S moke S ignals
MAY 15, 2017
Food Bank provides
boxes, seeks help
The Grand Ronde Food Bank – iskam mfkhmfk haws – is operated
by Marion-Polk Food Share, which has been leading the fight to end
hunger since 1987 because no one should be hungry.
Recipients of SNAP, TANF, SSI or LIHEAP assistance automat-
ically qualify for assistance at the Grand Ronde Food Bank, 9675
Grand Ronde Road. No one will be turned away in need of a food box.
“We believe that everyone deserves to have enough to eat,” Food
Bank Coordinator Francene Ambrose says. “You are welcome to get
a food box at each of our regular weekly distributions. No one will
be turned away in need of a food box.”
Upcoming food box distribution dates will be:
• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 19;
• 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 24.
The Food Bank will be closed on Monday, May 29, in observance
of Memorial Day.
Those who are unable to pick up a food box can fill out an autho-
rized representative form and that person can pick up a food box
on your behalf. The authorization is good for one year.
The Food Bank continues to seek volunteers to help with repack-
ing food, putting food on the shelves, handing out food boxes and
end-of-month inventory.
The Food Bank also is participating in a program called Fresh Al-
liance in which volunteers pick up food donations directly from area
stores. Volunteers with a truck who could pick up at these stores at
least once a week and a partner to ride along and help load are being
sought. Volunteer training will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 16.
Call to ensure someone is available to assist. People also can sign
up for a monthly e-mail for the Food Bank calendar and events, as
well as follow the Food Bank on Facebook.
The Food Bank is an equal opportunity provider.
Call Ambrose at 503-879-3663 or contact her at fambrose@mari-
onpolkfoodshare.org for more information or to volunteer.
Clothes Closet open Monday, Friday
The Clothes Closet is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first and third
Fridays of the month and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all other Fridays on the Tribal
campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Blacktail Drive.
The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances, small pieces of
furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean and in good
condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or large furniture, but
there is a community board where people can post those items. Donations
are accepted during regular business hours. For more information or
emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Hernandez at 559-847-7565.
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
Below is the most current information on the meeting days and times for
Tribal Committees and Special Event Boards:
• Ceremonial Hunting Board meets as needed. Chair: Marline Groshong.
• Culture Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month
at the Grand Ronde Food Bank/iskam mfkhmfk haws, 9675 Grand
Ronde Road. Chair: Francene Ambrose.
• Education Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of
the month in the Adult Education building. Chair: Tammy Cook.
• Elders Committee meets at 10 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month
in the Elders Activity Center. Chair: Gladys Hobbs.
• Enrollment Board meets quarterly in Room 204 of the Governance
Center. Chair: Michael Mercier.
• Fish & Wildlife Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday
of the month at the Natural Resources building off Hebo Road. Chair:
Tyson Mercier.
• Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Wednesday of the
month in the Health & Wellness Center. Chair: Patti Tom-Martin.
• Housing Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of the month in the
Housing Department conference room. Chair: Matt Thomas.
• Powwow Special Event Board meets monthly at noon at the Community
Center. Dates vary. Contact Dana Ainam at 503-879-2037. Chair: Dana
Ainam.
• Timber Committee meets at 5 p.m. the second Thursday of the month
at the Natural Resources building off Hebo Road. Chair: Bob Mercier.
• Veterans Special Event Board meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of
the month in the old Elders Craft House. Chair: Steve Bobb Sr.
To update information on this list, contact Publications Coordinator Dean
Rhodes at 503-879-1463 or dean.rhodes@grandronde.org.
3
Missing breast plate recovered
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
A missing breast plate
made from spent brass
M16 shells that was do-
nated to the Grand Ronde
Tribe during the 2016
Veterans Powwow has
been found.
Veterans Special Event
Board Chairman Steve
Bobb Sr. said that Tribal
member Deitz Peters had
the breast plate and was
working on making its
neck band more comfortable.
When Peters saw a front-page
story about the missing breast plate
in the April 1 edition of Smoke Sig-
nals, he called Bobb to remind him
that he had the breast plate.
The breast plate went “missing”
after the August 2016 Contest Pow-
wow. Its disappearance was turned
over to the Grand Ronde Tribal Police
Department for investigation and
Crime Stoppers publicized the case.
“Me and Pooter (Tribal Elder
Alton Butler) had talked to Deitz,”
Bobb said. “Pooter is the one who
wears it. It had like only a single
leather band that went around his
neck. Well, that thing is kind of
heavy, especially when you wind up
standing out there for 45 minutes
or longer. Even though we tried
to tuck it under his shirt collar
and stuff like that, by the time 45
minutes went by it was pulling on
his neck pretty heavy. It’s kind of
weighty.
“So we had asked Deitz Peters
if he could somehow put a leather
pad around that and add
some padding so it wasn’t
just that single string,
and we gave it to him.”
However, as the veter-
ans started assembling
their equipment and re-
galia for the upcoming
powwow season in early
December, both Bobb
and Butler forgot they
had given it to Peters and
started wondering where
it had gone.
File photo
“Pooter said he thought
he remembered giving it to some-
body, but we both spaced on it be-
cause a few months had passed. …
When it came out in the paper, he
(Peters) called me right away and
said he has had it all that time.”
Part of the mix-up, Bobb said,
occurred because Peters, who had
been attending Veterans Special
Event Board meetings regularly,
took a break to care for his ailing
wife, who recently walked on.
“The last thing he was thinking
about was our breast plate,” Bobb
said.
Bobb said the one-of-a-kind
breast plate, which was donated to
the Tribe by the Eugene-Springfield
chapter of the Oregon Veterans Mo-
torcycle Association in appreciation
for being allowed to use Kalapuya
as its chapter name, is now in his
possession.
“I’m keeping an eyeball on it,”
Bobb said. “It’s not getting away
from me now. It’s in the top part
of one of my closets so I know right
where it’s at.”
Official Tribal Facebook pages
• Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde:
www.facebook.com/CTGRgov
• Grand Ronde Tribal Council:
www.facebook.com/TheConfederatedTribesOfGrandRondeTribalCouncil
• Grand Ronde Higher Education:
www.facebook.com/grand.r.ed
• Grand Ronde Youth Education:
www.facebook.com/CTGRYouthEducation
• Spirit Mountain Community Fund:
www.facebook.com/SpiritMountainCommunityFund
• Grand Ronde Station:
www.facebook.com/GrandRondeStation
• Grand Ronde Royalty: www.facebook.com/CTGRRoyalty
• Veterans Special Event Board:
www.facebook.com/pages/Veterans-Board-of-the-Confederated-Tribes-of-
the-Grand-Ronde-Community
• Community Garden: www.facebook.com/GrandRondeCommunityGarden
• Grand Ronde Food Bank: www.facebook.com/GrandRondeFoodBank
• Grand Ronde Youth Council: www.facebook.com/CTGRYouthCouncil
• Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department:
www.facebook.com/grandrondepolice/
• Children & Family Services: www.facebook.com/CTGRCFS/
• Social Services Department: www.facebook.com/CTGRSocialservices/
ATTENTION
TRIBAL MEMBERS
COMMITTEE AND SPECIAL EVENT BOARD VACANCIES
The following Committees and Special Event Boards have vacant positions.
Election Board
Education Committee
1 alternate vacancy
2 vacancies
Please send completed applications to Stacia Hernandez,
9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347.