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!