Smoke Signals
Dear Fellow Tribal Members,
First, I would like to congratulate
Ed Pearsall, Jan Reibach and Cheryle
Kennedy for successfully winning the
Year 2000 Tribal Council positions. I
hope the three of you enjoy your time
on council and do your best to repre
sent the more than 5,000 members of
the Grand Ronde Tribe.
I would also like to thank those of
you who supported me in my bid for
Tribal Council. Although I was not
successful, it was an excellent learn
ing opportunity and I know that
there will be a time for me to repre
sent our people.
Thanks especially to Pat Mercier;
Walt & Ellen Brewster; April
Campbell; Bruce Thomas; Kayla
Leno, my daughter; Wayne & Sharon
Hanson, my parents; Rhonda
Hanson, my sister; Rebecca Crocker;
Val Sheker and Ed Pearsall.
Many others of you contributed
time and energy to my campaign and
I appreciate all you've done. I apolo
gize if I've left you off of the list.
Please know that I am grateful.
Best wishes to the other candidates
who did not get elected. I know that
each of you had good intentions and
I understand the disappointment
that you're feeling right now. This
is an opportunity for each of us to
find other ways to contribute to our
Tribe until we are successfully elected
to the Tribal Council.
This is an important time for our
Tribe. Each of us needs to commu
nicate our needs to our elected offi
cials. Surveys are being sent out.
Take the time to fill them out so that
our decision makers know what each
of us visions for our future. Also, we
need to encourage all of our Tribal
members to vote. Next year's elec
tion is just around the corner. Let's
see what we can do to increase the
participation rate in Tribal Elections.
Sincerely,
Shelley Hanson
Roll 1779
Dear Editor,
On behalf of my late sister, Emma
Riggs Summerlin, I would love to
thank all the kitchen help, Bonnie
Tom and her staff, and the Ladies
Altar Society from the church. I
apologize to everyone for not thank
ing them sooner.
Thank all of you again for your
help.
Wilmadene Riggs Butler
Roll 704
Dear Tribal members,
I would like to take this opportu
nity to thank all of you who sup
ported me during my campaign for
Tribal Council. Your efforts on my
behalf are greatly appreciated and I
promise you that I will be back and
that I will be involved in the Tribal
community.
Sincerely,
Bob and Gayle Mercier
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon, Is published twice a
month. We have an Editorial Policy to
encourage 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
signature, address, and phone number in order
to be considered 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 contain libelous statements
or personal attacks. Not all letters are
guaranteed publication upon submission.
Published letters do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal
employees, or Tribal Council.
2GM3SM-
IN LOVING MEMORY
Loren "Shorty" Kimsey
Loren "Shorty" Kimsey
of Grand Ronde passed
away September 1 in
McMinnville. He was
96. He was born the son
of Frank and Lela
Kimsey on December 29,
1903 in Ballston where
he grew up and at
tended school! At age
13, he moved to Grand
Ronde.
He married Tribal
member Nora Warren on July 5,
1929 in Grand Ronde. He worked
as a whistle punk for several area
logging companies in Grand Ronde
and surrounding areas.
Shorty enjoyed fishing and
owned a. dory for many years out
of Pacific City. He also enjoyed elk
hunting, camping and driving his
truck.
Survivors include his wife, Nora
of Grand Ronde; son, Marvin
Kimsey of Grand Ronde; two
daughters, Margaret Provost and
Myrna Brandon, both of Grand
7. i?y$
''' ' i -v ii
k "J-
. it.
Nora and Shorty smiling at the
1997 Elders' Christmas Dinner
held at Spirit Mountain Casino.
Ronde: 17 grandchildren and nu
merous great-grandchildren.
Services were held September 6
at the Nazarene Church in Grand
Ronde. Interment was held at the
Grand Ronde Tribal Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to
the Veterans Memorial at Grand
Ronde, in care of Dallas Mortuary
Chapel, 287 S.W. Washington St.,
Dallas, OR 97338.
