8
S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2017
Community Fund slates 20th anniversary event for July 29
By Angela Sears
Community Fund Program Coordinator
he Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde is committed
to honoring the Tribal tra-
ditions of sharing and giving back
to the community. As an effort to
uphold these traditions, the Tribe
formed Spirit Mountain Commu-
nity Fund, dedicating 6 percent of
all Spirit Mountain Casino reve-
nue to nonprofit organizations in
an 11-county area of northwest
Oregon.
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund awarded its first grants in
1997 to Life Flight Network and
the Portland Art Museum. During
its first year, the Community Fund
awarded 17 grants totaling $1.6
million. To date, it has funded 2,473
grants supporting projects in arts
& culture, education, environmen-
tal preservation, health, historic
preservation, problem gaming and
public safety, totaling $74,146,358.
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund will be celebrating 20 years
of giving with a special gala at the
OHSU Collaborative Life Sciences
Building on Saturday, July 29. The
theme of the celebration is “Let
Your Light Shine.”
“As a Tribal member growing up
in Grand Ronde, I never imagined
we would be in a position to invest
in and give back to our local com-
munities in such a substantial way.
I presented the theme of ‘Let Your
Light Shine’ with this in mind,”
Community Fund Director Mychal
Cherry said. “There was a time
when our Tribe didn’t have any-
thing to give and our surrounding
communities provided support for
us. And now, in the spirit of the
T
"Our focus is to improve the quality
of life in northwest Oregon through
community investments that provide
lasting benefits consistent with the
Tribe’s culture and values."
~ Board of Trustees Chairman Sho Dozono
Native tradition of potlatch (the
sharing of good fortune), we’re giv-
ing back and letting our light shine
on others.”
During the celebration, Commu-
nity Fund staff members and its
Board of Trustees will recognize 10
nonprofit organizations that they
believe are doing extraordinary
work in their communities, such
as Children’s Cancer Association,
Oregon Children’s Foundation,
Neighbors for Kids and Oregon
Tradeswomen. The first two non-
profits to receive grants from the
Community Fund 20 years ago also
will be honored. Each honoree will
receive a special gift of $5,000 for
the organization’s hard work and
dedication to making Oregon a
better place to live, work and raise
families.
“Our focus is to improve the
quality of life in northwest Oregon
through community investments
that provide lasting benefits con-
sistent with the Tribe’s culture
and values,” Board of Trustees
Chairman Sho Dozono said. “I am
proud to have served on the Board
of Trustees for the past 20 years. I
value the opportunity to work with
an amazing foundation that strives
to make a difference in their com-
munity, and I look forward to the
future of the Community Fund as
we continue our efforts to make a
better life for Oregonians.”
The Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde is proud of its contributions
to the surrounding communities,
but the Tribe wasn't always in a
position to support their Tribal
people, let alone their community.
In fact, there was a time when the
Tribe wasn’t even recognized.
In 1954, the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde was terminated
by the federal government. This
meant Grand Ronde would no
longer be recognized as a Native
American Tribe and would no
longer receive federal funding for
programs to help its people.
Throughout the years, the Reser-
vation land was sold to non-Native
people for as little as $1.10 per acre
and the original 69,100-acre Reser-
vation was eventually reduced to a
2.5-acre cemetery lot.
Many Tribal members left the
area to find a better life, and many
members struggled to find their
identity. After almost 20 years
of Termination, a small group of
Grand Ronde Tribal members be-
gan what would become one of the
greatest achievements of the Grand
Ronde people.
The group began a fight that be-
came a decade-long struggle. They
fought to restore recognition of
their people. They fought to restore
pride and honor. And they fought
to restore their identity.
What started as a small group
soon became a community effort.
And after years of hard work and
determination by many, the group’s
push to restore federal recognition
for the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde was finally realized
when President Ronald Reagan
signed the Grand Ronde Resto-
ration Bill into law on Nov. 22,
1983.
“In 1994, the Tribal membership
voted to pursue gaming as a means
of revenue. We were hoping to cre-
ate self-sufficiency and improve the
lives of our Tribal people,” Tribal
Council Chairman and Board of
Trustees member Reyn Leno said.
“In October of 1995, we opened
Spirit Mountain Casino, which
quickly became Oregon’s largest
and most successful casino.
“Once we realized the success of
our casino, we wanted to give back
to the communities that supported
us when we needed it most. And
that’s how the Spirit Mountain
Community Fund was formed.”
Today, the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde has built a flourishing
community to provide for its mem-
bership, surrounding communities
and other Oregon Tribes.
“One of the great things the
Community Fund does, that many
people don’t realize, is our com-
mitment to helping Oregon Tribes.
Each year, we offer a grant up to
$150,000 to all nine of the Oregon
Tribes,” Leno said.
“I’m proud to be a part of a Tribe
that is reaching out and helping
people. To be able to change so
many lives and to have such a great
impact, not just here in Grand
Ronde, but throughout northwest
Oregon is important to us.”
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