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.”