S moke S ignals
october 1, 2014
Community Fund eclipses $3 million in giving
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The 23 grants worth $517,955
distributed by Spirit Mountain
Community Fund on Wednesday,
Sept. 17, helped propel the Grand
Ronde Tribe’s philanthropic arm
past the $63 million mark in giving
since it was formed in 1997.
The fund, which distributes 6
percent of Spirit Mountain Casino
profits to nonprofit organizations
within an 11-county area of western
Oregon, has now distributed $63.4
million.
Also during the check distribu-
tion ceremony, Community Fund
Program Coordinator Louis King
announced seven grants to seven of
Oregon’s nine federally recognized
Tribes that totaled $770,000.
Tribe’s receiving grants were
the Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw Indians,
$110,000 for academic and cultural
resources to promote education for
Tribal families; the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde, $140,000
for the Grand Ronde Education
Project; the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
$140,000 for the R Kids Count!
Program; the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs, $140,000 to help
protect museum collections through
mechanical systems upgrades; the
Coquille Indian Tribe, $100,000
for a Tribal member education,
employment and skills inventory
database; and the Klamath Tribes,
$140,000 for the Klamath Tribes
Water Preservation Project.
The quarterly check distribution
ceremony held in the Tribal Gov-
ernance Center opened with Tribal
Council member Jon A. George
and Land and Culture employees
Bobby Mercier and Travis Stewart
Photo by Louis King
Sho Dozono, Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees chairman,
hands a grant check to Leah Gibson, a grant writer with the Friends of
the Children in Portland, during the fund’s quarterly check distribution
ceremony held at the Tribal Governance Center on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Friends of the Children received a $30,000 grant for the launch of a ninth-
grade program.
performing cultural drumming and
singing.
Kathleen George, Spirit Moun-
tain Community Fund director,
told grant recipient representatives
that the fund is a commitment the
Tribe made to “making Oregon a
better place to live by investing
in grass-roots organizations.” She
thanked those in attendance for
their creativity and courageousness
in the daily work they do.
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno, who also sits on the Com-
munity Fund’s Board of Trustees,
said the Tribe’s “message of giving”
dates back to before the Tribe built
Spirit Mountain Casino.
“People helped us for 30 years
(during Termination),” Leno said,
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adding that the Tribe wants to
help those communities now. “The
membership understands and sup-
ports the fund.”
Community Fund Board of Trust-
ees Chairman Sho Dozono said that
the best part of his job “is giving away
the generosity of the Tribe.” Dozono
distributed the checks as King read
off their names and grant amounts.
Organizations receiving grants
on Sept. 17 were:
• Civil Liberties Defense Center of
Eugene for “Know Your Rights”
training, $5,000;
• Food Roots of Tillamook for the
North Coast Health & Prosperity
Project, $5,000;
• Hand2Mouth Theatre of Portland
for “Modern Boys,” a theater work
about Portland, $5,000;
• Lebanon Soup Kitchen of Leba-
non for its Safety for Supper
program, $2,560;
• ABC House of Albany for serving
abused children and families with
improved space, communications
and technology, $7,335;
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Emerald
Valley in Eugene for its teen
program expansion, $25,000;
• Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis for
its “Project Learn,” $30,000;
• CASA Voices for Children of Cor-
vallis for increasing capacities
and efficiencies, $13,000;
• Cascade Aids Project Inc. of Port-
land for its “CHATpdx” program,
$23,000;
• Daisy C.H.A.I.N. Creating New
Healthy Alliances in New Moth-
ering of Eugene for its profes-
sional family support services,
$42,495;
• Family Building Blocks Inc. of
Salem to support its Polk Coun-
ty Healthy Families program,
$27,500;
• Friends of the Children in Port-
land for its ninth-grade program
launch, $30,000;
• Kinship House of Portland for
Kinship Bridge, a partnership
model for foster and adoptive
children, $30,000;
• Neighbors for Kids in Depoe Bay
for its Full STEAM Ahead proj-
ect, $33,000;
• Peninsula Children’s Center of
Portland for its Quality Rating
& Improvement System certifica-
tion, $25,000;
• Portland Community College
Foundation for its Future Con-
nect program, $10,000;
• Sable House of Dallas for case
management services for its shel-
ter residents, $50,000;
• Sheridan School District for
its Academic After School pro-
gram and attendance initiative,
$50,000;
• Sponsors Inc. of Eugene for its
Reuniting in a Supportive Envi-
ronment program, $15,000;
• Strengthening Rural Families
of Philomath for rural education
opportunities, $34,743;
• Salem-Keizer Coalition for Equal-
ity for Aprendiendo Avanzamos
(Learning Together, We Advance)
program, $25,322;
• Tillamook Early Learning Cen-
ter for its Social and Emotional
Education and Supports project,
$9,000;
• And the YMCA of Greater Port-
land for its Domestic Violence
and Prevention Continuum,
$20,000.
The Community Fund also gave
away three gift bags through
a drawing that went to Daisy
C.H.A.I.N., the Sable House and
the Salem-Keizer Coalition for
Equality. n
Storytelling Festival set for Oct. 9-12
The Northwest Indian Storytelling Association 2014 Festival and
Emerging Traditional Storytellers Workshops will be held for the
ninth time starting on Thursday, Oct. 9.
The first event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Parkrose Com-
munity United Church of Christ, 12505 N.E. Halsey St., Portland.
The next day the events will move to the Moriarty Auditorium on
the Portland Community College campus at 705 N. Killingsworth
St., from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10.
The final two days of events will occur at the Native American
Student and Community Center, 710 S.W. Jackson St., Portland,
from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, and 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 12.
For more information, visit www.wisdomoftheleders.org, send an
e-mail to nisa@wisdomoftheelders.org or call 503-775-4014 and ask
for Daniel. For tickets to festival events, visit www.brownpaper-
tickets.com.
The Northwest Indian Storytellers Association was formed in 2005
to encourage, preserve and strengthen traditional storytelling among
Tribes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and to share Tribal oral
cultural arts with the regional community. n