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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1984)
'IS- 'Submission to Grand News letter NAPOLS Serves As Tribal Attorney v in ii ' to: ft. 1 1 6.V 1 i.i.. if i 4 I; i m i r if f ' 15 5S ' The Native American Program, Oregon Legal Services (NAPOLS) is funded by the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D.C., to serve the recognized and terminated tribes of Oregon. At present, we are assisting the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Klamath Tribe on a variety of matters, ranging from a reservation plan to the Indian Child Welfare Act. In the past, we have also worked with the Cow Creek Band of Umpquas, the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw, the Coquille, the Siletz, and other tribes on a wide range of legal matters;. !-. ', .'' At present, we have only two lawyers to meet these legal needs -Gary Forrester and Sajide Schmidt. Our office manager is Stephanie Richards, and our restoration coordinator is Elizabeth Furse. We expect to hire a third attorney and a part-time secretary in early 1985. J, 1-.': Because of our small jfetaff and large clientele, our Indian Advisory Board has placed limitations on the kind of work we do. In a nutshell, this amount to not representing individual Indians unless the case is likely to have a major impact on Indians through out Oregon or the nation. Our current retainergreeraent with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde pertains.t.o the Tribe's governmental functions and its reservation plan. Under this agreement, we have assisted the Tribe with restoration; various contracts; archeological concerns; the Tribe's tax statics; the tribal constitution; workshops on Indian law; drafts otribal ordinances; and the Tribe's seat on the Commission on Indiaiiervices. We have also successfully defended the Tribe in state aM. federal lawsuits which challenged the Tribe's governmental iramuniijand we have participated as legal advisers at many tribal cowieEwand general council meetings. Our estimated time commitment to. 10 to 12. hours per; much larger coramitr napols receives no of Indian' Affairs in the future. T and one possibili attorney who could week.' . The exact- between napols an materializes. f&Confederatedy.Tribes of. Grand Ronde has been although the work has usually required a fithan that.-: "& tiM . "i.:;-fv- . 9- dp i I Wal funding approved under whi iritract or the Stationed JLi 'ft.. I 111 th4iai: mm mum ir. these services. The Bureau al-attorney contract between could better serve the Tribe ted to be underway in 1985, and NAPOLS to jointly hire an iand Ronde for part of each &ngement will be worked out jooming months as the contract 0m