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.
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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
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of the famished, it became more and
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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
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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.
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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
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West Salem Safeway
Cherriots Transit Mall
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Amity
Carlton
Dayton
Dundee
Grande Ronde
Lafayette
McMinnville
Newberg
Sheridan
Tigard
Willamina
Yamhill
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Route 22, and 24S:
West Valley and Sheridan
Express
Route 33
Hillsboro / MAX
Route 11
W. Salem / Cherriots
Route 44
99w/Tigard
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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
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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
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FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
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BENEFITS FOR FULL-TIME &
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
x Free Meals
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Leadership Skills
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Interpersonal Skills
Development
Computer Skills
Learning Library
Computer Lab
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Instructor Lead Training
FREE Employee Assistance Program
through Reliant Behavioral Health
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Counseling
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Treatment
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Planning/Investments
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Services
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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.
