RESERVATION
DAYS
There are many stories, old and new, to tell of the Grand Ronde
Reservation days. They are stories of struggle, of pride, of vision.
But, of course, they are really one...
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I f you know anything about Indian people,
especially the history of the Grand Ronde Indians,
a history that's not in the history books, you know that
we have endured much, but we have endured," testified
Kathryn Harrison the day the Grand Ronde Restoration
Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives.
It was a day that marked a climax of a journey for the
Grand Ronde Tribes, a journey to remove the scars of
termination and to move forward with a vision for a new
age.
"The Grand Ronde are a determined people who have
earned the dignity of being called a tribe once more,"
said Oregon Representative Les AuCoin following
House approval of the Restoration Bill.
Soon after, on November 22, 1983, federal recognition,
after a twenty-nine year absence, returned to the Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde through Public Law
98-165.
The Tribe, through the Restoration Act, regained self
governance as the People voted and passed the Tribal
Constitution and elected an Interim Council.
"With effort, it is possible to change something that was
a tragedy," said Elizabeth Furse, Restoration Coordina
tor for the Native American Program, Oregon Legal
Services, recalling the energy, the patience, and many
hours of work it took to become a restored Tribe.
Her words also had foresight. Deep aspirations
sought the opportunity to also create a self
sufficient People.
With this in mind, P.L. 98-165 authorized the Secretary
of the Interior and the governing body of the Grand
Ronde Tribes to submit a proposal for the establish
ment of a reservation within two years.
The newly elected Interim Council hired Cooper
Consultants to assist with the plan.
As part of the process, a needs assessment
was conducted to establish a demographic
f4 data base on tribal families. The assessment
looked at the health, employment, education,
housing, cultural, and social service needs of
tribal members. -
Results of the assessment showed needs in many areas:
40.5 of the people lived below the poverty level while
the statewide rate was 7.7; the unemployment rate for
tribal members was 23, three times the Oregon
average; 42 of the adults, 19 and over, did not com
plete high school; 50 of tribal homes were in need of
rehablitation; and 40 of the tribal members did not
receive adequate health care because they couldn't
afford it.
From this assessment, the needs were prioritized and
annual budgets were projected. The projections indi
cated that the low end needs were about $1.5 million,
the medium was $2.2 million and the high end need was
approximately $2.7 million.
The assessment and revenue projections were than used
to plan for a land base.
Under the Grand Ronde Restoration Act, lands
taken into trust for the Tribe could only come from
Polk, Yamhill or Tillamook Counties; and from avail
' able lands administered by the BLM under the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976.
In considering the establishment of a reservation solely
composed of Public Domain lands in the three county
area of Polk, Yamhill and Tillamook counties, the
option proved to create severe management problems
both for the Tribe and Bureau of Land Management
(BLM). For the Tribe, the lands were fragmented into
small parcels over a wide area. The major contiguous
areas were in the Tillamook area, a considerable
distance from Grand Ronde. Thus, the land would not
create an efficient or economical management unit.
A second option considered was establishing an land
base from Oregon and California lands. Through a
solicitor's opinion, the Tribal government learned that
0C lands were part of the available lands that could be
considered since they were managed by the BLM under
the Federal Land Policy Management Act as required
under the Grand Ronde Restoration Act.
However, establishing a reservation from 0C lands was
politically sensitive since these lands generated revenues
for the counties.
A third option was to adopt a Transfer of Designation
between OC lands and Public Domain lands. Under
this option, the OC land base would remain intact and
revenues generated to OC counties would be unaf
fected. In addition, the Tribe could produce a desirable
management unit by securing lands closer to Grand
Ronde and they were more consolidated.
Revenues from the OC lands were based on "allow
able cut" acres of coniferous stock, thus under the plan,
Public Domain lands and OC lands involved in the
transfer would have to be equal in the amount of
allowable cut acres to maintain the OC revenue base.
The proposed reservation was then based on making an
equal exchange of allowable cut acres.
Under the proposal, a reservation of 17,488 acres was
proposed. The proposal projected that $1.3 million
annually would be generated. This was slightly under the
$1.5 low end need projected by the Tribe.
The Reservation Plan was completed and
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior to be
presented to Congress in November 1985.
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