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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2023)
sNok signflz JULY 1, 2023 Tribal Council approves produce prescription grant By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer Tribal Council approved an appli- cation for an Indian Health Service produce prescription grant during its Wednesday, June 14, meeting. The pilot program9s goal is to improve Tribal member health outcomes through improved access to fruits, vegetables and healthy traditional foods. It will be admin- istered in conjunction with the Tribe9s Community Health pro- gram, according to Health Services Executive Director Kelly Rowe. During a Legislative Action Com- mittee meeting held on Tuesday, June 13, Rowe said the two-year, $479,240 grant would be award- ed by the end of August and the program would begin with 40 par- ticipants, with an eventual goal of increasing to 75. <This will really help with food insecurity and also grow our pro- gramming,= Rowe said. Tribal Council Secretary Michael Langley said he hoped that cultural food, particularly camas, would be included. <This is really exciting to me and I know there have been studies that show that camas helps stave off diabetes in our people,= Lang- ley said. <The more we return to those foods, the better our health outcomes will be.= According to the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention, Na- tive Americans have a far greater chance of having diabetes than any other racial group, and are twice as likely as caucasians to have the health condition. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, which requires costly dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival. Rowe said that there would be collaboration with the Natural Re- sources Department and its native plant nursery, as well as gathering and preparing traditional foods in the new demonstration kitchens currently under construction as part of a new, 10,000-square-foot building adjacent to the Tribe9s Health & Wellness Center. <This will look not only at food, but also activity and how to build that into healthy living,= Rowe said. <I9m excited about it. We try to look at Western medicine and also build in our traditional ways.= Tribal Council also set the agenda for the Sunday, June 25, special General Council meeting that was held at 11 a.m. The meeting was only for Tribal Council nominations and was held in the Tribal Gover- nance Center. In other action, Tribal Council: " Approved an agreement au- thorizing the Tribe9s Historic Preservation Ofoce to accept and implement the interstate bridge replacement intergovernmental agreement for an amount not to exceed $300,000 per year for two years with a possible extension; " Approved an agreement to al- low Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy or Rowe to sign all documents required for Oregon Community Foundation9s Project Turnkey 2.0 funding, including the grant agreement, which will be used to acquire properties for tem- porary and permanent supportive housing for Tribal members with behavioral health diagnoses; " Approved three credit cards for Natural Resources Department9s wildland fire and emergency needs, each with a $5,000 credit limit, and one credit card with a $2,500 limit for Communications Director Sara Thompson; " Approved an application to the Indian Health Service for its Addressing Dementia in Indian Country: Models of Care two-year grant for $400,000; " And enrolled two infants into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements stated in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance. Three approved authorizations to proceed also were included in the June 14 Tribal Council packet. The orst authorized the Cultural Resources Department to enter into a contract with Stephen Dow Beckham to perform research and report writing for up to $22,500. The second and third authorized In- terim General Manager Chris Leno to sign grant applications with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management and Federal Emer- gency Management Agency for $66,000 and $25,000, respectively, for oscal year 2023. To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government9s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos. þ Linn County hosting Cultural Encampments Tribal Elder and Linn County Cultural Encampment Director Di- etrich Peters is hosting Cultural Encampments again this summer. Upcoming encampments will be held July 28-30 at Waterloo County Park in Lebanon and Aug. 25-27 at Cascadia County Park in Cascadia. The three-day encampments open with a morning prayer on Fri- day, a meet and greet, storytelling and nute music, and an evening prayer. On Saturdays, craft classes and Native American traditional dancing are taught. Sundays include more dancing and then a thank you feast in the afternoon. For more information, contact Peters at petersdeitz@gmail.com or visit the Linn County Parks web page. þ 5 Tribal Council approves design contract for Tumwata Village infrastructure improvements By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer Tribal Council approved a contract with David Evans and Associates, Inc. of Portland for infrastructure improvement design services for its Tumwata Village development during its Wednesday, June 28, meeting. The $669,301 contract will include the design of roads, side- walks, utilities and environmen- tal aspects, according to Tribal Engineering and Planning Man- ager Ryan Webb. <This is the initial phase of redevelopment work at Tumwata Village,= he said during a Legis- lative Action Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 27. According to its website, David Evans and Associates includes engineers, surveyors, planners, hydrographers, landscape ar- chitects and natural resources scientists who are, <working together to improve the quality of life while demonstrating stew- ardship of the built and natural environments.= Since purchasing the proper- ty for $15.25 million in August 2019, the Tribe has released its vision statement for the site in March 2021, started environ- mental remediation, launched the orst phase of demolition in September 2021, secured federal support by obtaining an $800,000 Environmental Protection Agen- cy grant in May 2021 and $2 mil- lion in federal funding included in the appropriations bill signed into law in March 2022, and be- gan a third round of demolition work in March of this year. Tribal Council also approved ove sponsorship requests. These included $5,000 for the Colum- bia Land Trust, $2,500 for the Lakota Oyate Ki Cultural Club, $1,250 for Red Lodge Transition Services, $5,000 for the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and $1,500 for the Oregon Fallen Badge Foundation. In other action, Tribal Council: " Approved final adoption of three Enrollment Ordinance amendments removing the pre- vious loss of membership mor- atorium, limiting involuntary loss of membership to fraud and dual enrollment, and re- moving the language regarding loss of membership for failure to meet enrollment criteria and provide a deonition of fraud; " Approved onal adoption of Safe Stay ordinance governing the temporary tiny home shelters, parking spaces and any other building, camper or cluster of buildings that provide shelter on a temporary basis and pro- vides a process for when the safe shelters are abandoned or if eviction is necessary; " Approved re-appointing Daniel Strobel to the Election Board with a term ending on March 31, 2025; " Approved a credit card for Gaming Commission Interim Executive Director Michael Boyce with a $5,000 credit limit; " Approved an application to the Oregon Department of Emer- gency Management for a 5-year grant of $62,500 per year; " Approved a government-to-gov- ernment agreement between the Tribe9s Warriors of Hope Program and the Oregon De- partment of Human Services Survivor Investment Partner- ship for a two-year, $453,000 grant to support its domestic violence shelter, other program operations and staff; " Approved a grant agreement with the Oregon Department of Education9s Early Learning Division for $133,440 to sup- port the Tribe9s involvement with the Tribal Early Learning Alliance; " And enrolled 26 non-infants into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment require- ments stated in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance. During other business, several items were included in the June 28 Tribal Council packet. The orst was a orst reading of amendments to the Tribe's Gam- ing Ordinance to change deoni- tions of high security and primary management official gaming licenses, and revise license ap- plication and background inves- tigation requirements to better reflect information currently necessary to safely operate the gaming facility. The second item was adopt- ing a resolution approving the Northern Trust Company's terms and conditions for online usage. Northern Trust is custodian of the Tribe's investment portfolio. The third was to transfer own- ership of a $5,000 unused fire protection vehicle to Rural Fire Protection District 5, which provides services to the Con- federated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw. The fourth was to approve a $31,380 Oregon State Fire Man- agement wildore season stafong grant. To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government9s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos. þ We want to hear from you! The Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Comment Box is located at the entrance of the Health & Wellness Center, next to the drinking fountain. Share your experience, good or bad with us. þ
