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.
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If you have any questions, contact
Brian Krehbiel at 503-879-4639
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