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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1994)
Smoke Signals January 1994 Page 2 Readers' Comments Dear Editor: We understand our Tribal Council met Wednesday, December 15, and when their meeting was over they went home with a 300 pay increase retroactive from December 1, 1993. It occurred to us, some tribal members might not be paying close attention to their tribal decision-makers. If so, they need to know how this could happen. The story is simple. It was suggested at an earlier meeting that Council consider giving themselves wage increases. After due consideration, the Council met Wednesday evening to put it to a vote. Kathryn Harrison and Val Grout were not present. As Chairman, Mark Mercier could only vote in the event of a tie. Ray McKnight and Leon "Chips Tom voted no. Merle Holmes abstained. Candy Robertson, Ed Larsen, and Andy Jenness voted yes. If Merle Holmes had voted no, his vote would have created a tie which Mark Mercier would have to break. Of all the Council members, Mark Mercier would have the least to gain by this motion. His position on Council is already a salaried position. Holmes' yes vote was not needed to pass the motion for a wage increase. However, if he had voted no, Mark Mercier would have cast the deciding vote. It would appear, Holmes chose to abstain so as not to risk having Mercier vote down the motion. Andy Jenness made a motion to make the raise retroactive to December 1 , 1 993 . The motion was passed. Many tribal members have expressed repeated concerns surrounding a number of decisions including the $150,000 which was spent on gravel for a gaming facility which might never be approved, the lack of funds in our dental and health care programs, and the level of maintenance on our ancestral cemetery. Nevertheless, our Tribal Council believes they are doing such a good job they deserve an ADDITIONAL $140,000 in wages. Personally, we believe their work history indicates wage cuts are in order not increases. Respectfully, Ken Sherwood Joyce DeHart 16541 GreenbridgeRd. P.O. Box 596 Jefferson, Oregon Mosier, Oregon December 20, 1993 Dear Editor: December 1 1, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hosted a small community Christmas celebration at the Grand Ronde Elementary School. A drawing was held for the small plant centerpieces, a meal was served, and the Tribal Council gave each elder a $50 Christmas check. Apparently, the Tribal Council was struck by a powerful spirit, because four days later their mood for giving had gotten so strong they voted themselves the largest raise in history; one which will cost our membership almost a quarter of a million dollars in Council wages over the next year. I support the Tribal Council honoring our elders with a special Christmas gift. I would concede to their giving themselves a $50 raise and putting the other $94,000 into housing for our elderly, additional health care, or additional job opportunities, but with the needs of our general membership being so great, how can anyone justify that kind of money going o so few? When these tribal members were elected to Council, they agreed to attend at least five tribal meetings per month and to expect a certain amount of time invested in necessary travel. In return, most travel expenses were paid at twice the rate of tribal employees. With this new raise, the lowest paid Council members will receive $2083 . 33 monthly for this part time tribal position. I do not believe our Council members have qualifications which demand this kind of salary. Sincerely, June Olson 840 P.O. Box 249 Grand Ronde, Oregon Editorial Policy Letters From Our Readers Smoke Signals is a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. We have recently adopted an Editorial Policy that encourages input from readers about stories printed in Smoke Signals as well as other tribal Issues. However, all letters from readers must be received at the Newsletter Office no later than the 20th of each month, with the author's signature, address, and phone number In order to be considered for publication. Letters must be printed or typed, and cannot exceed 300 words. Smoke Signals reserves the right to edit any letter for clarity and length, and to refuse publication of any letter or any part of a letter that may contain libelous statements or personal attacks. