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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2025)
sNok signflz DECEMBER 1, 2025 Tribal Council approves grant application for Tribal youth By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council approved a grant application to the Oregon Depart- ment of Education to address the most pressing educational needs for Tribal youth during its Wednesday, Nov. 19, meeting. During a Tuesday, Nov. 18, Leg- islative Action Committee meeting, Tribal Grants Program Manager Wendy Sparks said that the three- year Community Partnerships Grant would be up to $265,000 and if awarded, would be used to provide funding for an existing full- time position and cover meal costs for family coaching and attendance recognition nights. Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez also announced that the emergency food assis- tance program for Tribal member individuals and households who were affected by the delay of SNAP benefi ts ended Monday, Nov. 17. It began Friday, Nov. 7, to help families affected by the government shutdown and subsequent delay of benefi ts. “I do want to let folks know that we are meeting with staff to debrief on how that program went and we did hear from a lot of members that there are additional needs in the community,” she said. “We’ll be meeting to discuss any other options we can bring forward to present to council for consid- eration because we do know food insecurity is a real thing in our community, so we’ll keep everyone posted.” In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved appointing Claudia Leno to the Elder Board with a term ending March 31, 2027; • Approved the next general wel- fare and supplemental gener- al welfare assistance payment date for Friday, Dec. 12, and set quarterly payment dates on the second Friday of March, June, September and December of 2026 for future payments; • And approved enrolling three infants and 28 non-infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance. To watch the entire meeting, visit www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab. n 5 Blacketer retires Photo by Michelle Alaimo Tribal Executive Director of Health Services Kelly Rowe, left, and Tribal Council member Toby McClary present Tribal Dental Department Manager Sheila Blacketer with a Tribal Pendleton blanket during her retirement party in the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Atrium Thursday, Nov. 13. She worked for the Tribe for 27 years, starting as clinical dental hygienist and retiring as the Dental Department manager. According to Blacketer, she fell in love with the Dental Department and the Tribe in 1998 when she did a two-week rural rotation while in college. She was then offi cially hired in 1999. Her last day was Friday, Nov. 14. Marriages in Tribal Court Two parcels still available Tribal Court is issuing marriage licenses and able to perform mar- riage ceremonies for a fi ling fee of $40. Contact the Tribal Court at 503- 879-2303. n New work by Grand Ronde artists installed on Portland waterfront Two art works designed by Grand Ronde Tribal mem- bers Zoey Holsclaw and Nakoa Mercier and commissioned by the Tribe have been installed in downtown Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the Hawthorne Bridge. They will remain on display through spring of 2026. The two-part, three-piece installation, titled “Traveling with Our Ancestors,” celebrates living Indigenous cultural ac- tivities and highlights the Tribe’s use of historic canoes, particularly for Canoe Journey. “Being in the canoe is where I feel most connected to my ancestors, my people, and the water,” Holsclaw said. “It cen- ters me and feeds my spirit.” The project was supported by the city of Portland’s Offi ce of Arts & Culture, the Portland Monuments Project, Mellon Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation and Lewis & Clark College. “Tribal history is our shared history in Portland,” Portland Offi ce of Arts & Culture’s As- sistant Director Darion Jones said. “Traveling with Our An- cestors” invites the public to listen, learn, refl ect and share in community memory with Portland’s Native and Indige- nous neighbors in Grand Ronde and across Oregon.” The press release from the city noted that “Portland’s down- town riverfront along the Wil- lamette River has not always been a central hub—historically, people traveled through the area going to or coming from their nearby villages. The cultural practices, stories, and teach- ings of a place, especially those with deep foundational and long-duration activities of an area’s Indigenous people should be presented in public art and monuments.” Grand Ronde’s Cultural Re- sources Department developed the idea for “Traveling with Our Ancestors” in response to Converge 45’s 2021 open call for their Portland Monuments and Memorial Project. “It is amazing to see these works installed, having first worked on the project as the Executive Director for Converge 45,” Tribal Arts Administrator Mack McFarland said. “These kinds of projects, where we can share the unique forms and de- signs of lower Columbia River style is one of the goals for the Grand Ronde art program. This way of making (art) originated in this region and to be able to share public artworks with these designs in downtown Portland is very special.” n Ronde Tribal Council approved a lease with 7-Eleven Inc. to build a convenience store at Chemawa Station. In February 2021, the Keizer City Council unanimously approved a plan for Georgia-based fast food restaurant chain Chick- fil-A to build its seventh Oregon eatery at the site. The Federal Highway Adminis- tration transferred ownership of the 15.7-acre Chemawa Station property to the Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination Act in 2002. Ground was offi cially broken on the site in December 2019. n CHEMAWA STATION continued from front page Hernandez said that the second phase of development will include fi ve parcels and a community gath- ering area. Two of the parcels are still available and one will be re- tained by LLC ownership. “The two available/undeveloped sites call for a carwash and brewery in the masterplan but that could change with potential other oppor- tunities,” she said in an email. “The tenant mix is important and the target list includes quick service restaurants with drive-thrus and sit-down, medical (and) personal care services such as hair and nails.” In January 2020, the Grand Includes information from the Keizertimes newspaper AND R G F O S E B I TED TR A R E D E F N O C N? 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