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FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Smoke Signals
Food Bank news yesteryears
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.”
In reaction to the continuing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic,
the Food Bank will hold February food box distributions on Fridays
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“We are asking clients to not come for a food box if they are hav-
ing any symptoms or concerned about their health,” Ambrose said.
“We are limiting our geographic service area to Sheridan to Otis on
Highway 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@mari-
onpolkfoodshare.org for more information or to volunteer.
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
• 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.
a look
back...
2016 – Former Social Services Department Manager David Ful-
lerton became the Tribal government’s new general manager after
an employment agreement was approved during a Tribal Council
meeting. Fullerton began working for the Tribe in 2001 as an Indian
Child Welfare caseworker. He managed the Social Services Depart-
ment from December 2001 through late August 2015 when he was
tapped to serve as interim general manager.
2011 – Spirit Mountain
Casino was named the new
official sponsor of the Port-
land Rose Festival Grand
Floral Parade. The casino
and Portland Rose Festival
Foundation signed a three-
year deal, according to casino
spokesman Greg Fritz. “The
2011
File photo
Tribe has ancestral ties to
Portland,” Fritz said. “The Tribal board felt this was an important
event that deserved support.”
2006 – The Grand Ronde Tribal Library was expanding and would
soon be at capacity. Tribal Librarian Marion Mercier said that circu-
lation had jumped from 884 to 3,025 items in one year. She noted one
of the drivers of increased library usage was the Internet connection
available to the public on library computers. Additionally, Mercier
hosted programs that included weaving, a poetry recital, book club,
summer reading incentive program, Native authors exhibit and Na-
tive storytelling.
2001 – Spirit Mountain Community Fund awarded the Oregon
Zoo Foundation a $20,000 grant to fund the Birds of Prey outreach
program. It was the second year the fund had provided support for
the zoo’s environmental education program that introduced preda-
tory birds to 15,000 Willamette Valley students in Polk, Marion and
Yamhill counties. “This grant will help the zoo serve children from
rural communities throughout the Willamette Valley,” Community
Fund Administrator Angela Ellis said.
1996 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Spirit Moun-
tain Casino donated financial offerings left at the statue of Martha
Jane Sands, located just inside the casino entrance, to local Head
Start programs to assist in the education and development of children
in need. Offerings to Sands totaled approximately $1,500, which the
casino matched. Donations began appearing at the bronze statue
shortly after the casino opened in 1995.
1991 – Tribal member Todd Dean Galindo, 20, of Yakima joined
fellow Army soldiers in Iraq for the task of driving out Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard forces from Kuwait. Galin-
do’s tank unit was stationed in Saudi Arabia 18 miles from Kuwait’s
border where Hussein’s army had invaded several months before.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year incre-
ments through the pages of Smoke Signals.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb.
19, 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.
St. Michael’s offers brunch
St. Michael’s Catholic Church offers an open house brunch every Sunday
following Mass. The brunch is free to the community. Brunch begins at
about 11:30 a.m. following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Mass attendance is not
required for brunch attendance. For more information or for kitchen and
hall rental, contact Janelle Justen at 503-550-0923.
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.
GRAND RONDE TRIBAL LIBRARY
MAIL OUT LITERACY PACKET PROGRAM
The Tribal Library is excited to announce our literacy packet program to
tribal members and descendants living outside the Grand Ronde area.
• Housing Grievance Board meets at 4 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
Resources 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.
Registration February 1st- February 12th
We have 20 openings so early registration is encouraged. Tribal members and
descendants accepted into the program will receive an email confirmation.
Each literacy packet will include activity sheets and a book.
Packets will be mailed out once a month starting in February and going
through April 30th
SIGN UP AT THIS LINK
http://bit.ly/mailoutpacket
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.)
Please contact the library with any
questions at
kathy.cole@grandronde.org
or call
503-879-1488