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Smoke Signals, tribal employees, or Tribal Council. Mail letters to : SMOKE SIGNALS, 9615 Grand Ronde Rd., Grand Ronde, Oregon 87347 ATTN: Tracy Olson News Briefs... ENROLLMENT Submitted by Margo Mercier and Tammy Garrison, Enrollment staff The Confederated tribes of Grand Ronde passed the 10-year mark since federal recognition was restored. In the past 10 years, the tribal membership has gone from 862 "automatically'' re-enrolled members to our present total of 3393 members. The Tribal Council has adopted stricter enrollment criteria for all individuals applying for enrollment -effective January 1, 1994. All members with roll numbers prior to 1994 are not affected by these new regulations. The current regulations were printed in a special edition of Smoke Signals and were mailed to all tribal members in November. If you would like a copy, please contact the Enrollment Office. The Enrollment Eligibility Requirements are as follows: 1 ) You must be descended from a Grand Ronde tribal member, 2) You must possess 116 minimum degree of Indian blood of a federally recognized tribe, and; 3) You must be accepted as a tribal member by demonstrating your social and economic ties to the Grand Ronde Tribe. Enrollment applications will be reviewed in June and December of 1994. The applications, eligibility requirements, and instructions are available upon request. The Enrollment Office also maintains a data base containing demographic information of tribal members. The information is updated continuously, and statistical reports are printed for program services and planning. Any information that is gathered is strictly confidential. The Enrollment Office will be mailing an information request later in January. We also prepare mailing labels for tribal programs. If we do not have your current address, we can't mail anything to you! A big thank you to all who keep us notified! Tribal ID. cards are issued in the Enrollment Office daily, but a call beforehand is advised. If the Enrollment staff are absent, there may not be an I.D. card issued. We will be mailing notices of cities and dates we'll be visiting to issue I.D. cards. Watch your mail! EDUCATION By Kristina Summers I am the daughter of Claudette Parazoo, of Portland, Oregon and Albert R. Summers, Sr., of Chiloquin, Oregon. I recently had the opportunity to attend an International MINIFORS II (minorities in Forestry) Conference held in Corvallis, Oregon. MINIFORS II started Sunday, October 24 withafieldtrip to McDonald Forest. This gave the participants a chance to see different stages of growth in our timber and how we are utilizing this source. The field trip consisted of many different speakers who touched bases on wildlife habitat and forest management interactions at stand level, challenges on forest lands, fish and aquatic resources and Riparian management, Native American values, and our future recreation development. Denise Meredith, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, Washington D.C., gave an inspiring speech on the "Future of Public Natural Resource Management". Monday, October 25, Charles Jordan, Director, Portland Parks Bureau, gave an encouraging speech on Diversity, Values, and Togetherness". A panel of four spoke about the different points of view on diversity and the future of forestry. Monday afternoon gave participants a chance to attend two concurrent sessions. In the first session, the topics were: wildlife, people studies, forest products, and resource biology. The second session the topics were: fisheries, resource management, resource biology, and social and economic issues. After the sessions, the participants broke into groups and were given research laboratory tours on the campus of OSU. Tuesday, October 26, a panel of four spoke on science, social policy, and natural resources. A management team of eleven people, who were challenged to come up with a solution to a fictitious problem that basically pleased everyone in the community. Then we heard four young professionals talk about what it took for them to get started in their careers, and where they are today. A third panel talked about tomorrow's work force and new trends in jobs. Afterwards a career fair with many workshops gave minority participants a chance to talk with employees, organizations and academic institutions about career possibilities. This MINIFORS Conference ended with encouraging feedback from the minority participants in sharing our own experiences and ideas. I would like to note that to be able to participate in this conference was the opportunity of a lifetime. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Education Department and the Education Committee for sponsoring me to be part of this conference. By Gayla Tulensru, Adult Education Coordinator Live Longer! Join our ABEGED classes. It's true! Just six minutes of stair climbing per day can add years to your life. For every step taken, you may gain four seconds of extra life. Our Tribal ABEGED classes can help. WeVe conveniently located our classes upstairs (to the right) of our Social Services (Depot) building. That means you have an opportunity to climb stairs and attend class. We offer exercise potential for the body and the mind. Hope to see you soon. Tuesday and Wednesday classes run from 4:30 to 7: 15 P.M. Thursday classes are held from 11:30 to 1:30P.M. In the case of poor weather (snow, ice, storms, etc.), please call to make sure classes are being held.
