JULY 1, 1999
3
Dear tribal members:
I am writing with concerns about the upcoming special election. Some
blood quantum records have been found inaccurate. We have families of
full sisters and brothers with different blood quantum amounts. Keeping
an accurate tribal roll is our tribe's responsibility. It is absolutely necessary
to guard against error. Before we start changing our Enrollment Ordi
nance, we need to have an accurate roll.
Currently, we have families that claim Tillamook, Klamath, Nez Perce,
Cayuse, Klickitat, Alaskan, Sioux, Cree, Chinook, Chippewa, etc. These are
not treaty tribes, but the blood has always been accepted here as part of
blood quantum. Many before were adopted here by our chiefs even before
treaty times.
Now we question their wisdom.
Tribal members have been told this amendment is supposed to prevent
people from relinquishing from other tribes to come to Grand Ronde. But
looking at the 6-15-99 Smoke Signals under "Proposed Changes" (the bold)
does not do that. We were also told at the community meeting that if blood
quantums depreciated to where our membership declines, we could change
this amendment back again. But the BIA must approve a special election,
so there are no guarantees. From experience, they could propose termina
tion rather than an election. I suggest that the reason the Tribe wants to
practice exclusion is because of money. (Read 6-15-99 Smoke Signals "Why
should I care?")
Without our blood, our treaties are no good. And without our treaties, we
would not have the right to have a casino! Some people within our tribe,
don't want to learn or hear about history. It is your history that has given
you your present, and your present ensures your future.
This proposed amendment was written hastily, without the benefit of an
"impact statement." The enrollment records were not researched and the
effects of this amendment were not studied. At the first of the year, there
were approximately 701 tribal members with 116 blood. But to truly un
derstand the impact you have to include all the persons that are just short
of 18. There are approximately 1195 persons that would be affected. That
is over one-fourth the current enrollment. If these people can't add their
spouse's blood to their child's, these people will not have another generation
of enrollment at Grand Ronde. They are our cousins and a part of our
community we shouldn't deny. , ,
This amendment will create hard feelings between and within families. To
all of you registered to vote, I urge you to vote no! This amendment is wrong
for our people! Our "blood" is our birthright; given to us by the Creator. The
treaties ensure us of our rights, but they are not worth the paper they are
written on. Protect your birthright, protect your blood! Vote no!
Thank you,
Christine Contreras
Roll 3431
EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the content of this letter and the close
ness of the special election, we asked Tribal Council to comment
on the accuracy of the author's statements regarding the process
for amending the Constitution.
This letter contains inaccuracies. We believe a few of these need to be
corrected to avoid misinforming our membership.
Tribal Council currently has the authority to correct the membership roll
by making blood quantum changes or adding a person to a roll who should
have been listed, but was not. The proposed Constitutional amendment
retains this ability to correct the membership roll.
The BIA does not approve a special election. If Tribal Council or General
Council submit a legally sufficient Constitutional amendment to the BIA,
the BIA is required by federal statute to conduct a special election on the
proposed amendment.
The statement that "without our blood, our treaties are no good. And
without our treaties we would not have the right to have a casino" is also
inaccurate. Our Tribe was restored by an act of Congress, the Grand Ronde
Restoration Act, and not under a treaty. Although the Restoration Act re
stored earlier treaties with the tribes of Grand Ronde, it is the Restoration
Act which restored the Tribe's status as a sovereign government. The Tribe
has the right to operate a casino because of this sovereign status (within the
guidelines of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act).
The financial impact information included in the Smoke Signals article was
provided at the request of tribal members who attended the various commu
nity meetings on this issue. This information was included in the article for
the sole purpose of providing tribal members with as much information as
possible when making their own decision on the proposed amendment.
The proposed amendment was thoughtfully considered by Tribal Council
and was not drafted "hastily." The impact this amendment would have on
families as well as on tribal resources was seriously contemplated. The Tribal
Council reviewed these impacts as well as how other tribes have dealt with
these matters.
Thank you
The American Legion Sheridan
Post 75 and Auxiliary Unit 75
wish to thank all of the people that
helped make our new Sheridan Days
a huge success.
Thanks to all of the committee
staff, volunteers, participants, and
citizens that attended.
We especially wish to extend our
thanks to Niva Grand Ronde Veter
ans, the McMinnville Veterans Club
House Group, and all other Veter
ans Groups for their participation.
We also wish to thank the citizens
and auxiliary members who helped
make our bake and rummage sale a
success.
Our thanks to the Astoria clowns
whom drew the winning numbers in
our raffle.
The winners were: 1st prize
Rentz, 2nd prize- Daniels, 3rd prize
Fabiano. All prizes have been
claimed.
Thanks to all of you that bought
tickets and we hope to see you again
next year.
James Gordon
Post Commander
1999-2000
Julie A. Gordon
Aux. Unit President
1998-2000
EDITORIAL POLICY:
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Con
federated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Commu
nity of Oregon, is published twice a month.
We have established an Editorial Policy to en
courage Input from readers about stories
printed In SMOKE SIGNALS, and other tribal
Issues. However, all letters must be received
at the newspaper office with author's signa
ture, address, and phone number In order to
be considered for publication. SMOKE SIG
NALS 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 necessar
ily reflect the opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS,
tribal employees, or Tribal Council.
PEAPUNE
JULY 6
JULY 20
AUG. 5
AUG. 23
SEPT. 3
SEPT. 20 -
OCT. 5 ' -OCT.
20
NOV. 5-
NOV. 19
DEC. 6
ISSUE DATE
JULY 15
AUG. 1
AUG. 1 5
SEPT. 1
SEPT. 15
OCT. 1
OCT. 15
NOV. 1
NOV. 15
DEC. 1
DEC. 15
JAN. 1
DEC. 20
Submissions must reach the SMOKE
SIGNALS office by the dates listed.
SMOKE SIGNALS
Public Information Office
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Or 97347
1-800-422-0232
(503) 879-2254
FAX: (503) 879-2173
mm supus o msi mwm
Chinook Jargon Meetings
THE PURPOSE:
provide information on current and future language activities
gain feedback from interested community members
encourage involvement by tribal members interested in language revitalization
THE FOCUS:
current and future Chinook Jargon activities
issues related to all of the original languages of the Tribe
The Tribe's Language Specialist will host a series of six meetings this summer.
The Language Program encourages all interested individuals to attend.
Meetings will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and refreshments will be provided.
JULY 7: GRAND RONDE - Governance Center, classroom 204
JULY 8: PORTLAND-AREA - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI),
1945 S.E. Water Avenue, Parker Boardroom.
JULY 19: BEND Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas
JULY 26: SALEM location will be announced
JULY 28: EUGENE location will be announced
AUGUST 4: GRAND RONDE A draft long-term Community Language Goals
document will be presented for comment at this follow up meeting. For those
interested but unable to attend this meeting, the draft document will be available
by mail for comment.
For further details, call Tony Johnson at
1-800422-0232 ext. 2084 or (503) 879-2084.