4
APRIL 1, 2025
Food Bank news
The Grand Ronde Food Bank – iskam mfkhmfk haws – is operated
by Marion-Polk Food Share, which has been leading the fi ght 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 April 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.
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 fi ll 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 in-
formation or to volunteer. n
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
• Ceremonial Hunting Board meets as needed. Chair: Marline
Groshong.
• Culture Committee meets as needed in the Veterans House,
Acting Chair: Pamala Warren-Chase.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. The next meeting will be held at
11 a.m. Friday, April 11 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. Interim Chair: Vale-
ria Atanacio.
• Elders Committee meetings have been paused. Meeting times
will be updated when information is available.
• 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: Reyn Leno.
• Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Monday 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 Thurs-
day of the month in the Housing Department conference room.
Chair: Harris Reibach.
• Powwow Special Event Board meets as needed at the Com-
munity 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 fi rst Tues-
day 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.
28450 Tyee Road – Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 – 503-879-2401 – Fax 503-879-5973
GRAND RONDE HOUSING DEPARTMENT
28450 Tyee Road – Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 – 503-879-2401 – Fax 503-879-5973
ATTENTION ALL HOUSING TENANTS AND GUEST
PLEASE SLOW DOWN IN ELDER HOUSING
Also, please make sure and maintain low levels of music in the Elder community.
SMOKE SIGNALS
yesteryears
a look
back...
2020 – COVID-19 precautions went into effect in Oregon in mid-
March of 2020. By April 1, shutdowns had been extended to late April.
Spirit Mountain Casino, which had planned to re-open on April 2,
extended the closure to April 9, while the Tribal Council prepared
for fi nancial effects from the pandemic.
2015 – Legalization of use and possession of small amounts of
marijuana went into effect on July 1. To help Tribes, whose lands
fall under federal jurisdiction, navigate the situation, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Jennifer Martin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Simmons
offered a briefi ng at Spirit Mountain Casino.
2010 – Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino paid the fares for riders of
the Grand Ronde Express bus
that ran between Salem and
Grand Ronde for the month of
April in an effort to increase
ridership. The service normal-
ly cost $3 each way, or $75 for
a monthly pass. The program
was a combined effort between
the Salem Area Mass Transit
2
File photo
District and the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde.
2005 – Tribal members split cedar logs to build a traditional plank-
house with lumber donated by the U.S. Forest Service.
2000 – The Tribe partnered with the University of Oregon to offer
Chinuk Wawa classes through the University of Oregon’s Northwest
Indian Languages Institute. Teacher Tony Johnson, a member of the
Chinook Tribe in southwest Washington, said he was working with
Head Start to create a children’s language immersion program at
the Tribal preschool.
1995 – Construction of Spirit Mountain Casino was picking up as
the weather improved. A new underpass to cross Highway 18 was
scheduled to start within the month.
1990 — The Tribe purchased two new fl atbed trucks to convert for
use as fi re trucks on reservation lands.
1985 – Roger Harrison won the contest to design a logo for the
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. “Spirit Mountain has always
been a symbol and a historic landmark of the Grand Ronde to me,
and the fi ve eagle feathers represent the fi ve major, remaining Tribes:
The Calapooia, Rogue River, Umpqua, Chinook and Tillamook,” he
wrote in Smoke Signals. “My grandfather, Harry W. Jones, was a
full-blood Molel, a band of the Calapooias.”
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in fi ve-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.