S moke S ignals
june 15, 2014
5
Casino fl oat wins award at parade
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
PORTLAND — Spirit Mountain
Casino’s Grand Floral Parade fl oat,
“Sweet Prayers for a Big World,”
received the President’s Award for
most effective overall fl oral presen-
tation on Saturday, June 7.
The float’s subtitle was “For
memories yet to come.”
Former Tribal Council member
Steve Bobb Sr. again designed the
Grand Floral Parade fl oat this year.
He has created the last six fl oats
for Spirit Mountain Casino and the
Grand Ronde Tribe.
Bobb and wife, Connie, had close-
up seats in the VIP section as the
parade went by. Spirit Mountain
Casino’s float was the first float
out of the chute as Tribal Royalty
marched behind it.
For the fl oat’s only character this
year, Bobb created a model of Ni-
kia Mooney, 17, kneeling in prayer
position up front. It had a bear at
the back, and scattered around
were a raccoon, rabbit and a red
bird sitting on Nikia’s shoulder.
A drum stood up decorat-
ed with yellow, red, black
and white, the colors of the
Native American medicine
wheel. Nine elements, de-
picted as triangles, deco-
rated the bottom of the
drum and represented the
nine federally recognized
Tribes in Oregon.
“I hope our entry refl ects
Native Americans’ concern
not only for our planet,
but all of mankind,” Bobb
said.
The Rose Festival theme
this year was “Making
Memories.”
“It’s great to have a part
in this, and to represent
the Tribe,” Bobb said. “The float
is what we stand for. It shows the
blessings we get to share every day,
and every day we give thanks to
our creator.”
Kathleen George, director of Spir-
it Mountain Community Fund, pre-
sented Oregon Health and Science
University’s Knight Cancer Chal-
lenge with a check for $100,000.
The grant will go toward ending
cancer in our day.
Nike co-founder and philanthro-
pist Phil Knight, and his wife,
Penny, promised to match gifts up
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Spirit Mountain Casino’s fl oat “Sweet Prayers
for a Big World” rolls down North Weidler
Street in Portland during the Spirit Mountain
Casino Grand Floral Parade on Saturday, June
7. The fl oat received the President’s Award for
most eff ective overall fl oral presentation.
Junior Miss Grand Ronde Iyana Holmes hands
out cedar roses to the crowd during the Spirit
Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade in
Portland on Saturday, June 7. Other Royalty
girls also handed out the cedar roses.
to $500 million, aiming at a total
gift of $1 billion.
“This is a number that is very pos-
sible,” said George, “and we hope
that our gift will spark interest
in supporting the program. We’re
thrilled to carry on our tradition of
giving. We celebrate tradition. Our
tradition is sharing gifts.”
Dr. Brian Druker, director of
OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute,
stood by to receive the oversized
model of the check.
George urged the crowd still in-
side Memorial Coliseum to contrib-
ute what they could, small amounts
or large. “No gift is too small to
help,” she said.
This was the fi rst year of the sec-
ond three-year contract that Spirit
Mountain Casino has signed to be
title sponsor of the Rose Festival’s
Grand Floral Parade.
Tribal Council and casino man-
agement see title sponsorship as
an opportunity to tell the Tribe’s
story and welcome people from all
walks of life to the Tribe’s ceded
lands, Bobb said.
Casino staff and Tribal people
prepare for the Grand Floral Pa-
rade year-round, said casino Spon-
sorship Administrator Jocelyn
Huffman, who leads the annual
effort.
Hard working but little heralded
each year, Huffman coordinates all
Tribal involvement in the parade,
including the liaison work with
Rose Festival staff, Princess Court
visit, Tribal Cultural Center tour,
the Starlight Parade where Grand
Ronde Royalty ride in cars, and
everything else from advertising to
the check presentation.
Royalty at the parade were Little
Miss Grand Ronde Kaleigha Simi,
Junior Miss Grand Ronde Iyana
Holmes, Veterans Senior Queen
Savannah Ingram and Veterans
Junior Queen Amelia Mooney.
This year was the second for Hol-
mes, who said she liked Royalty’s
part in the parade and working be-
hind the scenes with other Royalty,
doing the little things that make
the Tribe and casino look good.
Royalty passed out 300 cedar
roses to parade watchers. They
were made again this year by Cul-
tural Education Specialist Brian
Krehbiel.
Among those from Tribal and
casino communities enjoying the
show from the VIP area were El-
ders and sisters Violet Folden and
Gladys Hobbs, loyal supporters of
the parade and many other Tribal
events who helped build the fl oat
again this year.
Those in the VIP section are
always the fi rst to see the parade
go by.
Also in the crowd were many
Tribal families and employees of
both the Tribe and casino.
The float was “perfect,” said
Bobb.
As was the day. n
Nikia Mooney applies corn meal to the Spirit Mountain Casino fl oat “Sweet
Prayers for a Big World” while decorating the fl oat at SCi 3.2 in Portland on
Wednesday, June . Mooney was the model for the fl oat.