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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2015)
S MOKE S IGNALS MAY 1, 2015 8 'Western diet has not been kind to our people' FIRST FOODS continued from front page “For everyone who shared the day with us, we invite you to keep that spirit going as we move into the new gathering season,” said Culture Committee Secretary Sar- ah Ross. Andrea Grijalva and Kaylene Berry, dressed in regalia, greeted people arriving at Chachalu and gifted them necklaces. 7KHFHOHEUDWLRQRIÀFLDOO\VWDUWHG at 11:25 a.m. as Nelson welcomed attendees and Gibbons and Ross spoke. Gibbons, after acknowledging Culture Committee Chair Betty Bly who was unable to attend because of a medical emergency, stressed the cultural and spiritual aspects of the food and encouraged attendees to abandon the fast-food mentality of modern-day society. “This is very important to our people, the sustenance. All of the berries and animals, the four- leggeds that gave their lives over the generations,” he said. “These tell a story of where we’ve been and where we are going. “We have to let go of that Mc- Donald’s mentality in our youth and teach them that sometimes it takes a little time to prepare some- thing that is way better for you. No MSG – and that’s not Marcus Scott Gibbons either.” “In our family, food has always been extremely important,” Ross said. “One of the things that my Mom (Elder Kelly Nelson) has al- ways taught me is that what you put into the food is what makes it good. She always said if she was angry that day or frustrated while Navajo fry bread, spring greens sal- ad, rabbit soup, camas cakes, acorn soup, tarweed tarts and blackberry FREEOHUVWDUWHGÀOOLQJXSWKHSODWHV of the famished, it became more and PRUHGLIÀFXOWWRQRWVQHDNDELWH Some youths, who will remain anonymous, succumbed to temp- tation and snuck under a table for a few bites of fry bread slathered with blackberry jam. After most of the food was dis- tributed, Gibbons blessed the wa- ter with a sweat lodge song and then led attendees in reciting the Chinuk Wawa names of the menu items, such as mawich for deer, lakamas for camas and limolo-sap- lil for tarweed, to recognize the spirit of the foods. Museum and Cultural Center Specialist Reina Nelson also ex- plained the tradition of a spirit plate that was prepared for Tribal ancestors and placed next to where the food was being prepared. Finally, the salmon being cooked on dogwood stakes out back in the ÀUHSLWE\-DGH8QJHUDQG-RH+RV- tler started being brought in. A meal song was sung by Unger and several other Tribal mem- bers and then Gibbons said quite succinctly, “Eat!”, and nobody dis- agreed with him. The family-style meal, which included traditional foods as well as Reservation-era favorites, was a rousing success for the Culture Committee, which did not hold a First Foods Celebration in 2014. ȱ ȱȱ ȱȱ ȱ ȱ :KDW 'DWH 7LPH /RFDWLRQ śȦŗřȦŘŖŗś ȱ Recruitment Event Wednesday, May 13th 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Spirit Mountain Event Center Recruiting for: Security Officer I & II Count Operations Attendant Prep Cook & Cook Many Other Opportunities Available ȱ Ƿȱ ȱ ȱ x x x x x Spirit Mountain Casino Rickreall Park & Ride Polk County Fairgrounds West Salem Safeway Cherriots Transit Mall http://cherriots.org http://www.yctransitarea.org/ &RPPXQLWLHV 6HUYHG Amity Carlton Dayton Dundee Grande Ronde Lafayette McMinnville Newberg Sheridan Tigard Willamina Yamhill /LQN 5RXWHV Route 22, and 24S: West Valley and Sheridan Express Route 33 Hillsboro / MAX Route 11 W. Salem / Cherriots Route 44 99w/Tigard %HFRPHDWHDPPHPEHUDW6SLULW0RXQWDLQ &DVLQR:HRIIHUFRPSHWLWLYHZDJHVD JUHDWEHQHILWVSDFNDJHIRUIXOOWLPH HPSOR\HHVDQGDZRUOGRIRSSRUWXQLW\ ȱȱȱȱ¢ȱ¢ȱȱ ȱȱ DZȱ ȱȱ DZ ǯǯȦ ȱ she was cooking, then dinner didn’t turn out. The love you put into that food, the spirit, the respect for the ingredients … that’s what makes the food good and that is what nourishes us.” “What an honor it is to say that RXUÀUVWIRRGVKDYHUHDFKHGDOHYHO of honor in our culture,” Jon A. George, who is