Smoke Signals
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Council approves miew HoysBDisi pollScies
Tribal Council has recently ap
proved revised policies for the hous
ing programs administered by the
Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Au
thority. They are:
Minor Medical Adaptation Grant
This grant allows for funding for
medically required access ramps,
grab bars, and other minor accessi
bility accommodations. In the past,
this work could be done through the
Emergency Repair Program, which
has now been discontinued. Under
this new program there are no in
come limitations and the property
can be located anywhere in the con
tinental USA. The maximum grant
amount is $3,000, and preference
will be given to tribal Elders.
Home Repair Grant
This replaces the Major Rehabili
tation Grant, the Emergency Repair
Grant, and the Deferred Payment
Loan programs. This program pro
vides for basic home repairs and is
limited to roofs, wood damage, heat
ing, plumbing, electrical, founda
tions, and weatherization items. To
qualify, the property must be located
in the Housing Authority's ten
county service area of Polk, Yamhill,
Marion, Tillamook, Washington,
Multnomah, Clackamas, Linn,
Benton, or Lincoln counties in Or
egon. Tribal applicants must be be
low the income limits of 80 of the
area median income according to
their family size. The maximum
grant cannot exceed $10,000, or
$3,000 for mobile homes. Travel
trailers and RVs are not eligible.
Down Payment Assistance Grant
This program will essentially re
main the same, with tribal applicants
meeting the definition of "first time
homebuyer," and having annual m
comes between .til 5.000 and $65.000.
This program provides a grant of up
to $10,000, subject to a five-year resi
dency requirement in the new home.
The applicant must participate in a
homebuyer education class and con
tribute a minimum of $1,000 towards
the down payment, closing or related
costs. The property can be located
anywhere in the continental USA.
. More General Information
All programs give priority based on
the date of receipt of a fully com
pleted application, and preference is
given to Elders.
Applicants are not eligible to par
ticipate in any of these programs if
they have any past due unpaid debts
owed to the Tribe or the Housing
Authority.
For more information and applica
tions please contact:
Housing Authority
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, OR 97437
Local: (503) 879-2401
Toll free: 800-422-0232, ext. 2401
Cultural Resources staff will travel
in search of Grand Ronde artifacts
The goal of the Cultural Resource Protection pro
gram of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is to
protect, preserve, and promote the cultural heritage
and history of the Tribe. As the Tribe recognizes that
many cultural resources, including traditional sites
and burial grounds, are invaluable, irreplaceable, and
endangered, the Cultural Resource Protection program
was established to ensure that these resources are pro
tected and preserved by the use of policies, tribal, fed
eral, and state protection laws.
One law in particular, the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), has taken
into consideration the tribal viewpoint by making pos
sible the return of ancestral remains from museums
and providing for the protection tribal burial grounds.
In essence, repatriation is the act of returning sa
cred objects taken from tribes for museum collections
or scientific study, beginning in 1868. Up until nine
years ago, there was minimal legal recourse for tribes
to prevent disturbance of burials and theft of sacred
objects. On November 16, 1990 NAGPRA became law.
Specifically, NAGPRA establishes procedures and le
gal standards for tribes to repatriate human remains,
funerary objects, sacred objects, and cultural patri
mony by federal agencies, certain museums, and state
and local governments. It also recognizes certain tribal
rights in regard to burial sites located on federal and
state lands.
Thanks to NAGPRA, there are now several federal
grants available to Indian tribes interested in starting
the extensive repatriation process.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has just
received preliminary notification that a recent grant
application has been approved, meaning that the Na
tional Park Service could award the Tribe a substan
tial amount of money.to supplement our repatriation
endeavors. The objective of our proposed project is to
perform on-site investigations of four museums that
are holding the largest and most significant collections
of Grand Ronde materials.
These museums include Chicago's Field Museum, the
American Museum of Natural History in New York,
Harvard's Peabody Museum, and the Phoebe Hearst
Museum in San Francisco. The grant will provide fund
ing for five tribal employees to travel to each of the
four museum locations and digitally videotape relevant
collection items, photocopy accessions information, and
return the information to program offices for analysis
and data entry to be used for all repatriation efforts.
The Cultural Resource Protection program staff of
June Olson and Lindy Trolan will be making the trip,
along with our repatriation contractors Ryan and
Adrienne Heavy Head, and Museum Director Lisa
Watt. The trip is tentatively scheduled for the month
of September.
Cultural Resources Program
OPEN HOUSE
Thursday, April 22 m 9 am to 4 pm
New Governance Center m 96 1 5 Grand Ronde Rd
Anyone interested in learning more about the
Tribe's Cultural Resources program is invited to attend.
Opportunity to watch a flint knapper and make arrowheads.
'Learn more about family trees.
Help update what has been recorded in family trees.
Tribal history quilts will be on display.
Help identify old Grand Ronde photographs.
View a video of Grand Ronde objects the Tribe hopes to reclaim from museums.
Russellville
Continued from front page
eral traditional apartment units
within a single building to single
unit rowhouse-style buildings.
Sizes vary from a handful of one
bedroom units with 607-square-foot
of space for $550 to 1,348-square-foot
townhouses with three bed
rooms for $1,085 a month.
But Russellville Commons is more
than just a place to live.
, "It's not the usual straight-type of
apartments," said Shelley Hanson,
SMDC's development specialist. "It's
more of a community."
Thomas Manseau, leasing man
ager, said that in addition to all the
amenities included with Russellville
residency, "we also plan to have ac
tivities to get neighbors to know each
other and watch out for each other."
He says the housing project also
aims to help revive Portland's south
east quarter.
"Southeast Portland has been tra
ditionally known as the part of Port
land that nobody cares about," said
Manseau. "We've taken an upscale
property and built it in what has been
a low-income area. A lot of money is
being brought into the area."
Russellville apartments are open
to anyone who passes a standard
credit check and has a gross monthly
income that is equal to or greater
than three times the rent.
The nearly complete project is the
first of a larger two stage housing
development.
Phase two of the project is still in
the planning stages and will be com
pleted in 2000. The additional 196
units will include a multi-level apart
ment building, affordable housing
and retail space.
Russellville Commons
1 bedroom apartment: $550-$660
2 bedroom apartment: $715-$995
3 bedroom townhouse $1085
10320 SE Pine Street
Portland, OR 97216
(503)408-1111
www.apartment.comrussellville