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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1996)
June 1, 1996 SMOKE SIGNALS 9 IZIval Grout I would like to begin by saying thank you for considering me to represent you as one of your Tribal Council members once again. My parents are DeWalt and Arvella Houck; my grandparents are Abe and Maude Hudson and John Houck and Frances Houck Porter; my great-grandparents are Dave and Tilmer Leno and John and Cecile Warren. My husband Pete and I have five children who all support me in my desire to continue to work for our Tribe as a Council person. I have served on Tribal Council for 8 years and feel that I have gained the experience to help me to always consider all factors before making what I pray are good, sound decisions. Restriction by federal laws regarding the Six County Service Area has been one of hardest issues of all the years I have served on Council. I have always recognized the need to serve all our tribal members regardless of where they live. We now have tribal revenues that are not restricted by federal laws, therefore giving us more flexibility in the equal tribal member distribution of funds and services, be it Health, Education, Housing or Benefit Package. In addition to serving on the Tribal Council for 8 years, I have been active with the Pow-wow Committee for 1 2 years and the Elder's Committee since its inception. I supervised in the kitchen for the dinners and breakfast for the Pow-wows for the past 1 2 years. I also served on the Health and Human Services Committee for several years, and continue to keep up on the health issues that effect our people. I have been a regular attendee of the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians and Oregon Tribes meetings. Meetings are important because of all the issues State and Federally that effect Indian governments. It is a privilege and an honor to vote in your tribal elections, so I ask you look into your candidates and vote for the ones who have the experience. These are hard times for Indian people with the Federal Government cutting Indian funding, and proposing taxing on Indian Gaming. I can't make any big promises, but I can promise that I will continue to do my best to insure fairness regardless of where you live. Thank you for your support. tZkeon "Chip" Tom Hi - my name is Leon "Chip" Tom and I have served on Tribal Council for five years. I would like to think that I have done my best for the General Council and would like to continue for another three years. My emphasis has always been on our future resources - our tribal children. It is important to provide the highest quality of education and health care. I attend as many tribal children's activities as I can and enjoy the time getting acquainted with the children. I also want to see benefits for all tribal members, both inside and outside the Six County Service Area. Those benefits would include health care, education, and retirement or trust funds for all tribal members. I have worked over 40 years as a logger, 7 years in the plywood industry, and have some experience as a longshoreman. I understand what life is like for the working person and I want to be a part of developing more opportunities for employment in the future. I would like to encourage tribal members to come to all meetings, like the May 5th General Council meeting. I like to hear your ideas, comments, and needs. Many decisions are made by Tribal Council and it does help to have tribal member input. We are bound by tribal constitution ordinances and state and federal law so we cannot enact all ideas but will do our best to incorporate member ideas. I want to thank the people that I work with every day, Council members, tribal staff and everyone that has supported me for the past five years. It has been very educational and fun. I lost a very good friend, Ray McKinght, two years ago and that was a very sad time for me. I serve on the Timber Committee as an honorary member, the Land Acquisition Committee, the contributiondonation commit tee, and the Facility Design Committee for the new Health and Wellness Center. I would appreciate your vote in the September election. 0Bob Lcno It is indeed an honor to be considered for Tribal Council. I would like to thank Angie Ellis for nominating me. A seat on Tribal Council is an opportunity to serve the people of the Grand Ronde Tribe. A responsibility not to be taken lightly. As a Council member you are asked to wear many hats. You must be a politician, a businessman, an analyst or a sympathetic friend. The ability to set aside personal feelings and use good judgement based on the information before you is a must. Always remembering the people of the people of the Grand Ronde Tribe are trusting you to make decisions based on their best interest. Bob Leno knows this better than most. As a former Councilman, I am eager to face the challenging tasks a Councilperson is entrusted. The years I spent in as a Councilman are filled with memories of working with some awfully good people. Intelligent and determined. Not the kind of people who take "no" for an answer. Working toward a common goal: "Restoration." Restoring the name Grand Ronde Confederated Tribe to Federal Recognition. It was the experience of a lifetime. There were meetings with politicians. Mass amounts of information to consume and process. We all got a crash course on how the American political system really works. Many decisions were easily made. But some took a lot of hard work. Hours were spent examining the pros and cons. Sometimes turning into heated debate. But always ending with a well thoughtout decision. Based on the good of tribal members. I don't think you could find a team that could put together a better package than we presented Congress. We looked at every option. Dealing with opposition with forethought. And eliminating it before the subject arose. I want the people of the Grand Ronde Tribe to know Bob Leno has the experience. Bob Leno has your interest at heart. Bob Leno knows how to fight for you. Bob Leno will do his best to remove the word "can't" from any answers coming