By naming our Kepi Nak Nak Commons we celebrate the indigenous people who lived along the Long Tom River that borders the town of Monroe. As we celebrate the bounty of Oregon with the fresh produce offered from the Food Pantry, we are enjoying some of the same local foods that the Kalapuyans ate.

The Long Tom Watershed was the homelands to two major tribes of Kalapuyan Indians, the Chelamela and Chemapho. In the spring and summer they would begin berry picking and root digging of camas, while at the end of the summer they would pick crops available at the end of the season, like apples and hazelnuts.