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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2018)
4 S moke S ignals DECEMBER 1, 2018 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, Dec. 7; • 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. People must check in 15 minutes before closing to receive a food box. If you need immediate assistance, call 211 or visit 211info.org. The Food Bank will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 25, in honor of the Christmas holiday. 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. In addition, the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center’s Com- munity Health Team will be setting up the mobile clinic at the pantry on the first Friday of every month. The Food Bank continues to seek volunteers to help with repack- ing food, putting food on the shelves, handing out food boxes, end- of-month inventory and picking up food donations at area stores. 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@mar- ionpolkfoodshare.org for more information or to volunteer. 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 Gro- shong. • 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. • Editorial Board meets monthly at the Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center’s conference room, 8720 Grand Ronde Road. Next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7. The public is welcome to attend. Chair: Siobhan Taylor. Contact: Editorial.Board@grandronde.org. • Education Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the first 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: Penny DeLoe. • Enrollment Board meets the third Wednesday of the month in Room 204 of the Governance Center. Chair: Ann Lewis. • 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 Monday 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: Kristy Criss-Lawson. • Powwow Special Event Board meets monthly at noon at the Com- munity 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: TBD. • Tribal Employment Rights Commission meets 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in the Employment Services building, Room 118A. Chair: Russell Wilkinson. • Veterans Special Event Board meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month in the old Elders Craft House. Chair: Raymond Petite. To update information on this list, contact Publications Coordinator Dean Rhodes at 503-879-1463 or dean.rhodes@grandronde.org. State reaffirms Willamette Falls fishing platform decision By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor SALEM – Oregon Department of State Lands Director Vicki Walker reaffirmed her decision to allow the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to erect and use a fishing platform at Willamette Falls on Monday, Nov. 26. Walker originally granted per- mission to the Grand Ronde Tribe on Aug. 31, but the Umatilla, Yaka- ma and Warm Springs Tribes and Portland General Electric asked Walker to reconsider her decision. “I have thoroughly reviewed the issues in each of these appeals,” Walker wrote in her decision let- ter. “(I have) made site visits of the area by both land and boat, met with PGE legal staff and con- sultants, met with Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde legal staff and consultants, reviewed indepen- dent analysis … and reviewed the department’s file on this matter. I have determined that the depart- ment’s decision … be affirmed.” “We are overcome with joy,” Trib- al Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy said in a statement released on Tuesday, Nov. 27. “Our ceremonial fishing platform restores an important cultural practice for the Grand Ronde Tribe, our community and our fishermen. “In the early 1980s, the Grand Ronde Tribe was fighting for federal recognition from the United States government. Now, 35 years after our Restoration, our ceremonial fishermen are able to conduct our ceremonial fisheries from a fishing platform at the heart of our ances- tral homelands, Willamette Falls.” After receiving state permission to build the fishing platform, the Grand Ronde Tribe also faced objections from Portland Gen- eral Electric over the location of the platform, which the company claims is its land. The state and Tribe disagree. After Portland General Electric revoked Tribal access to the fishing platform site on Sept. 21, Grand Ronde Tribal members and staff started ferrying supplies and equip- ment across the Willamette River from the Oregon City side of the falls to the West Linn side. The fishing platform was com- pleted on Oct. 23 and Tribal mem- bers dipnetted from it on Oct. 25, but did not catch any of the 15 ceremonial salmon approved by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife in 2016. Meanwhile, PGE filed an Oct. 12 intent to appeal with the state Land Use Board of Appeals, objecting to the city of West Linn’s decision not to regulate the fishing platform structure. The board, which was created to provide consistent in- terpretation of state and local land use laws, is not expected to rule on PGE’s appeal until early 2019. Walker modified the Tribe’s per- mit slightly since a petroglyph was previously discovered on rocks that are part of Willamette Falls. Be- cause of that, if the Tribe wishes to relocate or alter the installed base plates using a ground-disturbing method, it must contact the State Historic Preservation Office before proceeding. However, attaching the platform deck and structural components to the existing installed base plates and using the site for the fishing platform will not be considered “ground-disturbing activities.”