the Tribal Council liaison to the Culture Committee, said. Tribal Council members Chris Mercier and Denise Harvey both discussed the health benefits of traditional diets. “The western diet has not been kind to our people,” Mercier said, citing a book about food that dis- cussed how a Native diet helped a group of indigenous volunteers im- prove their health over a six-week period. “That is why opportunities like this to learn about what we ate and to learn to be healthier, you can’t turn them down.” Harvey said one of her goals upon joining Tribal Council was to support the community garden, encourage people to eat organically and push for food sovereignty. “We have a very productive com- munity garden now,” Harvey said. “We have an amazing food bank in our community and I hope that this revitalization of healthy, Na- tive foods will all trickle down and someday we’ll be a healthier population.” Tribal Royalty – Savannah Ingram, Mabel Brisbois, Prom- ise Rimer, Kaleigha Simi, Iyana Holmes, Isabelle Grout and Hay- ley Lewis-Little – performed “The Lord’s Prayer” and George gave the invocation. Cultural Protection Program Manager David Harrelson wel- comed guests to Chachalu and explained that the museum’s name means “the place of burnt timber” in Tualatin Kalapuya. “Places that are burned out are good places to get food,” Harrelson said about traditional food-gather- ing practices. The meal provided numerous opportunities for Tribal members and guests to eat old favorites and sample new foods, such as pheasant, lamprey and blueberry tarweed tarts. Mercier said he was surprised by the taste of quail. “Quail is good,” he said. “I have only had it once before.” The meal was topped off with dessert – Tillamook huckleberry ice cream – as Culture Committee members gave away T-shirts, coffee cups and other gifts. After the event, Ross thanked those who worked behind the scenes, including Unger, Grand Ronde Food Bank Coordinator Francene Ambrose, the Land and Culture Department, Youth Ed- ucation, Grand Ronde Royalty, Youth Council members, the Nat- ural Resource Department, Elders Committee, ceremonial hunters and Tribal Council. Also attending the celebration were Health Services Executive Di- rector Jeff Lorenz and Tribal Elders Margaret Provost, Wink Soderberg, Gladys Hobbs, Violet Folden and Ann Lewis, among many others. Q Archery Day ȱȱȱȱ ȱ ȱ 6SLULW0RXQWDLQ&DVLQR 2IIHUVWKH)ROORZLQJ xȱxȱxȱ FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE BENEFITS x Medical/Dental Coverage x Vision Coverage x Chiropractic/Massage x Paid Time Off BENEFITS FOR FULL-TIME & PART-TIME EMPLOYEES x Free Meals x 401k & IRA Plans x Wellness Program x Employee Discount Program x Referral Bonus Program x Career Development Training Leadership Skills Guest Service Training Interpersonal Skills Development Computer Skills Learning Library Computer Lab 9 Rosetta Stone/Spanish 9 Microsoft Office Tutorials and Instructor Lead Training FREE Employee Assistance Program through Reliant Behavioral Health 9 Parenting Skills Development 9 Financial Planning 9 Mediation 9 Emotional & Psychological Counseling 9 Relationships Counseling 9 Substance Abuse Counseling & Treatment 9 Budgeting/Debt Consolidation 9 Retirement Planning/Investments 9 Will Preparation & Legal Services 9 Identity Theft Recovery Services ǻŞŖŖǼȱŝŜŖȬŝşŝŝȱ¡řŞŖŝȱȡȱǻśŖřǼȱŞŝşȬřŞŖŝȱȡȱŘŝŗŖŖȱȱȱ ¢ǰȱǰȱȱşŝřşŜȱ May 16, 2015 - 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM The Natural Resources Parks and Recreation program would like to invite enrolled Tribal member families for a day of archery at the EE Wilson Wildlife Area archery range near Corvallis, Oregon. This is a monthly event hosted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. There will be instructors and loaner equipment available for those in need. This is a no cost family event and a sack lunch will be provided. Space is limited. To reserve your spot or for any questions please contact Jerry at 503-879-2337. Minors under the age of eighteen will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.