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JUNE 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 June 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. n
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.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Friday,
June 25, using the Zoom teleconference application. 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: Harold Lyon.
• 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 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 Tuesday 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.
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.)
a look
back...
2016 – The second of three educational sessions to review two
proposed amendments to the Tribal Constitution attracted 53
Tribal members. The two proposed amendments, which would
be decided in a July 8 vote by Tribal members, would affect the
powers of General Council and enrollment requirements.
The first proposed amendment would reduce the General Council
participation requirements for exercising the power of initiatives
or referendums and the calling of special General Council meet-
ings.
The second proposed amendment would eliminate the require-
ment that an applicant for Tribal membership must be born to a
parent who was a member of the Grand Ronde Tribe at the time of
their birth, as well the requirement that their parent be a Tribal
member at the time of their application.
2011 – Tribal Elder
Marcellus “Marce”
Norwest walked on at
the age of 82. Norwest
was honored by fellow
veterans and Tribal
members for a life of
service to the Confed-
erated Tribes of Grand
Ronde as the Forest
Patrol officer and to
the nation as a Korean 2011
File photo
War veteran. He was
one of the founding members of the Grand Ronde chapter of the
Northwest Indian Veterans Association and became a member
of the West Valley Veterans Honor Guard. He also was a driving
force for the construction of the West Valley Veterans Memorial
on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus.
2006 – Tribal member David Lewis’s work with the Southwest
Oregon Research Project included finding letters from Tribal
members and Indian agents that were dated in the 1880s, helping
to uncover and distribute thousands of pages of Northwest Tribal
history. Lewis served as the manager and director of the project,
and had visited Washington, D.C., twice to comb through Native
American archives and bring the fruits of his research back home.
He searched through the National Anthropological Archives and
the National Archives of the Smithsonian Institute to collect writ-
ten pages relating to the Northwest Native American experience.
2001 – A group of Tribal members traveled to New York City to
be reunited with the meteorite Tomanowos and perform the first
ever blessing ceremony. The visit followed a historic agreement
that the Tribe reached with the American Museum of Natural
History in 1999 to allow the museum to keep the meteorite there
in exchange for Tribal members having the opportunity to have a
private visit with Tomanowos every year, and Tribal youth doing
an internship at the museum. Tribal Elder and Tribal Council
Secretary Kathryn Harrison was among those who made the trip,
and said she felt the reunion with the meteorite was long overdue.
1996 – A weekend celebration was set to celebrate the
36,500-square-foot expansion of Spirit Mountain Casino that in-
cluded the opening of Legends Steakhouse, family entertainment
options and 3,000 square feet of banquet and meeting room space.
A series of concerts was also in the works, featuring performers
such as John Anderson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
“We’re proud to be able to offer our guests the chance to see these
great artists,” Marketing Director Chuck Galford said.
1991 – Community development efforts were in full swing with
the pending construction of the Tribal Community Center and
current planning for a health clinic. “Additionally, we are looking
at the creation of housing for Elders in the first phase, and then
for single and multi-family units later on,” Tribal Chairman Mark
Mercier said. “Recent developments have given us the opportunity
to include a dental operation in the new Community Center.” The
dental program would include three chairs for patients, staffed
by a full-time dentist and support staff.
1986 – Tribal Council authorized the start of a social services
program for the Grand Ronde Tribe. The program was Bureau
of Indian Affairs-funded and designed to provide counseling and
family assistance to members, along with responsibility for im-
plementing the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year
increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.
