Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2016)
S moke S ignals AUGUST 1, 2016 NARA hosting Spirit of Giving Conference PORTLAND – The Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest will host its seventh annual Spirit of Giving Conference on Tuesday, Aug. 2, through Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Red Lion Hotel on the River at Jantzen Beach. The theme of this year’s conference is “Life Is Sacred” and features Don Coyhis from White Bison Inc. with the Sacred Hoop of 100 eagle features. The conference will include workshops, a wellness village, Tribal leaders panel, fire circles, sweat lodges, Culture Night dinner and Native vendors. This year’s Youth Track focus is a digital storytelling workshop. During the conference, participants will learn about the association’s culturally based integrated health care. The conference draws members of the Native American community and counselors who specialize in drug and alcohol counseling and Tribal people from across the country and the Pacific Northwest. “Our theme this year reflects NARA’s belief as an organization that every life is important beyond measure and all life should be treated with the utmost respect,” said NARA Chief Executive Officer Jackie Mercer. The conference is free, but pre-registration is encouraged. To register, go to www.naranorthwest.org and click on the link. Continuing education units are available. Grand Ronde Housing Department Housing Board seeks community input The Grand Ronde Housing Board is inviting Tribal members and Tribal housing residents to provide input to assist its mem- bers in carrying out its advisory role to the Housing Department and Tribal Council regarding policy guidance. The Housing Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of each month in the Housing Department conference room, 28450 Tyee Road. Its chair is Matt Thomas. For more information, contact the Housing Department at 503-879-2401. 13 Adult Members’ Trust and Minors’ Custodial & Rabbi Trust Funds Investments in the Adult Members’ Trust Fund and the Minors’ Custodial and Rabbi Trust Funds are updated each business day. If you are a trust participant and/or if you are the parent/guard- ian of a minor member, you can access and review your balance and your minor child’s balance by visiting www.401Save.com. To log-in, the initial User ID is your (or your child’s) Social Se- curity number, and the initial Password is “00” followed by your (or your child’s) membership number. Once logged in, you can customize your User ID and password for security purposes. If you have any trouble logging in to or using the system, contact the 401Save Call Center at 1-888-700-0808 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Groups form Helping Hands The Clothes Closet, iskam mfkhmfk haws, Empowerment Outreach Ministries and A Cause For Paws have started an ad hoc group called Grand Ronde Helping Hands and are inviting community members to join the effort of supporting local families. “Our goal is to bring those of us together who are supporting families in Grand Ronde to share the services and resources we provide and create a resource guide we can all use,” said Food Bank Coordinator Francene Ambrose. The next meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, at The Food Bank, 9675 Grand Ronde Road. In addition, a collection day at the Food Bank is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, and is seeking donations of personal care products, school supplies and pet items. “Helping Hands would like to sincerely thank everyone in our com- munity who came together and gave during our collection drive for the Veterans Summit,” said Ambrose. “We were able to give away many needed items to our warriors. We are still collecting these items to restock our shelves: tents, sleeping bags, pillows, warm blankets and jackets.” Ambrose said Helping Hands also is seeking someone with graphic arts skills to help it create a logo that represents all of the organizations that can be used to advertise on business cards, a banner and possibly a web- site. A small honorarium will be offered. “If you provide any type of services to families in our community, please consider attending,” Ambrose added. “We are looking for meal site cal- endars, food box sites, clothes closets, showers and laundry services. We are asking churches, church groups, departments and support groups to share with us.” If you are interested in joining the effort, contact Ambrose at 503-879- 3663 or at fambrose@marionpolkfoodshare.org. Primary message of commercials is education FUND continued from front page “Mike was really excited and en- thusiastic about doing the project when I went and talked to him about it,” said George. “Mike was such a special person. He brought such dignity to being that role of spokesman for our Tribe.” The ads also feature Tribal Elder Dolores Parmenter and several Tribal youth. George said the primary message is to educate Oregonians about the work the Tribe does and that she was happy to see members get the chance to be featured in a way that positively reflects the Tribe and its culture. “We talked to David (Poulshock) and one of the ideas we had and one of the things I really wanted to do is feature the Tribe’s identity in these commercials,” said George. “It was an opportunity for our Tribal mem- bers to be representatives of our Tribe and be the spokespeople for our Tribe. It was fantastic to work with those Tribal Elders.” Spirit Mountain Community Fund Program Coordinator Louis King said the commercials are meant to give a broader audience a greater understanding of the Tribe’s tradition of giving back. “It’s an educational piece really about who the Tribe is and what the Tribe does in terms of support- ing the communities they interact with,” said King. “They do that through the Community Fund.” Tribal Council member Ed Pears- all, who also sits on Spirit Moun- tain Community Fund’s Board of Directors, said he thought it was time to put the Tribe and its char- itable giving organization back in the spotlight. “I think it’s great,” said Pearsall. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything like that. I think it’s a good thing.” Pearsall said he has seen one of the commercials so far. “I thought it was done well and I think it worked for the board,” said Pearsall. “I think it gets the message out to a huge amount of people and it’s a positive message.” Board member and former Con- gresswoman Darlene Hooley said people need to know that the Tribe makes a difference through the Community Fund. “I think it is important for people to know that Spirit Mountain Com- munity Fund is working with the surrounding communities, trying to make not only their community bet- ter, but all the other communities better and I think they are doing a terrific job,” said Hooley. “I think it’s a good thing to let people know what we’re doing and how we are committed to the communities that surround the Reservation.” Board member and Tribal Coun- cil Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr. said he likes the look and feel of the commercials. “I think it’s very important that you have the cultural aspect to those television commercials to really show people what it means for the Tribe to give back to the community,” said Giffen. “It defi- nitely sets us apart and I think it goes back to the vision of the Elders who set up the fund. It’s that direct line to the Elders’ vision. It’s always good to remind people who we are, where we come from and how we got here.”
