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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2014)
4 S moke S ignals NOVEMBER 1, 2014 Programs offer assistance for Tribal members, staff By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer 2009 – Then-Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy was set to receive the Fran James Cultural Preservation Award from the Potlatch Fund in Seattle, as well as travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the first Tribal Nations Conference that was promised by President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign. 2004 – About 250 Tribal officials and state gov- ernment department directors attended the annual Tribal-to-Tribal Government Summit held at the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton. Gov. Ted Kulongoski attended. File photo 1999 – The Oregon Commission for Women named then-Tribal Council Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison one of three Women of Achievement in the state. Harrison was honored for her work on behalf of the advancement of the Tribe. The commission also noted that Harrison worked with nonTribal groups, such as the Women’s Political Caucus and League of Women Voters. 1994 – Sam Henny and Rob Greene were pictured transplanting 400 checker-mallow plants from the construction site for Spirit Mountain Casino. The threatened species plants were relocated to an area across the street from the Spirit Mountain headquarters. 1989 – Smoke Signals and Tribal archives do not have a copy of the November 1989 edition. 1984 – The Commission on Indian Services held its second region- al meeting in the cafeteria of St. Michael’s Catholic Church. The commission recently agreed to expand its membership to include the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, as well as other federally recognized Tribes. A draft bill was being readied for introduction to the state Legislature in early 1985. Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in- crements through the pages of Smoke Signals. Two Tribal programs – the Mem- ber Assistance Program and Em- ployee Assistance Program – often get lost in plain sight. Both programs are available to Tribal members and staff at no cost and offer a helping hand regarding myriad topics. California- and Pennsylva- nia-based Integrated Behavioral Health, a national company, ad- ministers both programs for the Tribe. In September, the Health and Wellness Clinic held a series of ed- ucational seminars that described the many parts of the programs to encourage people to use them if nec- essary. Staff throughout the Tribe are now informed about the offer- ings available and, as appropriate, will remind Tribal members and col- leagues about available counseling and point them to the correct Inte- grated Behavioral Health program. “It is a resource that we just an- nounced to get the word out as to its availability,” said Jeff Lorenz, executive director of Health Ser- vices. “Hopefully, it will get widely used as it is a support service to our members and doesn’t involve any cost.” An unknown number of Tribal members and staff take advantage of the programs annually be- cause par- ticipation is confidential. The pro - grams offer help with work-life is- sues; head, Jeff Lorenz soul and mat- ters of the heart; and sticky legal and financial problems. There isn’t a lifeways or work issue need out there – from birth to walking on – that isn’t addressed by one section of the programs. Possible solutions to the problem of keeping a toddler, or an elderly parent, busy are covered. Help is available for a literacy issue, as well as a job question, either getting or losing one. To access any of these services, call 800-395-1616. MAP and EAP also make webi- nars, podcasts, audio and video available to enable Tribal members and staff to look up issues on their own by computer or smartphone. Every one of these services is con- fidential, and nobody but the caller will know that the service has been used – not the Tribe, a spouse, bill collector or judge. Unless the caller chooses to share it. n Reibach nominated for two Native American Music Awards Council OKs amendments to Ilihi loan agreements By Dean Rhodes By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Smoke Signals editor Jan Looking Wolf Reibach will be presenting at the 15th annual Native American Music Awards being held Friday, Nov. 14, at the Entertainment Center at the Sen- eca Allegany Casino & Hotel in Salamanca, N.Y. Reibach also was nominated by NAMA for Artist and Flutist of the Year for his compact disc “Ta- manawas.” Reibach is attending the event and will per- form “Fire and Water” Jan Reibach from the re- lease. “Tamanawas” – Chinuk Wawa for “guardian spirit” – was released earlier this year on Arizona music label High Spirits and includes drumming by Tribal member Bobby Mercier on some of the songs. The CD is dedicated to Tribal member Nicholas Larry Lee Faas, the son of Kathy Cole, who walked on at the age of 24 as the result of a May 2008 car accident. Reibach said he recently signed a three-record deal with High Spirits to be recorded over the next six years. “Music remains a strong part of my life,” he said. “I really hope that Tamanawas wins because this CD is dedicated to Nick.” Voting to determine the winner in each category is open to the general public. Music tracks from all the nominees are featured on the awards’ website at www. NAMALIVE.com. Reibach is a multiple Native American Music Award winner, having been honored previously for Best Flutist, Artist of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Music Video. ‘Tamanawas’ was the 19th compact disc he has released since making his first CD with a home digital recorder in 2003 in the bed- room of his then Grand Meadows home. “Tamanawas” is internationally distributed at stores and at sever- al sites on the Internet, including www.highspirits.com. n Tribal Council approved two resolutions on Wednesday, Oct. 22, that allow Tribally owned Ilihi LLC to defer principal payments on two Tribal loans and only pay monthly interest through October 2015. The resolutions affect an $8.1 million loan from the Tribe to Ilihi in December 2013 and an- other loan that was not to exceed $5.5 million approved in June 2014. Ilihi, in turn, loaned the funds to MicroGREEN Polymers of Arlington, Wash. Tribal members with ques- tions were instructed to contact the Tribe’s Economic Develop- ment Department at 503-879- 1315 or Finance Officer Chris Leno at 503-879-2340 for more information. In other action, Tribal Council re-appointed Portland busi- nessman Sho Dozono, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown and former Congresswoman Dar- lene Hooley to the Spirit Moun- tain Community Fund Board of Trustees with terms expiring in September 2016. Tribal Council also approved a blood quantum correction for one Tribal member and set the agenda for the Nov. 2 General Council meeting, which will be held in executive session to dis- cuss the proposed 2015 budget. Tribal Council member Jon A. George, Jan Looking Wolf Rei- bach, Travis Stewart, Cristina Lara and Eirik Thorsgard per- formed the cultural singing and drumming to open the meeting. The meeting can be viewed on the Tribal website, www. grandronde.org, under the Video tab. n Mushroom talk to be held The Tribe’s Fish & Wildlife Committee and Education and Land & Cul- ture departments will hold a Mushroom Identification and Usage meeting at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, at the Elders Activity Center for those inter- ested in harvesting edible mushrooms on the Reservation. Bureau of Land Management botanist Ron Exeter will be the instructor. Dessert will be served and there will be door prizes. For more information, call Harold Lyon at 971-237-5775 or Michelle Volz at 503-879-2376. n