Smoke Signals 3
Hatfield Visit Highlights March General Council Meeting
Casino, Policy and Planning staff give program updates.
MARCH 15, 2001
By Brent Merrill
The March Gen
eral Council Meet
ing was held on
Sunday, March 4 at
the Tribe's Commu
nity Center in
Grand Ronde. Here
are the highlights:
1954 is one of those
years in history
that we would like
to forget about,
but we cant
We must remember.
Senator Mark 0. Hatfield
on termination.
D Senator Speaks to Members
Former Oregon Governor, Secre
tary of State and Senator Mark 0.
Hatfield visited and talked about how
far the Tribe has come since he first
started working with the people of
Grand Ronde nearly 20 years ago.
"Senator Mark Hatfield and his
wife Antoinette are truly a part of
us," said Tribal Chair Kathryn Har
rison as she introduced Hatfield to
the membership.
Hatfield shared stories of his youth
growing up in Dallas and beginning
his career in Salem. He said he
roamed the mountains and foothills
of Grand Ronde as a kid. He remem
bered his family members who
worked in the timber mills in the area
and he remembered what it was like
to work with the Tribal leaders to
wards Restoration of the Grand
Ronde Tribe to federal recognition.
He also remembered the era of ter
mination in 1954 four years before
he became the Governor of Oregon.
He said it gave him great personal
pleasure to be part of the turnaround
and the establishment of a Tribal suc
cess story here in Grand Ronde.
"I want to say that it is a great
honor and privilege to be here and
to recognize again the broad base of
this confederated Tribal Council rep
resenting the Umpqua, Molalla,
Rogue River, Kalapuya and Chasta,"
said Hatfield in his opening remarks.
"I am more than pleased to be able
to join you."
Coming to the area was a chance to
remember days gone by for the state's
most powerful political figure ever.
"These are wonderful days of
memories," said Hatfield. "I'm try
ing to strengthen our understanding
of the past because I know that there
are many people here today that are
younger than my generation. I be
lieve that is a great responsibility we
have to pass on those memories of
that heritage that we all enjoy today."
The era of termination was a pain
ful memory for Hatfield. One he
shared with the membership.
"Let me just briefly say that after
1954, which was one of the most
troublesome years of our Indian
American political history, when
there was an expectation that the
Native Americans would meld with
all the other cultures, that we would
expect them to disappear so to speak,"
said Hatfield. "That was at a time
when they (members of the Grand
Ronde Tribe) were stripped of their
lands, stripped of many of their re
sources that they depended on. And,
1954 is one of those years in history
that we would like to forget about,
but we can't. We must remember.
Because it was not until 1983 that
the Grand Ronde Tribe was one of
the first groups to gain federal rec
ognition and be restored to their Na
tionhood to their status as truly a
people of great heritage and great
importance to this whole country.
"We were trying to keep the hu
man face of the Grand Rondes
people who lived here, people who
were related to this Reservation
and we had a great deal of help," said
Hatfield of the efforts by local politi
cal figures who helped the Tribe in
the fight for Restoration. "I must take
a moment to say that no group of
people (members of the Tribe), I
think, were ever represented by a
more dynamic, committed group of
leaders than Kathryn Harrison and
former chairman Mark Mercier and
Margaret Provost and of course my
colleagues Congressman Les Aucoin
and (Congresswoman) Elizabeth
Furse. We had the unprecedented
combination of Tribal leaders and
community leaders and public offi
cials. Therefore we were able to over
come those political hurdles we had
at the House and Senate. What you
have achieved here, you are begin
ning to disseminate to other parts (of
Indian Country)."
Following Hatfield's talk to the
I si p.
C PA V
3-' 1
i
in
, 3
1
membership, Tribal Council presented
the Hatfield's with a Pendleton blan
ket and the Senator's wife,
Antoinette, with Grand Ronde bas
ketry designed by Tribal basket mas
ters Sam Henny and Connie Graves.
D Casino Presentation
Spirit Mountain Casino's Chief Fi
nancial Officer Ty Huff talked to the
general membership about the cur
rent leveling off in casino profits.
