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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2000)
6 Smoke Signals Wesley "Buddy" West Dear fellow Tribal members: My name is Wesley "Buddy" West. My mother is Marion Haller-Davidson. My grandmother was Adeline Menard Haller. I have been nominated for Tribal Council. I am a Viet nam Veteran and re tired from the U.S. Army in December of 1980. I feel that it is an honor to be nominated for Tribal Council. We should remember that Council mem bers are our elected representatives, working to gether for all of us and that the concerns of each Tribal member should be the primary issue for each Council member. If elected, I will strive to address issues that are of concern to all of us. One of these issues is ad equate housing. I see some of our Elders with in comes below the minimum to qualify for Tribal El der housing, still living in standard housing. This should not be! These are ear Elders! I see other Tribal members who would like to re turn to the Grand Ronde area, but cannot because affordable housing is not available. These issues should be addressed and a solution to alleviate the problem found. Another issue I feel strongly about is Tribal em ployment. I am especially concerned about our young Tribal families and single parents who are struggling financially and are continuously turned away because they do not qualify for a particular job or even job training. Yes, they do have benefits such as health and education available to them. However, neither of these benefits provide for the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. If our Tribal community is to thrive, Tribal members, at the very least, require a place to live and a job to pay for it. People in these situations are our fam ily, friends and our fellow Tribal members. For them, I feel responsibility. They need our help and I believe we should all be concerned. Another issue that affects all of us, is investment policy. I believe in the strategy of spreading invest ment throughout a number of different ventures to ensure a continuous flow of incoming revenue should the market become soft in some area. I feel, how ever, that more consideration needs to be given to local business investment like CTGR Trucking. The Tribe needs to look at local business investment which will benefit the Grand Ronde community while generating revenue and employment. Con sideration needs to be given to, not just how many job openings a business might create, but how many Tribal members will it employ. I am proud of our Tribal Council for their accom plishments, their hard work, and the programs they have implemented to help our Tribe arrive at where we are today. I do, however, believe, there should be more communication between Tribal Council and Tribal members. Most Tribal Council members that I have spoken with have an "open door" policy. This is good, but a more direct line of communication is needed. Tribal members want to receive current and correct information rather than rumors about government operations. Further, Tribal Council might benefit also by hearing Tribal voices and re ceiving more input. Perhaps this can be achieved by expanding Tribal Council minutes with more information which explains each item voted upon. Certainly, some information should be confidential if it is going to jeopardize the Tribe. However, once the issue is resolved, this information should be available to the public. Finally, I would like to say that I am proud of our heritage and our culture. It is one of the reasons we are where we are today. I feel these programs continued should continue to be supported and expanded. We should never lose or have taken from us our pride in our heritage and our culture. I would greatly appreciate your vote on election day. Thank you, Wesley "Buddy" West D Loren Holmes My name is Loren F. Holmes son; of David and Vida Holmes. I attended St. Michael's School and went to Willamina High School. I also went to Portland Com munity College. I served in the United States Army and I am a Veteran of the Ko rean War. I spent most of my life here and I am related to most of the Tribal members. The reasons I would like to serve on the Council are, and there are a few: Health we need to take better care of our people. Education we all could stand to be better educated. Housing we need to have better housing for the needy because some of our Tribal members can not meet the qualifications to get in these programs. I would like to see if there are better ways to get these things done. Also, the needs for our Elders should be looked into. If these things can be done, I would like to be the one to do it for our people. Thank you, Loren F. Holmes B Steve Rife I live in the Grand Ronde area taking care of my father, Wil liam Rife who is a Tribal Elder. I served in the Marine Corp. and Army in Vietnam and was wounded while serving my country. I am running for Tribal Council be cause I feel I have a lot to give to this commu nity and its people. I want to be able to make a difference in people's lives, through education for the young and care for the elderly. Also, by bring ing people's attention to the resources available. By putting the people and the programs together, we can build a stronger Indian community. I want to do my part to make that happen, to make sure everyone is aware of resources available and to get what they need. I know that I can do this. By doing so I will be helping young and old alike to live life to the fullest by benefitting from programs provided and making us a large family, the way we intended to be. Please vote for me, Steven E. Rife Roll 1480 fl m .w "'11 iiMteailali 1 k " - -4 Lottie Child My name is Lottie Child. I am descended from the Jeffers Quenels families. Our families have been members of the Confederated Tribes for many generations. I am the youngest of eleven children. I grew up in the Benton County area, I lived in Eastern Oregon for about 14 years. I worked five years for the Bureau of Land Manage ment as a map specialist. I went to work for the people on Aug. 5,1996, in patient registration in the medical clinic. Since then, I have helped many of our people in a variety ofways. I would like to see some kind of health plan for all Tribal spouses. Many of us would not mind paying as long as the amount was affordable for us. Some of our Tribal members have a hard time making it from one payday to another. Having a health plan that would help our family is something that many Tribal members need. It should not matter where we live or how old. We are all Grand Ronde Tribal members and we should be treated equal. I am for the timber and casino money we get. That money helps a lot of families in many ways like back bills, rent, car repair, etc. We need to look at programs that will help all Tribal members no matter where they live. I was taught by my parents we take care of our family and help them if we can. I hope that our family Tribal members are more important then greed for when I leave this world I will take the love I have for my people with me not money, cars, houses, etc. I hope that when that day comes, I will also leave behind a future for generations of Grand Ronde members down the line. They can then look back and say our Elders really cared for our people. I am for enrollment to be changed so our descen dants can be enrolled, that is their birthright. It is not fair to keep descendants off the roll just because their parents were not on the roll at the time of their birth. There was no Tribe at the time of their birth, for the Tribe was in termination. These people should be allowed to be on the roll as long as their family has always been Grand Ronde people and has never been enrolled in another Tribe. My people, I ask you to start thinking about taking care of our own people and do what is right for our future gen erations. If I am elected, I will strive to address my peoples' issues so our voice will be heard. I am very proud of how far our people have come. Tribal Council has done many great things for us all, but there are many issues that need to be addressed. Some of our people are still homeless, hungry, sick and jobless. They need all of our help. We need to stand together and let our voices be heard. We must continue to build on our future, but at the same time "we as Indian people" must not forget our rich cultural heritage. We must al ways remember that our past is a very large and important part of that future. If I am elected to serve on the Council, I will do my best to encourage this thinking. And, with the cooperation of each and every member of the Council, strive to be of and for my fellow Tribal members. Thanks to the Smoke Signals for allowing my word to be heard. I greatly appreciate your vote. Thank You. B ::7 - m :: . )k A
