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Membership briefed on
Natural Resources — pg. 5
FEBRUARY 15, 2016
Tribal Council
OKs new food
bank agreement
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
ribal Council approved an
agreement with Marion-Polk
Food Share that will keep
the organization operating the
Grand Ronde Food Bank for two
more years at its Wednesday, Feb.
3, meeting.
The Tribe entered into a one-
year agreement with Marion-Polk
Food Share to operate the food
bank — iskam mfkhmfk haws —
following its construction in 2014.
Marion-Polk Food Share offered to
continue operating the site.
The Food Bank has been distrib-
uting food to needy area residents
since December 2014 and Tribal
member Francene Ambrose was
hired to manage the site.
The Tribe built the 3,300-square-
foot structure, which includes room
to store produce, canned goods and
frozen foods, with funds from two
federal grants.
The Food Bank, 9675 Grand
Ronde Road, was sited across from
the Housing Department offi ce to
be closer to Tribal housing, making
it more convenient for Elders and
other Tribal residents than previ-
ous locations that were near Uyxat
Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road.
In 2015, the Food Bank served
more than 15,000 individuals and
received more than 6,500 hours of
work from volunteers, Ambrose
said.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Held a fi rst reading on amend-
ments to the Hotel Occupancy
Tax Ordinance that would in-
See COUNCIL
continued on page 9
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Jeremy Ojua, front, Tribal Silviculture/Fire Protection technician, and Colby Drake, Tribal Silviculture/Fire Protection
supervisor and Tribal member, have their photographs featured in a new exhibit “Ili / i, a photographic essay on the
beauty that surrounds us” at Chachalu Tribal Museum & Cultural Center in Grand Ronde. It runs through March 25.
Good eyes
New photo exhibit on display at Chachalu
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
I
f you have never looked at
ice so closely that you can see
the spider web effect in the
crystal formations, local photog-
rapher and Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde Silviculture/Fire
Protection Technician Jeremy
“Jay” Ojua has and he has the
image to show for it.
You can see that particular
image yourself at Chachalu’s
latest exhibit – “Ili/i: a photo-
graphic essay on the beauty that
surrounds us.”
Chachalu is the Tribe’s muse-
um and cultural center at 8720
Grand Ronde Road.
The exhibit, which runs
through Friday, March 25, fea-
tures photographs by Ojua and
Colby Drake, who is the Silvicul-
See EXHIBIT
continued on page 8
Meeting discusses local food options
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
P
lenty of rain falls in Grand Ronde, but
many area residents still feel that they
are surrounded by a desert – a food desert.
Also, they feel that transportation keeps them
from accessing quality, healthy food.
These opinions were discovered by the Food
Access Community Team, which is made up of
Grand Ronde Tribal Council member Chris Mer-
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
cier, Nutrition Program Manager Kristy DeLoe,
Food Bank Coordinator Francene Ambrose, and
Lexi Stickel and Ian Dixon-McDonald of Mari-
on-Polk Food Share.
The FACT Team has been meeting since Feb-
ruary 2015.
Marion-Polk Food Share is the regional
See MEETING
continued on page 7
Food Access Community Team member and Tribal Council member Chris Mercier gives a presentation during
the "Let’s Talk About Food" meeting held at the Tribe’s Adult Education building on Thursday, Jan. 28.