of Portland Harbor, for example. Archuleta also has forged part nerships among Food Policy Coun cil members Anita Yap and David Barmon. Yap is chairwoman of the Food Policy Council and deputy ex ecutive director of Home Forward, formerly the Housing Authority of Portland. Her interest in Native food ways came up during Native conferences she has attended. "What I find really inspirational is how they are weaving historical culture into modern-day politics and programs," said Yap. 'The way they keep it a powerful component. It's an inspiration for a lot of people." Barmon is a first-term Food Policy Council member and co owner of Fiddlehead Landscapes, which focuses on native plants and sustainable development. Barmon also is a driving force for the Mabelville Garden Project . , , , Photo by Ron Karten Tribal member Grg Archultta speaks at tha PortlandMultnomah Food Policy Council on Sept. 14. To his left is Anita Yap, chair of tha council and deputy executiva diractor of Homa Forward, and next to har is David Mclntyre, vica chair of tha council and a faculty member of tha Art Institute of Portland International Culinary School. at 90th and Burnside in Portland, across the street from his home, where the group has prodded the city of Portland into planting na tive white oak trees along a 50-foot wide, two-and-a-half-block stretch of vacant land "with plenty of po tential," as Barmon says. He has been talking with Archu leta for six years about growing native plants in the city. At one time, Barmon said, he "had no idea who was here" before Europeans, but his work led him to Native plants. One discovery was the Native success with sustain ability over thousands of years and that opened up a world that has captivated him since. One of his projects is a set of policy recommendations for the Food Policy Council "promoting 2006 Tribal Elder Leon "Chip" Tom and Tribal youth Leland Butler were the featured Tribal members in a commercial promoting Spirit Mountain Community Fund. Tom also appears prominently on billboards honoring the Tribe's "tradition of giving." 2001 An estimated 400 people attended an event at Spirit Moun tain Casino to honor retiring Tribal Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison. Attendees included Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Chairwoman Sue Shaffer, State Sen. Kate Brown and former Oregon Gov. Vic Atiyeh. 'You clearly passed the test," Shaffer said about Harrison's years of service to the Grand Ronde Tribe and Indian Country. 1996 Repairs paid by a grant from the federal Highway Administra tion to Agency Creek Road were completed. In the Great Flood of 1996, 600 feet of the road were washed out, which was the only significant damage that occurred on the Reservation as a result of the flood. 1991 The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network, a coalition of four Oregon Tribes working together to provide consistent and appropriate business counseling to Native Americans, was in the process of hiring two business consultants to work full-time with clients. The consultants would diwy up the four Tribes with one working with Grand Ronde and Siletz and the other working with Warm Springs and Klamath. 1986 The Tribe was advertising for a Housing Coordinator to work three-quarters time for $12,000 per year while a full-time bookkeeper was being sought for an annual salary of between $11,000 and $15,000. Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year incre ments through the pages of Smoke Signals. awareness and use of wild foods" across the urban landscape. "The lifestyle," Barmon said, "is not just for Native people. Everyone should have a Native lifestyle. "We can still do the same things Native people do. We have a lot of land and can plant a lot of these plants. We can create opportunities to hunt and fish. "I've been wanting to say some thing in an official way. My hope is next term to have a set of policies (reflecting the city's support for making information available and wild food accessible) that can be used here and elsewhere." The effort has the support of Steve Cohen, manager of Food Policy for the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the agency to which the Food Policy Council reports. Cohen also is a member of the Food Policy Council. "I'll support these efforts," Cohen said. "The question is how do we take these ideas and put them into policy?" Many people are working on it, said Yap, also a food activist in the community. "We're policy-oriented, but in their other lives, (the people on the council) do project work. There are a lot of networking op portunities." It was with this kind of network ing in mind that Yap and Barmon invited Archuleta to the Food Policy Council meeting on Sept. 14. "We're trying to do more out reach," said Yap. The council already is made up of representatives from Mayor Sam Adams' office, food co-ops and food banks, sustainability offices in business and government, public health offices, public markets and culinary schools. During the meeting, Archuleta and Yap discovered they each had graduated 30 years ago from Reyn olds High School in Troutdale. "I hope it won't be another 30 years before we meet again," said Yap. "Foods justice has become a real big issue for the whole community," Yap added. "We're really trying to look at the population and be thoughtful and intentional about how we look at food issues." The council focuses on "food systems, access and justice," she said. "We'll see," Yap said, "if there are more opportunities (for the council) with Greg. We'll be having conver sations." B Storytelling Festival set for Oct. 1 3-1 6 Portland State University will hold the sixth annual Northwest Indian Storytelling Festival at its Native American Student and Community Center, 710 S.W. Jackson St., between Thursday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 16. The festival starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. There will be evening events on Friday and Saturday and an Emerging Tribal Storytellers event will be held 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Five meals will be prepared for participants over two days. Advanced registration is required. Attendees will have to become a member of the Northwest Indian Storytellers to attend, but membership is free to Tribal members and those who self-identify as Native American. For more information, contact Fox Blackhorn-Delph at 503-775-4014 or foxwisdomoftheelders.org. Hi MMh vWtax mm (Tin hj ft " If you have any questions, contact Brian Krehbiel at 503-879-4639 Ad created by George Valdez
