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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1999)
MARCH 15, 1999 7 SMOKE SIGNALS 9615 Grand Ronde Road Grand Ronde, Or 97347 1-800-422-0232 FAX: (503) 879-2173 EDITOR: TRACY DUGAN 879-2254 tracydgrandronde.org REPORTER: OSCAR JOHNSON 879-2321 oscarjgrandronde.org GRAPHICS: KIM MUELLER 879-2264 kimmgrandronde.org Members of: I Native American Journalist Assoc. I Associated Press Society of News Design SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Or egon, is published twice a month. We have established an Editorial Policy to encourage input from read ers about stories printed in SMOKE SIGNALS, and other tribal Issues. However, all letters must be re ceived at the newspaper office with author's signature, address, and phone number in order to be con sidered for publication. 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 con tain libelous statements or personal attacks. Not all letters are guaran teed publication upon submission. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, tribal employees, or Tribal Council. UPCOMING DEADLINES DEADLINE 1S5UE DATE March 22 APRIL 1 April 5 APRIL 15 April 20 MAY 1 MayS MAY 15 May 20 JUNE 1 June 4 JUNE 15 June 21 JULY 1 Submissions must reach the SMOKE SIGNALS office by the dates listed. 3 Printed on recycled paper. Dear Editor: . I have been an employee of the Tribe for ten years and have wit nessed many changes in the orga nization both positive and negative. I have seen new elected Tribal Coun cil take office, watched old friends move on, and with great pride I have seen the organization grow to pro duce some very large successful busi nesses. With that success and growth comes additional responsi bilities. We are no longer a "mom and pop" organization. We are a government within a gov ernment. With the foresight to rec ognize the challenges that lay ahead for the Tribe, a Constitution was cre ated, a tribal ordinance manual was written, and a policy and procedure manual was put into place. These are our guiding documents. They were written to give us direction and purpose. They are to be used and referred to for all the decisions that affect you and me "the people." They are what protects us as a gov ernment. They are not to be taken lightly. They are our rights. In simple terms, they are laws we are governed by, the rules we are supposed to follow. We all know what happens when we break the law or stretch the rules in the real world! We pay a fine, have our freedom taken away (jail), or we do community service, and hopefully learn a lesson not to break the law again. We all know that our elected offi cials are supposed to uphold these laws and be accountable the same as you and me. Some folks would say that they should be more ac countable than the rest of us, be cause after all, we pay taxes, and that's what we are paying them for, right? Well, I believe it should work the same way in our own tribal govern ment. Our tribal officials are supposed to uphold our Constitution, the ordi nances, and policies and procedures without any personal agendas, free of undermining, bending the rules when no one is looking, or "playing favorites." Our elected officials are paid to adhere to these laws, putting the Tribe as a whole above all other per sonal, political, or family issues. In order to help assure our tribal officials uphold our Constitution, or dinances, policies and procedures that give our government the edge to be so successful, I urge you to be come familiar with these laws and rules that protect us. Speak out for things you believe in. If you remain silent, others take that silence as agreement with their position. ..which may not be what you believe at all. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for any thing! Sincerely, Kathleen Tom . Roll .817,., , Greetings to fellow tribal members: Earth Day is coming up and the Earth Spirit Council has provided a wonderful way for us to participate in a community celebration. On Saturday, April 24, a procession will start through downtown Portland, ending in Pioneer Square. The pro cession will be open to all who want to participate, plus a donation of two cans of food to the Portland food bank. Use your imagination and creativ ity to decide how you as an indi vidual or family can participate. There are no pets, motor vehicles, or written words allowed. Let us all join together with music and community to celebrate Earth Mother and the relationships we have with each other, our tribe, and our community. As a newcomer to Portland, and a tribal member,. I want to thank the Tribe, for our benefits and am look ing forward to meeting more mem bers. Call (503) 452-4483 to learn more about the Earth Day celebra tion. Judith Pettibone Roll 717 Volunteer for Earth Spirit Council Thank you 1 A great big thank you to everyone who helped make the fund-raiser for Gayla Tulensru so successful. Spe cial thanks to Val Grout and our Tribal Council; Violet Zimbrick and her daughter Connie Graves; Claudia Leno; Marion Mercier; Penny DeLoe; Debbie Lake; and Vivian DeMary for all the donations and all your help in the kitchen. In addition, we really want to thank Randy Dugger and his staff at Spirit Mountain Casino for their support and donations of food for the fund-raisers for Gayla and Mark Cook. We are so fortunate to live and work in a community with so many caring people. Sincere thanks, from the Fund-raiser Group Corrections Last issue's story "Anti-bigotry coa lition seeks more support from tribes" contained an error. The ATNI 1st Vice President's name is Ernie Stensgar. Also, Kathryn Harrison, Chip Tom, and Ed Pearsall attended NCAI last month, not ATNI. Mleituber Benefits ALERT You should have already received a special, one-page edition of Smoke Signals detailing the 1999 Approved Budget. In that mailer, the defini tions of Timber Member Benefit may have been unclear to some. Neither the Gaming Benefit or the Timber Benefit for 1999 is available yet to tribal members. Some members left previous years' allocations in their tribal accounts to collect interest. Others made total withdrawals of their funds in the past. If you have funds left in your tribal account from prior years, then you can request a withdrawal at any time. However, checks are mailed on the 10th day of each month, and request applications must be received by the last day of the previous month. (Example: If you request a withdrawal by March 31, your check will be mailed on April 10.) For 1999, Council must deter mine when and how the benefits will be distributed before tribal members can request withdrawals. There will be an announcement in Smoke Sig nals when Tribal Council makes that decision. OBITUARY In Loving Memory Dakota Warren Gene Cullen, infant son of Tiffany Cullen, passed away on Feb. 11, 1999. Dakota is survived by his mother; stepfather Mark Miller; grandpar ents Cathy Petite and John Cullen; stepgrandmotherCarlene Norred; and uncles Jason and Jeremy Cullen. Dakota was born December 28, 1998. Tiffany Cullen wishes to thank the Tribe and its members for all the support she has received during this difficult time.
