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.
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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.”