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Editorial and Opinion
Smoke Signals January 1995
Chairman's
By Mark Mercier
You are no doubt aware of the
results of the November 8th
National Election, with a majority
of Republicans assuming control
of both the U.S. House of
Representatives and the Senate.
How will this affect Indian
Tribes? Here's an excerpt from the
Republican Budget Initiative
document which was produced by
the House Committee on the
Budget Republican Caucus.
Major Program Reforms
"The Republican budget
initiative calls for a variety of
reforms designed to improve
program efficiency and
effectiveness and reduce aggregate
r
. ... i
miwiiiiim -i
Former Congressman Les Aucoin, left, came to Oregon in
November and explained some of the changes in Washington
D.C. to Tribal Council and some staff members.
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, 961 5 Grand Ronde Rd., Grand Ronde, Oregon
97347 ATTN: Tracy Olson
Report
costs."
The following portion pertains to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs:
"This proposal would accelerate
the trend toward self-determination
for Native Americans. It transfers
the direct management of tribal
commodities to the tribes
themselves, and phases out
government financial assistance
from management costs. The
reinvented BIA will provide block
grants as is already beingdone under
the experimental "self-governance"
program (sic) rather than engaging
in the direct provision of services or
the direct supervision of tribal
activities.
This proposal also assumes that
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the number of area offices will be
reduced from twelve nationwide to
four, and federal subsidies will be
eliminated to tribes which are
economically self-sufficient."
Tribes nationwide may want to
closely monitor the new Congress
regarding issues pertain ing to Indian
Country. Many of the newly
elected members of Congress ran
on the "reducing the deficit"
platform.
When attempting to balance the
federal budget, social programs are
usually targeted. In the past, Indian
tribes throughout the nation relied
on Congress to keep program
monies intact. In the future, this
will only become more difficult,
especially when members of
Congress know that some tribes
are earning large amounts of money
through gam ing and other ventures.
It will be very important for tribes
to wisely use funding especially
from gaming to strengthen health,
education, housing and other
programs currently funded by the
Federal Government.
One may believe that through
treaties negotiated between tribes
and the U.S. Government, the U.S.
is "obligated" to provide funding
for tribes. However, the reality is
that many people ran for Congress
on the platform of a balanced budget
in the last election. Tribes
throughout the nation cannot afford
to continue to rely on the Federal
government for program money.
Tribes need to become self-sufficient.
Council's crime busting action a good deal
Paying for community police work
appears to be a good investment for
the Grand Ronde Tribe. The Tribe
and Polk County are in a law
enforcement partnership. The Tribe
is providing $45,000 to have a full
time deputy assigned to the Grand
Ronde community. The first report
Mail to:
, Newsletter
I 9615 Grand Ronde Rd.
I Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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Tribal growth prompts
changes in newsletter
By Tracy Olson
Tribal members will remember
1994 as a key year in tribal history
because of the many
accomplishments and successes the
Tribe hashadthisyear. Somemajor
accomplishments include:
The Tribe's casino is under
construction, and employment plans
are being made.
Tribal Council formally adopted
the Strategic Plan this month, laying
the groundwork for a vision of
success for the Tribe's future.
Tribal leaders and managers
successfully negotiated with the
Bureau of Land Management for
240 acres of land as compensation
for a survey error that mistakenly
eliminated 84 acres of timberland
from the tribal reservation.
In addition to all these successes,
the Tribe continues to grow in every
division. More and more tribal
members are opting to attend
college or take vocational training
classes to help better their lives;
business people and entrepreneurs
are taking advantage of Small
Business Development's classes and
services; and the Tribe has realized
the necessity for a bigger health
care facility that will adequately
accommodate the needs of a
growing tribal population and their
families.
Moreover, Tribal members are
voicingtheir concerns and opinions
regarding Tribal Council decisions,
to the Tribal Council from the Polk
County Sheriff shows that there has
been a lot of activity in August,
September and October. There
promises to be more in the next
report, because that will reflect
burglaries and robberies that take
place during the holiday season.
Moving?
Let us know!
the need for housing, Tribal Court
procedures, and hunting and fishing
rights, to name a few.
And there promises to be as much
change and growth in 1995 as there
was in 1994. Possibly more.
The newsletter department has
realized that it will have to change,
too. Here are some of the changes
you will see in Smoke Signals in
1995:
The newsletter will be published
two times per month in order to
relay information in a timelier
manner. It is estimated that this
process will begin in the first few
weeks of the year. This change will
allow tribal members to read more
current news, updated job
announcements, and current
activities the Tribe will be hosting.
It will also allow for more news of
interest and feature stories related
to Native America today.
The newsletter will hire a part
time assistant to help pub! ish Smoke
Signals twice permonth. The Tribe
is growing, the newsletter staff
should . too.
As the Newsletter Coordinator, I
hope everyone continues to read
and enjoy Smoke Signals in 1995.
There will be several changes and
transitions during the next couple
of months, and your patience is
greatly appreciated. If you have
questions regarding the newsletter,
please call me at 1-800-422-0232.
Because of the number of calls
the Sheriffs office is handling from
the Grand Ronde area, it looks like
the Tribe made a wise decision in
working with Polk County law
enforcement agencies.
For a related story on law
enforcement, please see page 4.
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