from Council. Bob Leno will examine every issue and work to make improvement. Bob Leno will work to protect what we have. Bob Leno will work to ensure this Tribe has a future. Come election day I hope you will all vote. When voting I hope you find me worthy of serving you all. If you do, Bob Leno will do everything he can to improve things for the Tribe. Bob Leno will do his best to ensure our children and grandchildren have a future. Bob Leno can make the tough decisions it takes to get the job done. Thank you all for this opportunity. Lurauf ruiini My name is Patricia (Patsy) Pullin and I am happy to be running for Tribal Council. Kathryn Harrison is my mother. For the past thirty years I've been busy raising my family as an entertainer in the music business and part-owner of three businesses. I enjoy doing charity work for the senior citizens, the V.F.W. and the Special Olympics. Not one to waste time, I recently graduated from the University of Alaska with an A.A. degree. An issue important to me is jobs for tribal members and their spouses. This is a real problem. I also feel we should provide health care for all tribal members no matter where they live. However, my key concern is better provisions for our elders and a good starting point would be to take care of their utilities. I ask for your vote in the upcoming election. If elected to the Tribal Council, I will work hard as your representative. Thank you. Hen Gregg My name is Ken Gregg. I am a 49 year old tribal member who has recently moved back to the Grand Ronde community because of a strong desire and commitment at this time in my life to take an active role in not only the successful operations of our new casino as a supervisor, but to become actively involved in our tribal political structure. I feel our Tribal Council, past and present, has done an excellent job not only in the reconstruction of our tribal community, but the rebirth of a heritage almost lost in a society where personal gains far outweigh the collective good of the community. My only hope is that given the opportunity, I will be able to echo not only the concerns, but the hopes and dreams of each and every tribal member no matter where they live. 0Jesse "Pee Wee" Robertson, Jr. I'm Jesse "Pee Wee" Robertson Jr. I'm 34 years old. I've been married to my wife Cathy for three years, I have three stepchildren and one grandchild. I have lived in the Grand Ronde area since about 1 980, with the exception of 1 98 1 to 1 985, at which time I was in the U.S. Navy, I served in Yokosuka, Japan. My father's family has lived in the Grand Ronde area since the 1940's. My father's name is Jess Robertson, my paternal grandparents were the late Jack and Opal Robertson. My mother's family is from Otis. My mother is Ida Paterson, my maternal grandparents are the late Alfred and Juanita Curl. I am running for Council because I believe it is my time to step forward and help my people. I've considered running before, but I waited until I thought I was mature enough for the job, and I believe I'm ready now. When I make decisions they will be my own and not somebody else's. Up until this point in time, I believe the Council has done a good job, but, I think it's time for some new faces. I hope to be one of them. I've been involved with the Veteran's Committee. More veterans need to get involved, because there is not enough veterans on the Committee. tZfftlark A. Merrier My name is Mark Mercier, Tribal Council candidate. Since February 1984, I have had the pleasure of serving, and since October of 1985, I have served in the capacity of Council Chairman. In 1 984, the Tribe began operations in a 24 by 24 foot building at the cemetery. Since then, the Tribe has experienced explosive growth, beginning with five full-time employees to 1 40. While serving on Council, I have participated in the tribe's 4-year effort to secure the reservation which is timberland. I have also participated in the Council's effort to get the Spirit Mountain Casino up and running. The Casino has 800 employees. Despite past accomplishments, many complex issues still face the Tribe. As a result of termination in 1 954, a great number of the tribal membership reside outside of the Grand Ronde Community, and the Six County Service Area. Can the Tribal Council provide adequate health services to this segment of the tribal population? Will the Tribal Council use monies from gaming to provide opportunities for our youth to further their education beyond high school? Will the Tribe provide adequate housing for members wishing to return to the Grand Ronde Community? In order for the Council to provide housing, considerations must be given about costs for basic utilities for water, sewer and roads. The Tribal Council may want to explore other ways to further economic development opportunities other than gaming and timber. On the gaming front, there are many people in Congress who will attempt to either tax gaming or impose stronger regulations on it. You may be aware that the current Republican Congress is pursuing a balanced budget. Already, some in Congress have stated that tribes making huge profits from gaming may get their federal sources of funding reduced. On the local front, there is a new tribal casino under construction which will be operating in later June. It is expected that competition from that casino may impact ours. We cannot afford to sit back now. We must be aggressive in further economic development activities. Regardless of what the Tribal Council does, the Council must work closely and cooperatively with all levels of government, Congressional, the Federal agencies, State level and local levels as well. If the Tribal Council didn't work cooperatively with other governments, it is doubtful that the Tribe would have a reservation or gaming operating now. Being a Council member requires a great deal of dedication. One must be willing to look at the facts surrounding any issue to make an informed decision. As a Tribal Council Chairman, I have been committed to planning for the long term well being for the Tribe. With your vote, I will maintain that commitment.
