4
S moke S ignals
APRIL 15, 2015
Eastern Oregon honors Grant
through First Citizens Award
By Laura Hancock
EOU Communications Coordinator
2010 – The Grand Ronde
Community Resource Cen-
ter, which runs the local
food bank, moved into the
Bailey house located near
the entrance to Fort Yam-
hill State Park and the
Tribe’s Uyxat Powwow
Grounds off Hebo Road.
The process of moving took
File photo
three months, including
renovation of the Bailey
house. The move was forced by a rickety bridge in the Bunnsville
area, as well as foundation and structural problems at the previous
facility.
2005 – Gov. Ted Kulongoski approved an off-reservation casino in
Cascade Locks for the Warm Springs Tribe. The amended compact
raised questions of sovereignty and fairness for the state’s other
eight federally recognized Tribes and prompted Grand Ronde lead-
ers to investigate moving within the Tribe’s ceded lands, including
the Portland area.
2000 – Spirit Mountain Casino’s Food & Beverage Department
served more than 3 million meals in 1999. Approximately 390 people
worked in the department and 138 worked in the buffet kitchen.
Besides being the largest single account for Pepsi syrup in the state,
the Food & Beverage Department purchased more than 4 million
cups to serve soft drinks and coffee.
1995 – The Tribe signed an agreement with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to continue its upkeep of Nelson’s Checkermallow
plants that were growing in the path of the new casino. Although
under no legal obligation, the Tribe transplanted 299 plants to a
different location on Tribal property, and most of them survived
the winter.
1990 – Tribal Elders enjoyed a trip to the Old Mill Museum in
Salem in their new van, which was comfortable and gave an en-
joyable ride. After the museum, they went to Bonanza for lunch.
1985 – Because of the Easter holiday, the General Council meeting
was moved to April 14. Tribal Historian Barbara Lane of Victoria,
British Columbia, was scheduled to speak.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year
increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Veterans SEB slates
Memorial Day event
The Tribe’s Veterans Special Event Board will hold the traditional Me-
morial Day event beginning at noon Monday, May 25, with a ceremonial
meal in the Community Center.
At 1 p.m., the formal ceremony will begin with Veterans Special Event
Board Chairman Steve Bobb Sr., a Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran,
giving the invocation and acting as master of ceremonies.
Tribal member Jolanda Catabay will sing the national anthem and Roy-
alty will perform “The Lord’s Prayer.” The Grand Ronde Honor Guard will
post the colors and Land and Culture Manager Jan Looking Wolf Reibach
will perform a medley of taps and “Amazing Grace” on Native flute.
Speakers will include Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno, also a
Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran, and Jerry Wilson, Yamhill County
Veterans’ Services officer.
The names of veterans being added to the West Valley Veterans Memo-
rial also will be read. n
Committees plan
meet-and-greet with providers
The Tribe’s Social Services and Health committees will be holding
a meet and greet with providers and the Sexual Assault Response
Resource Circle from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 27, in
the Elders Activity Center, 48940 Blacktail Drive.
There will be a light lunch provided and door prizes.
For more information, contact Jamie Adams at the Health and
Wellness Center at 503-879-5086. n
LA GRANDE – Money contri-
butions that benefit Eastern Ore-
gon University students through
scholarships are always significant
and donations made to the First
Citizens Award are particularly
meaningful this year.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Leno Grant,
former director of Rural and Native
American Programs at Eastern
Oregon, passed away in April 2014
following a battle with severe acute
pancreatitis. She helped establish
the First Citizens Award for Amer-
ican Indian and Alaskan Native
students and now donations are
being made to the fund honoring
her memory.
Jay Kenton, interim Eastern Or-
egon president, contributed $5,000
as part of a matching gift drive
the university administration and
Foundation Board of Trustees par-
ticipated in last fall.
“The First Citizens Award is a
very special program in memory of
a very special person,” Kenton said.
“It is an honor for me to contribute
to such a noble cause in Jackie’s
memory.”
All gifts received to the First Cit-
izens Award may be made in mem-
ory and honor of Grant at any time.
In addition to Grant’s long and
dedicated career at Eastern Oregon,
she also led programs for the Ore-
gon Indian Education Association
and Oregon Indian Coalition on
Post-Secondary Education. She was
an enrolled
member of
the Confeder-
ated Tribes of
Grand Ronde
and played an
integral part
in the annu-
al Indian Arts
Jackie
Festival and
Leno Grant
Powwow on
campus as the adviser to Speel-
Ya, the Native American Student
Council.
“Jackie touched many students’
lives throughout her life and career
at EOU,” said Shoshoni Walker,
current coordinator of the Rural
and Native American Program.
“She will always continue to posi-
tively influence the lives of Amer-
ican Indian students through the
First Citizens Award.”
The award encourages eligible
students to enroll in and complete
a four-year degree from Eastern Or-
egon. The scholarship is renewable
up to five years and has an option
to increase in award amount each
year the recipient maintains all
eligibility requirements.
To learn more about the scholar-
ship, contact Walker at 541-962-3588
or by e-mail at walkerss@eou.edu.
To learn how to contribute to the
fund, contact the Eastern Oregon
University Foundation at 541-
962-3740 or visit www.eou.edu/
foundation/giving. Donations are
tax deductible and may be public
or anonymous. n
Ritchey to speak to support group
Dr. Kris Ritchey will speak about “Salt/sugar/fat: The rest of the story”
during the Diabetic Support Group meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 21,
in the Tribal Community Center.
A healthy lunch also will be provided.
For more information, contact the Community Health Department at
503-879-2078. n
TRIBAL HOUSING ORDINANCE
OPEN FOR COMMENT
The Tribal Council adopted, on an emergency basis, amendments to
the Housing Ordinance at the Feb.11, 2015, Tribal Council meeting.
The primary purpose of the amendments is to consolidate the
housing program with other Tribal programs by dissolving the Grand
Ronde Tribal Housing Authority and creating a Housing Department
under the General Manager, and to replace the Housing Board with
a Grievance Review Board to hear tenant and applicant matters and
to provide policy guidance to the Housing Department.
The Tribal Council invites comment on the amendments to the
Tribal Housing Ordinance. For a copy of the amendments, please
contact the Tribal Attorney’s Office at 503-879-4664. Please send your
comments to the Tribal Attorney’s Office, 9615 Grand Ronde Road,
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347, or by e-mail to legal@grandronde.org.
Comments must be received by April 15, 2015. n
Facilities seeks help
identifying veterans’ plots
The Facilities Department is asking for help in identifying the plots of vet-
erans buried in the Tribal Cemetery.
If your family member or friend is a veteran and there is not a U.S. flag
present on their plot on holidays, such as Memorial Day, please contact the
department, which will do its best to mark all gravesites of veterans. For more
information, contact Facilities at 503-879-2195. n