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Photo by Ron Karten
An enlarged photo of Tribal Elder Jackie Whisler sits to the left of her coffin during a celebration of life ceremony held ,
Dec. 7 in the Tribal gymnasium. Whisler, who died Dec. 3 at the age of 56, was an instrumental volunteer in the Tribe's
Restoration effort in the late 1 970s and early 1 980s.
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals stuff writer
All morning on Dec. 7 the day
the Tribe laid to rest esteemed El
der Jackie Whisler the sun kept
disappearing behind the clouds.
After a celebration of her life in
the Tribal gymnasium and burial in
the Tribal cemetery, a light rain fell
intermittently over Grand Ronde
for the rest of the day.
It seemed fitting.
Jackie, born Jacqulyn Rae Mercier
on Aug. 10, 1951, in McMinnville,
will be remembered, friends and
family said, for her tireless work on
the Tribe's Restoration effort.
But that's the historical side.
For many grieving her death and
honoring her life, more personal
memories came to the forefront.
"I'll remember her laugh," said
Christine Mercier, wife of Jackie's
father, Tribal Elder Dean Mercier.
"I remember first and second
grade," her son, Doug Colton, said.
"She was our den mother. She made
cookies and everything. She was a
great cook."
He said his favorite home-cooked
meal was fried chicken, particu
larly the wings that Jackie made
for their hunting trips.
"To this day, when we go hunt
ing," Doug said, "Mom would make
us chicken wings for our trip. She
also made chocolate chip cookies.
"She was always there for us and
everything. She basically led our
Cub Scout stuff when we were in
Amity. She was always there for
Little League, too, making sure we
had clean uniforms. You couldn't
ask for a better Mom when we were
growing up."
Jackie was born to Dean and Ger
ald ine (Dorland) Mercier and raised
in Grand Ronde. She married Doug
Colton Sr. in July 1968, bringing
WHISLER continued
on page 4
Enrollment election dominates General Council meeting
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
A presentation and subsequent
discussion about the Feb. 8 Tribal
enrollment requirements special
election dominated the Dec. 2 Gen
eral Council meeting.
Tribal Attorney Rob Greene and
General Manager Chris Leno pre
sented history and information
about the three proposed consti
tutional amendments. Their pre
sentation was followed by Tribal
Council member comments and
Tribal members who had questions
about the Tribal Council's decision
to split the election into three votes
instead of the two recommended by
the Enrollment Requirements Ad
Hoc Committee in October 2006.
Greene briefed General Council
attendees on the Tribe's enrollment
requirement history and the chang
es proposed in the Feb. 8 Bureau of
Indian Affairs election.
Before 1999, Tribal member
ship was open to people who were
not members of another federally
recognized Tribe and whose name
appeared on the official Tribal
membership roll prepared under
the Grand Ronde Restoration Act.
Membership rules also required
that people possess at least 11 6th
Indian blood, be descended from a
member of the Grand Ronde Tribe
and have been accepted as mem
bers under the Tribal Enrollment
Ordinance.
After the 1999 vote to amend
Tribal enrollment rules, member
ship became available to people
who were not members of another
federally recognized Tribe and, if
were a member of another Tribe,
had relinquished membership in
that Tribe for a year.
Also, membership became avail
able to those whose name was on
the official Tribal membership roll
that was prepared under the Res
toration Act or existed as of Sept.
14, 1999.
To become a new Tribal member,
applicants had to have at least
11 6th Grand Ronde blood; be born
to a parent who was a member of the
MEETING continued
on page 3