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JUNE 1, 2024
Food Bank news
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.”
The Food Bank will hold June food box distributions from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. Fridays. In addition, there is a light food box (mostly bread and
produce) distribution from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays. There will be
no distribution on Wednesday, June 19, as the food bank will be closed
for the Juneteenth holiday.
People must check in 15 minutes before closing to receive a food box on
both days. 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 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 email for the Food Bank calendar and events, as well as
follow the Food Bank on Facebook.
The Food Bank is an equal opportunity provider. Contact Ambrose at
503-879-3663 or fambrose@marionpolkfoodshare.org for more informa-
tion or to volunteer. n
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
• Ceremonial Hunting Board meets as needed. Chair: Marline Gro-
shong.
• Culture Committee meets as needed at the Grand Ronde Food
Bank/iskam mfkhmfk haws, 9675 Grand Ronde Road. Chair: Fran-
cene Ambrose.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. The next meeting will be held at
10:30 a.m. Friday, June 21 via Zoom. Contact Chair Mia Prickett at
Editorial.Board@grandronde.org for the meeting link.
• Education Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the last Tuesday of
the month in the Adult Education building. Chair: Tammy Cook.
• Elders Committee meets at 10 a.m. the first and third Wednesday
of the month in the Elders Activity Center. Chair: Carmen Robertson.
• Enrollment Committee meets quarterly in Room 204 of the Gov-
ernance 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:
Reyn Leno.
• Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Tuesday of the
month in the Molalla Room of the Health & Wellness Center. Chair:
Darlene Aaron.
• Housing Grievance Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of the
month in the Housing Department conference room. Chair: Shayla
Myrick-Meyer.
• Powwow Special Event Board meets as needed at the Community
Center. Dates vary. Contact Dana Ainam at 503-879-2037. Chair:
Dana Ainam.
• TERO Commission meets at 10 a.m. the second 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. Chair: Jon
R. George.
• Veterans Special Event Board meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday
of the month in the Quenelle House. Chair: Raymond Petite.
To update information on this list, contact Smoke Signals Editor
Danielle Harrison at 503-879-4663 or danielle.harrison@grandronde.org.
Health & Wellness Center
offering vaccines
The new COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, is available at the Health & Wellness
Center for adults 18 and older. It is recommended for those with chronic health
conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney failure and
heart failure, regardless if they have received older vaccines. Spikevax is not
a booster.
Another vaccine that is recommended is for RSV, which is available to
babies 8 months and younger, for expectant mothers who are 32 to 36 weeks
pregnant and in limited amounts for those 60 and older.
For more information, call the Health & Wellness Center at 503-879-2002. n
SMOKE SIGNALS
yesteryears
a look
back...
2019 – The 17th annual Memorial Day ceremony was held at the
West Valley Veterans Memorial on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus.
Fifteen names were added to the four black granite pillars that repre-
sent the major branches of the U.S. armed forces.
2014 – A meeting was held to discuss the new 3,300-square-foot food
bank under construction in Grand Ronde. With $500,000 from a federal
Housing and Urban Development Indian Community Development
Block grant and a $167,000 Tribal Housing Authority match, the Tribe
designed and was building a new, larger and more comprehensive food
collection and distribution center for the community. The new facility
replaced the location in the old house at the entrance of uyxat Powwow
Grounds off Hebo Road.
2009 – Three Grand Ronde
Tribal buildings hosted an exhib-
it of historical panels. “Oregon
Is Indian Country,” a traveling
exhibit of the Oregon Historical
Society, included three panels,
each describing part of the Na-
tive experience in Oregon. The
Historical Society created the
project in cooperation with Ore-
File photo
gon’s nine federally recognized 2009
Tribes.
2004 – The second annual Agency Creek Round Dance took place in
the Tribal gym. The two-night dance was hosted by the Grand Ronde
Tribal Youth Social Services Program. Drum groups from as far away
as Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama and Saskatchewan, Canada,
attended the dance. There were singers from well-known drum groups
Black Lodge, Blackstone and Grand Ronde’s own Eagle Beak Singers.
1999 – Oregon Native American Week was celebrated at the Oregon
State Capitol building in Salem. For the third year in a row, Oregon
Gov. John Kitzhaber proclaimed the third week in May to be Native
American Week in Oregon. The signing of the proclamation coincided
with Tribal Information Day at the capitol. Tribal Council Chairwoman
Kathryn Harrison, Junior Miss Grand Ronde Ali Holsclaw and Miss
Tiny Tot Halona Butler represented the Tribe at the event.
1994 – Tribal member Kathy Tom, who worked at the Nanitch
Sahallie Youth Treatment Facility in Keizer, hosted a Mother’s Day
brunch for the Tribe’s Elder women at the facility. Tom said the meal
was a way of honoring Elders as well as the Tribe’s women who have
done so much. The mothers were joined by many of the Nanitch staff
and clients.
1989 – At the close of winter term 1989, the Tribal Education Program
assisted a total of 23 students in the Higher Education Program; 16
in the Employment Assistance – Adult Vocational Training and 13 in
Adult Education. The projected enrollment outlook for fall term 1989
indicated the Tribe would have approximately 30 students enrolled in
Higher Education, with 20 participating in Adult Vocational Training
Programs.
1984 – Tribal Council members Kathryn Harrison, Merle Leno and
Candy Robertson attended the “Presidents Commission on Indian
Reservations Economies” workshop held in Spokane, Wash.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year incre-
ments through the pages of Smoke Signals.