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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2003)
JULY 1, 2003 Smoke Signals 9 Chris continued from page 8 could always vote themselves a pay raise... "Ugh," he thought, reminded of the turtles. "Depressing theory. But I guess not all can survive." Theory 2 held more appeal, the one about evolution. The same way a snake outgrows its skin, the Tribe outgrew Grand Ronde. They didn't discard it, but simply moved to greener pastures. By 2003 membership realized that change, evolution, was essen tial to the Tribe's survival. Council was expending more Tribal re sources maintaining their foothold, and membership knew it. No body wanted these lawsuit-prone power-mongers running the Tribe anymore. When that year's election rolled around, Tribal leadership changed forever. Honest council members were elected, ones that cared. Issues pre viously ignored were addressed. People denied membership enrolled. Cultural revival ensued. Trust was restored. Council recognized that pinning the Tribe's fortunes solely on gambling was foolish, and pursued other ventures. Internal fighting stopped, because those wanting only to fight were exposed and promptly forgotten. The Tribe spread out, no longer concentrated solely in Grand Ronde. Being a major player in the political and business realms of Oregon could be done elsewhere, Salem or Portland. Supposedly, Tribal descendants still live in the community, for Grand Ronde is revered, still sacred. To them, it represents roots. They are proud of their heritage, of such an inspiring history. "Yes," he thought, smiling. "Some do survive." Somewhere in that building Tribal Archives lurked, a sacred book of Tribal history the answer to an enigmatic mystery. Hopefully, he would find out what really happened. This much was certain: The Tribal Election of 2003 determined everything. (To be continued....) Christopher Mercier 1821, 51181 Hebo Road, Grand Ronde, Or egon 97347 503-879-8368 cgmercieryahoo.com Jan D. Reibach Dear Tribal Members, My name is Jan Denton Reibach and I served on the Tribal Council since Sep tember of 2000, thank you for the trust and support. My seat is up for election this year, I know that we are all getting a little tired of "campaign letters", so I prom ise not to bore you with hollow promises or the political talk that has become so common every year. I would like to ad dress the many important issues, but please keep in mind that we are only allowed 600 words. One of the reasons why I ran for council in 1999 and 2000 was that many of us were concerned about the Tribes' investment activ ity. We would go to council meetings and ask questions, there were even petitions for information. From my first day on council I started asking questions about our money directly. By this time others were concerned as well. The problems with the Tribes' investments were uncovered shortly after, and the council, along with the Tribe, put a new system into place that will protect your financial interest in the future. The Tribe filed a multi-million dollar suit against the com pany that allegedly committed the "fraud" against us. We are still dealing with the financial fall-out from these investments. I realize that making decisions about financial matters are just part of a councilperson's job, as a Tribe we are not a business, but a people a family. However, our financial success has made us a target, and every Tribal dollar belongs to you. I think that the Tribe could start sending reports to each member directly, at least once a year, perhaps semi-annually. This would let you know ex actly how the Tribe is doing, casino is performing and where your money is being spent. In 1996, 1 drafted and helped coordinate the original petition to the Tribe for per-capita payments. I would like to see an increase in per-capita to the membership this coming year. I do believe in a balance between per-capita and our other programs. I am currently serving on the Casino Board and am happy to report that our casino is doing better every month. We have been working on increasing our net profit, while maintaining our high level of customer service. It is expected that Spirit Mountain will break records this year. These last few elections, negative politics is getting worse. We are all getting so tired of candidates making attacks on our Tribe just to try and push the voters' buttons to gain a vote. In the last couple of years, it has been reported that some have called people at home and told ridiculous lies about the Tribe and council. O In general, if we are going to spend your money on a program, it should directly benefit you. The Tribe is on the right track re viewing our programs and making improvements. But we still have a lot to do. I pray that we can continue to make progress and learn to work together in a positive way, putting personal opinions aside to make decisions with all of you in mind. Because it is not our differences that make us strong, it is our sovereignty as a Tribal People. After all, the government does not just represent us here today, it repre sents those who brought us this far our ancestors... and they should always be remembered. Thanks and God Bless, Jan D. Reibach, roll 668 503 876-7350 Mark Mercier Dear Tribal members: My name is Mark Mercier and as one of the nine original Tribal Council members sworn in after the Tribe regained federal recognition in 1984 I am asking for your support so I can bring my knowledge and experience to the council once again. When the Tribe first started out the only piece of property we owned was our ances tral cemetery, and the council and its staff operated out of a small building that served as our office. It was impossible to imagine back then what the Tribe would have accomplished by now. The Tribe has economic development ventures throughout Or egon, but none of these accomplishments happened overnight. It took hard work and perseverance by the council to get the U.S. Congress to pass the necessary legislation to accomplish all of these objectives. It is vital that the Tribal Council insists on working co operatively with local, state and federal entities to ensure that the Tribe continues to make positive advancements in all aspects of Tribal operations for the future. I would like to see the Tribe explore the possibility of providing some sound technical assistance to members who wish to establish or enhance their private enterprises and small businesses. The Tribe should also analyze its endowment funds to ensure that the support will be adequate for the future education of our young members and that we will be able to meet housing and health needs. When these resources were originally established, our membership was approximately 2,500. Now, it has since doubled to 5,000 or more and a large number of Tribal youth will need a good education to enable them to become self-sufficient when they join the workforce. We, as a Tribe, have come a very long way, but I would like to see us become more aggressive in pursuing further economic develop ment for our long-term future. Establishing these developments takes time, analysis and plenty of careful planning to assure that any venture the Tribe pursues will become an asset instead of a liability. We cannot afford another strategic wealth management debacle. I believe that this mess could have been avoided; in fact in 1996 I recommended that we investigate SWM and possibly locate another firm to manage our investments. Another concern of mine is Congress, who is constantly looking for ways to tighten federal funding for Tribes who have successful gaming. Believe it or not the federal government isn't the only administration who is constantly reviewing their annual budgets, states and local governments are also attempting to balance them out. Over dependence on federal funding could leave the Tribe "hold ing the bag" if Congress does reduce funding to gaming Tribes. The Tribe will need to so some serious planning for housing since water in the Grand Ronde Community is getting increasingly diffi cult to secure. And we will also need infrastructure development such as roads and sanitary services to be addressed. Furthermore the Tribe should look for ways to assist members who wish secure adequate funding for the purchase or remodeling of homes, regard less of where they live. This is possible, now that the Tribe has its own financial resources. We should work to secure an adequate long-term future. The Tribe has an advantage over other government entities. We have the financial capability to secure a sound future for ourselves and our futures. It's true; we have come a long way since 1984. Let's not stop now. GET OUT AND VOTE THIS YEAR!