Huff said that the gaming revenues
for the Tribe's casino have leveled off
in recent months and steps are be
ing taken to mitigate the drop off in
dollars. Huff said the casino admin
istration is reducing expenses in an
attempt to enhance profits.
Huff said one of the ways to limit
the impacts is to reduce staff through
attrition and only essential person
nel will be hired for a period of time.
The good news is that net income for
the casino is on budget and running
even with last year at this time.
Huff detailed the casino adminis
tration's new marketing theme and
what those plans entail. Huff said
200 new slot machines would be
added to the floor and that advertis
ing would be placed in local newspa
pers promoting the new machines.
The new machines will replace older,
outdated machines currently in use.
Huff said several new promotions
would also be taking place at the ca
sino in the next few months.
D Policy and Planning
The Tribe's Policy and Planning de
partment made a presentation to the
general membership about the re
sults of the Social and Economic As
sessment survey, which was recently
sent out to Tribal households in the
state and throughout the nation.
Do I get to keep it? Retired
Senator Mark Hatfield (center) and his
wife Antoinette were guests at the
Tribe's March General Council meeting.
The Hatfield's were given gifts by the
Tribal Council and Tribal members - in
cluding a Pendleton blanket and some
Grand Ronde basketry. Hatfield said
he was honored by the gifts and by
his association with the Tribe.
Dr. Gretchen Greene from North
west Economic Associates, the firm that
is handling the survey on behalf of the
Tribe, said the survey was an attempt
to assess where the Tribal community
is now so a future path for Tribal op
erations can be determined.
Dr. Greene said the survey was
mailed out to 2,337 Tribal members
over the age of 18. She said 47 per
cent of the Tribal members who re
ceived a survey responded. Dr.
Greene also said 415 surveys were
sent out to non-Tribal member
households and that 52 percent of
those surveys were returned.
B Door Prizes
Nancy Coleman, Albert Peters and
Dr. Bob McKusick (the President and
CEO of Northwest Economic Associ
ates) each won $50 and McKusick
donated his winnings to the Royalty
girls. Jessie Brann won the $100
drawing and Tonya Reibach won
two tickets to a Doernbecher Hospi
tal children's event at the casino.
Next General Meeting
The next General Council meeting
will be held on Sunday, April 1 at
11:30 a.m. at the Community Cen
ter. Presenters include Education
and Culture departments. Daylight
savings time is that morning
please remember to turn your clocks
ahead Sunday morning.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Let's Get Ready to Rumble....
By Justin Phillips and Willie Mercier
The earth is moving.
On February 28, 10:54 a.m. the Tribal
offices felt something underneath it.
Is this the Big One?
"My chair started moving back and forth,"
said Sheila Herber, Small Business Develop
Specialist. "Then I thought my books were
going to fall out of the book case."
Though it did no damage to the buildings,
it did do something. It reminded people that
you can never be too ready for a natural
disaster.
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake, centered
40 miles southwest of Seattle between Tacoma and Olympia. The epicenter
was 202 miles from Grand Ronde. The quake was the second strongest in
Northwest history.
Damages throughout the Northwest could reach above $2 billion, and the
hardest hit areas were near Seattle, Washington. The quake was felt as far
ted
"J thought I took too many aspirin. "
Nathan Rolston, Shipping and 'Receiving
"J thought my leg was shaking on its own. "
"Valerie McKnight, Patient Registration
"I thought I was having some dizzy spells. "
Egypt Powley Wellness Secretary
"The building swayed like we were on a ship. "
"Kim Mueller, Production Coordinator
away as Salt Lake City, Utah.
Experts said its depth was in a fault 31
miles underground. Since it happened in
land, there was no worry about a Tsunami
warning.
At least one person was confirmed dead and
more than 250 people injured, mostly in the
Seattle area. U.S. Highway 101 buckled in
areas north of Olympia and delayed flights
plagued Seattle International Airport. State
inspectors declared 21 buildings in downtown
Seattle were uninhabitable and six counties
were declared disaster zones. Puget Sound
Energy reported more than 200,000 custom
ers in Western Washington were without power for hours.
Experts say the earthquake that we felt is a reminder the Northwest is
headed for a major disaster unless preparation is given more attention.
Editor's Note: This story hit Smoke Signals website the day after it hap
pened. We are online.