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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2019)
8 Smoke Signals NOVEMBER 15, 2019 A hotly contested cook-off By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer The Tribe’s Housing Depart- ment staff members are known for their love of cooking and food. It isn’t unusual to see them gathered together during various holidays and special occasions to enjoy goodies. On Oct. 31, the department took it up a notch by hosting a chili cook-off with five Tribal employees contributing recipes. They were Housing Maintenance Coordinator Lonnie Leno, Hous- ing Administrative Program Manager Joan Dugger, Home Improvement Coordinator Don Coon, Police Officer James Flynn and Maintenance Technician Edward Denim. Dugger came up with the idea for a friendly competition among staff. “I wanted to do something different to celebrate Halloween this year,” she said. “All I had to do was ask, and they signed up eagerly.” Other Tribal staff members served as judges. Housing De- partment Manager Shonn Leno recused himself. “I’m not a true chili eater,” he confessed. “I’m more of a chili out of the can guy, definitely not a connois- seur. … We have some really good cooks employed here so I’m eager to see who wins.” No chili cook-off would be com- plete without sides, so attendees also enjoyed pizza, cornbread, Fritos and an array of desserts. To accom- pany the dining, Stephen King’s “It” played on a TV in the background. Chili cooks could be heard discuss- ing their creations, which ranged from “out of the box,” “a secret in- gredient” and “experimental.” Planning Director Rick George was one of the first taste testers in line followed by Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight. The different chili creations were simply numbered one through five to prevent testers from being swayed by who created it. “Number two was definitely the best,” George said. “It was hot and spicy, with a lot of afterburn.” Officer Clint Cardwell preferred the more mild flair of chili number five. “It had some good heat to it, but wasn’t burning my mouth,” he said. Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez Housing Department Homeownership Coordinator Michele Plummer and Housing Department Secretary Myranda Bradshaw taste samples during a chili contest held at the Tribal Housing office on Thursday, Oct. 31. “There was good flavor. I’m a picky eat- er, so if I like it, then it must be good.” The winners were announced after 15 minutes of taste testing. First place was awarded to Coon with his bacon and cheese chili, marked number three. “I just threw something together to take part,” he said. “But the secret is the bacon. It makes everything taste better.” Flynn earned second place with spicy elk chili, marked number two. “I wouldn’t have entered if I didn’t think I would win,” he said. Both Flynn and Coon received Visa gift cards for their efforts, which can be spent anywhere, including the grocery store if they want to cook more chili. State Education Department created 45 lessons CURRICULUM continied from front page been working with nearby districts before and after the passage of Senate Bill 13. In 2014, the Tribe developed fourth-grade curriculum using grant funds from the Administration for Native Americans. Eighth-grade curriculum was completed in 2016. “We partnered with Willamina elementary and middle school to gather teacher input on lesson plans,” Jones says. “Teachers then piloted the lesson plans for us and gave feedback. I actually was in my last term of grad school and was doing my student teaching placement in a fourth-grade class at Willamina Elementary and piloted some of the lessons. It was neat to be able to be part of that process.” Willamina School District Super- intendent Carrie Zimbrick agrees. “We are very pleased that Senate Bill 13 passed and providing Tribal history, particularly our local histo- ry, is now required,” Zimbrick says. Tribal History/Shared History curriculum was developed by a committee and will be implemented in school districts across the state for required teaching starting in January to students in the fourth, eighth and 10th grades. The state Education Department has created 45 lessons. The committee included 18 rep- resentatives from Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes, led by Portland-based Education North- west Consultants, a nonprofit organization that worked with the Department of Education to support implementation of Senate Bill 13. The groundwork for the law 2018-19 Percentage of Native American/Alaskan Native Students Per School District 5% Sheridan 40% Willamina 4% Salem/Keizer 1.5% McMinnville 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Source: School districts Graph created by Samuel Briggs III began when the Department of Education adopted the Native American/Alaska Native Education State Plan, which required teach- ing about Native Americans as a part of social studies state stan- dards. The Tribal History/Shared History curriculum will expand those requirements across multiple subject areas that include English, math, science, social studies and physical education/health classes. Currently, the department has 45 lessons available to districts for fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grade stu- dents. Districts will choose one les- son per grade in each content area and teach a minimum of 15 lessons. Eventually, the department plans to create lessons for all students from preschool to high school. The Sheridan School District has worked over the past two years to build stronger relationships with the Tribe, says Superintendent Steven Sugg. Teachers and administrators meet several times a year to discuss student progress and how to best support each student. “As superintendent, I have at- tended conferences and meetings where Senate Bill 13 was a topic of discussion and I have reviewed the material on the Oregon De- partment of Education website,” Sugg says. “Our middle school social studies teacher Tim Hart has taught lessons around Tribal history for years and his students create models of Native American villages each year. He works closely with the Tribe and the models are often displayed in Grand Ronde.” The district is also planning to have training around Senate Bill 13 as part of its in-service this year. “We look forward to incorporating the lesson plans into our school cur- riculum,” Sugg says. “This curricu- lum will help these students with a sense of belonging and a sense of their history being honored.” The Tribe also has partnered with Salem-Keizer School District teachers and a math teacher from Chemawa Indian School. “Because Senate Bill 13 is a state- wide initiative, we wanted to get as much teacher buy-in that we could, which was helpful if we partnered with a larger school district,” Jones said. Recently, the Tribe also host- ed Willamina staff at Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center for a professional development training on Senate Bill 13 after the district reached out to the Tribe. There are four more sessions planned to dive deeper into lesson content and material. “Looking to improve our practice and embed more local history is always welcome and encouraged,” Zimbrick says. A spokesperson for the McMin- nville School District said it had upcoming trainings planned to prepare educators to implement Senate Bill 13, and that adminis- trators, including Superintendent Maryalice Russell, had met with Department of Education staff to discuss curriculum.
