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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2003)
NOVEMBER 1, 2003 Smoke Signals 3 Endowments Are The Focus At General Council Meeting Tribal members asked about the Chinuk language lessons for kindergartners and prescription drugs for non Tribal members. By Ron Karten The October General Council meeting was held on Sunday, Oc tober 12, at the Tribal Community Center in Grand Ronde. Here are the highlights: Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy called the meeting to or der and expressed the hope that Tribal hunters had been success ful in the first week of hunting sea son. The meeting had been put off for a week in honor of the hunt ers. Tribal member Dakota Whitecloud offered the invocation. Tribal Finance Officer Larry Kovach used charts in hard copy and in a PowerPoint program to summarize the Tribe's six endow ment programs. Details about these endowments will be avail able in the next edition of Coun cil News. Further information is also available to Tribal members through the Tribe's Finance De partment. Tribal member Les Knight asked whether the Tribal Clinic was pay ing for prescription drugs for folks who are not Tribal members. Al though the Tribe dispenses pre scription drugs for less than the general public pays, and though the Tribe supplies prescription drugs to non-Tribal members whose primary care physician is at the Wellness Center, the Tribes do not pay for these drugs. Non-Tribal members pay for them either in cash or through their personal health plans, said Michael Watkins, Director of the Health Clinic. Tribal member Robert Nagel asked if the Tribes could purchase less expensive drugs from Canada, but that is not yet possible, accord ing to Watkins, who added that the Indian Health Services "are look- woman of the Elders' Committee. gram and now that they are of kin- ing at that possibility." In other announcements: D The 20th Anniversary of Resto- Elections will be held at the Tribal Council meeting on January 4. All Elders are eligible to vote. W6jp- ,,,.mm,..,n 1 1 '"'If. t i f J:",,t 1 v V - i i ,P"j ' t z .v" i i "... I f I m T.t - .. pl-t I , - ' I Finance Presentation Tribal Finance Officer Larry Kovach discussed the Tribe's six endow ment programs with Tribal members at the General Council meeting on Sunday, October 12. The proprietary information from the presentation will be made available to Tribal members in Council News, or directly through the Tribe's Finance Department. ration will be celebrated at the ca sino on November 22. D The Butch LaBonte family hon ored their daughter, Sophia Lynn, who passed away October 14 last year, with a giveaway this year on October 19. D Nominations for four officer po sitions for the Elders Committee will be held at the group's Decem ber meeting, December 7, accord ing to Louise Medeiros, Chair- Tribal Council member Ed Larsen reported that the council was looking into extra runs of the Elders' shuttle buses to make more room on the casino shuttles. Tribal member Betty Bly peti tioned the Tribal Council to extend Chinuk language lessons to kindergarten-aged children. To date, it has only been offered to HeadStart children. Bly's grandchildren had participated in the Head Start pro- dergarten age, she worried that it might no longer be available to them. "If they stop speaking it, they will lose it," she said. Although the council previously had approved funding for the three Cul tural Resources positions responsible for teaching the HeadStart children, it continues to investigate two things: first, whether existing positions can also serve kindergarten chil dren; and second, whether to fund new po sitions, not only for kin dergarten students, but for students up to high school age who will ben efit from continued stud ies with the language. Congratulations to door prize winners: $50 win ners were Tribal members Dennis Hicks and Bryan Langley, who is Manager of the Procurement De partment, along with Dave Fullerton, manager of the Social Services De partment. Fullerton and Langley contributed their winnings to the Amanda Jones Schulte Fund (Smoke Signals, 9-1-03) set up to help the family of this 18-year-old Tribal member pay for many of the uncovered costs of a heart-lung transplant. $100 door prize winner was Tribal member Shelly Bertolucci. The next general Tribal Council meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m., November 2 at the Tribal Commu nity Center. Lobbyist In Elite Class At Harvard Tribal member Justin Martin joins leaders from 57 countries in the mid-career Masters program. By Ron Karten For 11 months, Tribal lobbyist and Tribal member Justin Mar tin will be the toast of Beantown, as he pursues a Masters Degree in Public Administration for those in mid-career at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He joins 229 others from around the world including an Israeli Defense minister and a NASA space shuttle pilot. Statis tics he picked up from the orien tation session showed that stu dents represented 57 countries and 30 languages. They arrived with 136 advanced degrees, and came from such occupations as politics, journalism and such organizations as the Peace Corps and the New York City Police Department. Martin was the only Tribal member this year, though others have attended in the past, he said. "As a Tribal member and employee, I'm very proud to be in this group," said Martin by phone from Boston, "to have this opportunity that was basically afforded to me by the perseverance of our Elders, and in this, the 20th Anniversary of Restoration, I really feel blessed to have this opportu nity and proud to represent my Tribe in a class of this makeup." The school's website describes some of what Martin is in for: "This de- I t, ti . .r V J gree of diversity generates some of the liveliest and least predictable class room discussions at Harvard. Our Mid-Careers tend to have strong opin ions and they also have a wealth of professional experience with which to support those opinions. Ideas flow freely, and knowledge emerges from unexpected quarters." The group will be taking courses with names like 'Mobilizing Group Resources,' 'Leadership and the Structure of Organizations,' 'Mobilizing for Political Action' and 'Genius and Folly: How Leaders Use and Misuse Power.' Martin intends to fit the following goals into this rarified atmosphere: "I would like to, one, continue the work we've been able to do (Tribal govern ment to state and federal government relations), and to really be able to enhance my own personal skills and come back and share with the rest of the organization and the Tribal membership, some of the practices going on throughout the world. To sharpen my skills on analysis, advocacy and man agement: that's the gist of the program." Martin began to think about the program in 2,000 when the Tribe was honored by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development for its successful efforts in the field of government to government relations. In addition, Martin continues to work for the Tribe on a limited basis while in school. "I will still be directing the government affairs function, inter-government affairs," he said, "and still be coordinating with our team, including Tribal Council." In addition, he came home for a week at the end of August and will be back home again for a month in January. The summer session, which Martin attended, taught him a little bit about East Coast weather. "Let's just say, we got that tropical sun. The humidity's been a little tough, and not having a car is a little different, but you know, the Red Line's (street car) great." When done, Martin intends "to maintain a relationship with Harvard's Indian Economic Development Project. It does great things inside Indian Country and outside." "The school is obviously rich in history, and I look forward to learning more about it, and bring back some skills, and encourage other Tribal members to pursue their education goals as well," he said.
