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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1997)
nmmm n. J 'Wmmmmni limit -- iimnmWimrmm 'l New Tribal Council members take oath of 3-year term Official Results of Tribal Council Election: Val Grout 254 total votes Robert Haller 252 total votes Richard McKnight 128 total votes Robert Mercicr 266 total votes Joyce DeHart 88 total votes Tom Jones 1 63 total votes Bob Leno 1 57 total votes Linda Olson 137 total votes Ed Pearsall 278 total votes Darlene Aaron 94 total votes Eugene LaBonte 210 total votes June Sherer 234 total votes This is to inform all tribal members that on September 20, the Election Board dis covered 34 unopened ballots from the 1997 election that were not counted on election day. Thirty-one of the ballots were found separate from their return envelopes, but still in their security envelopes. If the counting of these ballots changed the overall out come of the election, the Board would called a new election. A new election would be necessary because without the return en velopes, the voters' signatures could not be verified against the voter's signature form on file. If the overall outcome of the elec tion did not change, the election results would stand. After meeting on this issue, the Board de cided to count the 34 ballots and add them to the candidates' total votes. The counting of these ballots did not change the final out come of the election, and the three original winners remain. The Election Board is inves tigating this matter and how these ballots could have been overlooked. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Due to hunting season, the next General Council meeting will be held on the sec" ond Sunday of the month October 12. I - '?! W w ; Hi 1 I' , . it Tribal Judge, Honorable Robert Goodwin, preformed the swearing in of the newly elected Tribal Council on September 1 5 at 11 a.m. Pictured is Val Grout, Ed Pearsall, and Bob Mercier. Tribes defeat Gorton measures Tribes win this round, but Congress Indian Tribes successfully defeated Washington Sen. Slade Gorton's measures on sovereign immunity and means test ing included in the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Senator Gorton is the chair of the Sen ate Appropriations Subcommittee on Inte rior and Related Agencies. He included the provisions as part of his chairman's mark up of the bill that provides funding for the BIA. As part of the full Senate's consideration of the Interior Bill, Gorton agreed to amend ments that eliminated the sovereign immu nity provisions (Section 120) and replaced language on the means testing (Section 1 1 8). The amendments were part of an agree ment worked out between Gorton and Sena tors Ben Campbell, CO; Dan Inouye, HI; John MaCain, AZ; Domenici, NM; and Ted Stevens, AK. "...This is a battle day, an important day in Indian country," said Inouye during the Senate floor debate on the issues. Inouye also stated, "Indian country has been vocal in its opposition to these provi sions, and I believe rightly so, for these sec tions go to the very essence and the very foundation of our relationship with Indian governments. So, in the days ahead, I hope we can focus our attention on the concerns that Sections 1 1 8 and 1 20 were designed to address in a venue that will enable the full is expected to look at tribal sovereign participation of those who would be most directly affected by these provisions, the tribal governments and the citizens of In dian country," said Inouye. Section 120 of the Appropriations Bill in cluded language that would have required a tribal waiver of sovereign immunity from lawsuits as a condition for receiving Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) funds from the BIA, and allowed such cases to be heard in federal court rather than tribal court. The TPA funds go directly to tribes for social service, education, housing, forestry and other necessary programs and services. The BIA funding is the primary source of funding for many tribes. Gorton said that he intends to introduce a tribal sovereign immunity bill to address tort, contract and state sales tax issues. Senator Campbell stated that he is commit ted that the Committee on Indian Affairs, which he chairs, will hold a hearing on the Sovereign Immunity Bill by April 30, 1 998. Section 118 of the bill would have re quired the BIA to create a funding formula to means test Tribes. The Bureau would have had to collect information on tribal gov- immunity and means testing further. ernment income, including business in come for economic development enter prises. The compromise reached includes lan guage that limits 1998 funding to the 1997 level and provides that any funding allo cated above the 1997 level (approximately $78 million) be distributed based on the rec ommendations of the JointTribalBI ADOI Task Force on Reorganization of the BIA of 1 994 and that a task force comprised of two representatives from each BIA area be se lected to distribute any remaining funds. In addition, Senators Gorton and Stevens have made a request to the General Ac counting Office (GAO) for a study of TPA distribution and tribal government business income. Senator Dominici indicated he would request a GAO study on tribal gov ernment needs. The Grand Ronde Tribe and Indian and Alaskan Native Tribes throughout the na tion worked hard to defeat the two measures. The Grand Ronde Tribe sent delegations to Washington D.C. to meet with Oregon Sena tors Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden and their staff, Representatives Elizabeth Furse, Darlene Hooley, Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumen hauer, Bob Smith and their staff on the is sues. The delegations were able to share information on the adverse impacts the mea sures would have on the Tribe and Indian country. Tribes receive support Senator Ron Wyden with 1 8 other Sena tors, sent a letter to the leaders of the Com mittee on Appropriations opposing the sov ereign immunity provision. "Section 120 is completely at-odds with both the broad history of federal Indian policy and recent legislation concerning Indian tribes. Congress has consistently enacted statutes that reflect the principal goals of federal Indian policy: promoting tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency, and strong tribal government," Wyden stated in his letter. "Eliminating this basic right of Indian tribes without any consideration of the re sulting effect does not further these objec tives and is flatly inconsistent with Con gress' policy of protecting the right of tribes to enact their own laws and be governed by them," Wyden stated. Support for tribes also came from Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers who signed a letter to President Clinton with seven other Attorney Generals opposing the two mea sures. Letters of opposition were sent to U.S. Senators Smith and Wyden by the Oregon State Senate Democratic leadership, includ ing State Senators Cliff Trow, Avel Gordly and Ginny Burdick. The Clinton Administration threatened a veto if the Interior Appropriations Bill sent to the President included the two measures.
