Links to news media coverage of the Coquille Tribe’s 2019 Restoration Celebration:
Bandon powwow “stirred my soul” (Medford Mail Tribune)
How to pronounce “Coquille” (KCBY)
Coming home – Coquille Tribe celebrations 30th Restoration anniversary (The Coos Bay World)
NORTH BEND – The largest was $20,000, the smallest just $1,110. Whatever the size, each of the 49 grants awarded by the Coquille Tribal Community Fund this year will improve life in a local community.
Grantees and local dignitaries gathered at The Mill Casino-Hotel on Friday to celebrate the work of the grantees. This year’s tribal fund grants totaled $261,762.50. The fund, consistently the leading source of charitable grants for South Coast nonprofits, has distributed more than $6.4 million since it was launched in 2001.
The fund’s largest 2019 grant was $20,000 to the Umpqua Community Health Center, to help buy a new ultrasound machine for expectant mothers. The machine will replace an obsolete model nearly three decades old.
The smallest 2019 grant was $1,110, awarded to the Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church’s warming center project. Operating on a frugal budget, the church opens its doors to homeless people on nights when the temperature dips below freezing. The $1,110 will cover its costs for a whole year.
Money for the fund comes from a share of the tribe’s casino revenue. Each year an appointed board of tribal members and community leaders meets to review applications and decide on the awards.
The year’s board consisted of Coquille Tribal Council Secretary Linda Mecum; Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins; state Rep. Gary Leif; Chelsea Burns, Coquille Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors; Joe Benetti, mayor of Coos Bay; Jon Ivy, tribal member; and Scott LaFevre, tribal member.
The tribal fund’s next application cycle will begin Sept. 1. Learn more at www.coquilletribe.org, or call fund Administrator Jackie Chambers at (541) 756-0904.
Here’s a list of 2019 grants:
More than four-dozen community organizations received support from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund in 2019, with grants totaling more than a quarter-million dollars.
The grants, funded by revenue from The Mill Casino, support a wide range of community services. They range from $1,110 for a small-town church’s homeless warming shelter to $20,000 for a prenatal ultrasound machine.
Learn more in this news coverage:
The Coquille Tribe has purchased additional land for development in Medford. Read the news reports:
The Coquille Tribe has committed a full-time police officer — one-fourth of its total police force — to help a regional drug taskforce whose survival is in doubt.
Coverage in The World newspaper
The Coquille Indians and other Oregon tribes are gaining recognition for their sustainable forestry practices, a Eugene public radio station reports. Learn more
A Washington Times report draws connections between one tribe’s campaign contributions and the Oregon governor’s attitude on gaming expansion. See the story
Portland’s Willamette Week followed up with its own take on the issue. Read it here
A federal grant will help the Coquille Tribe’s Community Health Center connect patients with specialists hundreds of miles away. See media reports:
Marshfield High School’s football time was eliminated in the state semifinals. But not before the local newspaper celebrated Native American participation on the team — including three Coquille Tribe members.
Hundreds of Coos County teens connected with colleges, vocational schools and employers at the Coquille Tribe’s third annual College and Career Fair. See below for local media coverage.
