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SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Food Bank providing boxes
on Fridays in September
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 automatically
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.”
In reaction to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Food Bank
will be holding September food distributions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fridays.
“We are asking clients to not come for a food box if they are having
any symptoms or concerned about their health,” Ambrose said. “We
are limiting our geographic service area to Sheridan to Otis on High-
way 18 and Sheridan to Hebo on Highway 22. We are asking clients
and volunteers to wash their hands immediately upon entry to the
building. Our lobby is closed until further notice.
“Food box distribution is happening outside while maintaining a
safe distance between clients. We are sanitizing and keeping the
food quarantined for three days before distribution. Pre-made boxes
are available on distribution days, limited to two days of food for two
adults. Clients within our geographic service area are still welcome
to visit us weekly.”
People must check in 15 minutes before closing to receive a food
box. If you need immediate assistance, call 211 or visit 211info.org.
Those who are unable to pick up a food box can fill out an authorized
representative form and that designated person can pick up a food box
on your behalf. The authorization is good for one year.
The Food Bank is continuing the Farm Share Rx program with 35
farm shares being distributed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays. It
is a first-come, first-served distribution until the shares are depleted.
The Food Bank continues to seek volunteers to help with repacking
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@marion-
polkfoodshare.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 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.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18,
using the Zoom conferencing program. 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 Committee meets quarterly in Room 204 of the Governance Center. Chair: Debi
Anderson.
• Fish & Wildlife Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at the Natural
Resources building off Hebo Road. Chair: Bryan Langley.
• Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month in the Molalla Room
of the Health & Wellness Center. Chair: Bernadine Shriver.
• Housing Grievance Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of the month in the Housing
Department conference room. Chair: Simone Auger.
• Powwow Special Event Board meets monthly at noon at the Community Center. Dates vary.
Contact Dana Ainam at 503-879-2037. Chair: Dana Ainam.
• TERO Commission meets at 10 a.m. the first Monday of the month in the Employment
Services building. Chair: Russell Wilkinson.
• Timber Committee meets at 5 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at the Natural Re-
sources building off Hebo Road. Interim Chair: Jon R. George.
• Veterans Special Event Board meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month in the old
Elders Craft House. Chair: Rich VanAtta.
To update information on this list, contact Publications Coordinator Dean Rhodes
at 503-879-1463 or dean.rhodes@grandronde.org.
(Editor’s note: All committee and special event board in-person meetings have been
suspended during the Tribe’s reaction to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.)
Smoke Signals
yesteryears
a look
back...
2015 – Tribal members, who
were descendants of the original
tilixam “people” of the Portland
area, led the way at the grand
opening of the new Tilikum
Crossing Bridge in Portland.
In the interest of giving the
general public a word that was
easy to pronounce, the Tribe
proposed spelling the word with
a “k” instead of an “x” as it is
File photo
in Chinuk Wawa. The Grand 2015
Ronde Honor Guard led the
procession of Tribal members alongside the first ride of TriMet’s
Orange Line during the grand opening celebration. “This is truly a
wonderful moment, a blessed time,” Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy said.
2010 – The Grand Ronde Tribe submitted a 155-page comment on
the Cascade Locks resort and casino project proposed by the Warm
Springs Tribe to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “Grand Ronde is sig-
nificantly affected and very concerned by the Cascade Locks Resort
and Casino Project and is troubled by the Bureau’s failure to address
Grand Ronde DEIS comments,” wrote Tribal Attorney Rob Greene.
More than two years after holding public comment sessions in Oregon
and Washington in 2007, the BIA issued an Aug. 6 final environ-
mental impact statement naming Cascade Locks as the preferred
alternative for the Warm Springs Tribe to build an off-Reservation
casino in the Columbia River Gorge.
2005 – The Tribe and Portland State University were planning to
offer a class called “Great Tribal Leaders of Modern Times” and hold
it in the Education Building on the Tribal campus. The series would
present videotaped interviews with modern Tribal leaders, and span
the fields of political science, American history, Native American
studies, U.S. government, multi-cultural studies and sociology. Al-
most 30 Tribal leaders had been interviewed for the series, including
Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison.
2000 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hosted a group
from Willamette National Forest for a tour of the Reservation and
Tribal campus. The five ranger districts and the Tribe came togeth-
er for two days of team building and learning. The event followed a
memorandum of understanding that was signed earlier in the year.
Under the agreement, the Forest Service and Tribe agreed to work
together on projects and gain input on ideas that affected all parties
involved.
1995 – Kathryn Harrison and Ed Larsen were re-elected to Tribal
Council for three-year terms. Margaret Provost took Andy Jenness’
seat as he opted not to run for another term. More than 600 Tribal
members voted in the election, making it the most widely participated
one the Tribe had ever had.
1990 – Tribal youth Shonn Leno traveled to the National High
School Wrestling Championships. He was one of the team members
representing Oregon. Of 40 wrestlers in his bracket, Leno placed
10th. He qualified for the national tournament by placing second
in the state for Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling at a private
competition, and third in the state for high school championships as
a freshman.
1985 – The Western Oregon Unit of the Indian Health Service
needed to keep current information on those who used it. Those who
had not completed an application for 1985 were encouraged to do so
as soon as possible. All health care funding was dependent on the
number of Tribal members participating.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
