Smoke signals., October 15, 2004, Page 6, Image 6

6 OCTOBER 15, 2004
Smoke Signals
Secretary Of State's Office Helps The RezVote
Frank Garcia Jr. and company provide the Tribe with information and resources to get out the vote.
By Ron Karten
The hanging chad has been re
born this year into a federal pro
gram to get out the vote, and make
every vote count.
"We want to restore credibility to
the electoral process," said Frank
Garcia Jr., Manager of the Oregon
branch of the Help America Vote
Act (HAVA), during a recent visit
to the Tribe. HAVA is housed in
the office of Oregon's Secretary of
State.
The multi-faceted program aims
to reach those who have not in the
past cared to vote as well as those
who in the past have been unable
to vote because of a disability or
because voting apparatus was in
accessible to them.
For people with disabilities, "in
dependence and privacy is the
goal," said Garcia. "We want to do
away with (the need for) a companion."
TP-
.1.1:
,
Tribal Vote Tribal Council Administrative Assistant Lauri Smith, left, listens as
Frank Garcia Jr. , center, and Gene A. Newton describe some of the materials that the
Oregon Secretary of State's office has prepared to help the Tribe get out the vote.
In that regard, HAVA is insur
ing that voice-activated systems are
available so those with handicaps
can vote on their own. Materials
also have been produced for Span
ish speakers.
Garcia and HAVA Education,
Outreach and Training Coordina
tor Gene A. Newton dropped a
wealth of materials for the Tribe to
use to Tribal Council Administra
tive Assistant Lauri Smith, who
has been heading up Get-Out-The-Vote
efforts for the council. Among
the materials were posters, pens,
stickers, large print voter's guides
and maybe most important, a toll
free question line.
Tribal members can ask any
question, whether about registra
tion or where to drop off ballots, by
calling 866-673-8683 or for the
hearing impaired who use a
teletype machine: 866-350-0596.
The Voter's Pamphlet has been
produced in alternate forms this
year, including an audio CD and
streaming MP3 files for those who
use the computer, as well as the
large print version.
The effort already is bearing fruit,
said Garcia. Voter registration is
"through the roof, at it's highest
level ever."
The effort also will include 30 bill
boards throughout the state.
"Get your voice out there and
make a difference," said Garcia. D
Tribal Member Review Board Gets Down To Work
Three to five Tribal members are needed to watch over each case. The Review Board slate starts out with four members.
By Ron Karten
Part of the training for the new
Tribal Member Review Board in
cludes participating in a mock hear
ing. In the case of the first four
members Patty Tom Martin,
Sharon Hanson, Debby Larsen and
Joann Mercier they heard a case
that Tribal Judge Katharine En
glish had previously decided.
They studied the case, listened
and asked questions of ICW and
Tribal representatives posing as
parents and
lawyers. "It was
amazing that
we came to the
same conclu
sion that the
judge did," said
Hanson.
I lanson's fam
ily has a long
history of tak
ing care of foster
children as
many as 25
over the years.
When she saw
the advertise
ment seeking
participants,
she said, "it was
a project dear to
my heart."
"I've always been interested in
foster care, myself," said Tribal
member Debby Larsen. "This was
a way to help. I have had some
concerns just by hearsay about fos
ter care, and rather than go by
hearsay, I wanted to find out first
hand."
And 'finding out' they are.
Hanson said she is now in posses
sion of a case file "three inches thick"
to go over. The first panel will hear
this first case on October 21.
The start of this latest Tribal ef
fort on behalf of Tribal wards of the
Court came in January, 2003 with
an Indian Child Welfare (ICW) or-
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Stephanie Grim
dinance requiring the Review
Board. The process of gaining
Tribal Council approval, writing a
Tribal ordinance along with policies
and procedures for the board took
until earlier this year to complete.
The first ads for Review Board mem
bers were posted in May.
To have a look at the ordinance,
go to the Tribe's homepage at
www.grandronde.org or just click
on the Tribal logo on the start page
for the
internet.
Click on
'Tribal Online
Documents.'
Click on 'In
dian Child
Welfare Ordi
nance.' Then
go to page
41(e): 'Com
munity Re
view Boards.'
"It is similar
to the state's
Community
Review Board
process," said
Tribal mem
ber and Tribal
Court Admin
istrator An
gela Fasana.
The idea is to have fresh Tribal
hearts and minds providing input
to the Tribal Court as it adjudicates
the upbringing of children in the
court's care.
"It's nice to have more Tribal in
put," said Fasana. "And it provides
an additional cultural component
(to the Tribal Court's efforts).
The Tribe now handles 30 Indian
Child Welfare (ICW) cases while 45
Tribal children are currently wards
of the court. The goal is to have a
slate of Tribal members willing to
review cases. The Court is seeking
"nine and 12 would even be better,"
according to Stephanie Grim, Tribal
Member Review Board Assistant.
The Board selects three to five to
review each case.
"This is a very exciting develop
ment for the Tribe," said Judge
English. "We are hopeful that other
volunteers will want to do this im
portant work."
Applicants must be 21 years of
age, preferably a Tribal member,
and a resident of the Tribe's six
county service area. And "...to the
extent practicable," the ordinance
says, "have special knowledge,
background andor experience in
one or more of the following:
parenting or foster care taking;
Tribal custom, tradition; law; medi
cine; psychology; social work; or
education." In addition, as part of
the application, all applicants un
dergo a background check.
"It put me back into the thinking
that there's a lot of problems with
children that you don't really think
about until you get back into it,"
said Hanson. "And you realize that
a lot of those people are struggling
with a whole lot of issues." B
"SERVING OUR
TRIBAL CHILDREN"
VOLUNTEER
MEMBERS WANTED
The Tribal Member Review Board needs YOU as a volunteer serv
ing our Tribal Children. YOU could be the one to make a difference
for our children's future by completing this and returning it toclay to:
Tribal Member Review Board, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde,
Oregon 97347.
For additional information, call 503-879-2303 or 503-879-1367.
Name:
Please Prinl
Address:
StreetPO Box
Cily, State, Zip Code
Phone Number