ENROLLMENT APPEALS:
What's Happening?
As many of you are aware, in July of 1999, the Tribal membership
voted to amend the Tribe's Constitution and change the enrollment re
quirements. In December of 1999, several enrollment applicants were
denied enrollment for various reasons, some as a result of the change in
enrollment requirements. In June and July of this year, several of the
applicants filed "Petitions for Review of Enrollment Decision" with the
Tribal Court. Currently the Court has received approximately 51 such
petitions involving nearly 60 people. The purpose of this article is to
increase the public's understanding of what the applicants must prove
and the procedure for handling these cases.
Before filing in Tribal Court, a person applying for Tribal membership
must follow the procedures set forth in the Tribe's Enrollment Ordinance.
The applicant is first required to submit an application for enrollment
and provide all necessary supporting documents to the Tribe's Enroll
ment staff. The staff then presents the applications to the Enrollment
Committee. The Enrollment Committee then reviews the completed ap
plications and makes a determination as to whether the applicant meets
enrollment requirements. If the committee finds that the applicant does
not meet the enrollment requirements, the Enrollment staff sends notice
of the finding to the applicant. If the applicant does not agree with the
committee's decision, the applicant may file a protest with Enrollment
staff. If a protest is filed, the Enrollment Committee must reconsider the
application. If the applicant is again denied enrollment, the applicant
may appeal the decision of the committee to Tribal Court. The appeal is
filed in the form of a PETITION FOR REVIEW OF ENROLLMENT DE
CISION. The petition must be filed with the Tribal Court within 14 days
of receiving the final written decision from the Enrollment Committee.
A Petition for Review must be filed by the applicant, or the applicant's
parent or guardian if the applicant is a minor. As required by the Tribe's
Enrollment Ordinance, the applicant must persuade the Court that the
decision by the Enrollment Committee was arbitrary and capricious or a
violation of Tribal Constitutional Rights.
In reviewing the Enrollment Committee's denial, the Court will only
review the record with regards to the Enrollment Committee's decision.
This means that there is NOT a new trial. The "record" is everything the
Enrollment Committee had before them when they made their decision.
No new evidence will be taken.
Upon receiving the Petitions for Review, the Tribal Attorney's Office
has 60 (sixty) days to respond to the petition. Currently the Tribal
Attorney's Office has filed answers to approximately nine petitions. Due
to the high volume of cases, the Tribal Attorney's Office requested an
extension of time with regards to approximately 25 cases. The answers
for those cases are due September 18, 2000. Once the Court has received
a majority of the answers from the Tribal Attorney's Office, the Court will
begin setting what are referred to as "pre-trial conferences." The purpose
of a pre-trial conference is to discuss problems or issues that have come
up with a case. Some of the issues that may be discussed include how the
petition was filed or whether the applicant put in the petition all the re
quired information. The pre-trial conference may also be used to set dates
for future hearings. The Court may have more that one pre-trial confer
ence if needed.
After the pre-trial conferences are held, the Court will instruct the par
ties as to further requirements including setting a hearing date for "oral
arguments." At the hearing set for oral arguments, the Tribe as well as
the applicant will have the ability to make their arguments to the Judge.
After oral argument the Judge will make a decision on the matter. The
Court's decision is final and may not be appealed.
All of the above referenced hearings are open to the public. If you are
interested in attending any of the hearings, please .contact the Tribal
Court at 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2303 or 879-2303. :
In loving memory of
Mother
Qrandmotfier and
Qreat-grandmother
(Dorothy Olsen
Sept 2, 1920 -Aug. 2, 2000
Scappoose, Oregon
Love and prayer's
The Larru K. Okm Tnmfu
ssss
National Indian Day
Friday, Sept. 22
OFFICE CLOSURE: The Clinic and all
Tribal offices will close at noon on
Thursday, Sept. 21 and be closed
, , ( all day on Friday, Sept22., . . ,