Smoke Signals 1 1
OCTOBER 152011
1.1(333316 I
Dear Smoke Signals:
I'd heard so many stories of the difficulties and rejection my grandfather
had been through as a result of being Native American and I knew how
proud he would have been to see how our people had pulled together to
create something good, something that allowed us to rely on and take care
of each other, to preserve our culture and share it with our children.
However, what was once a source of pride for me personally has now
become a source of pain and sadness: My family is one of those being
"split" by the 1999 enrollment amendment. While their cousins have
been accepted as Tribal members, my children have been disenrolled or
rejected, not because they didn't have the same heritage as their cousins,
but because they were born too late. I often wonder how my grandfather
would feel to see his great-grandchildren being rejected and made to feel
different much like he was ... but this time by our own people.
I believe that the majority of you don't think this is right, and fortunately
right now we have an opportunity to correct it. Please send in your voter
registration form before Oct. 17 so you can vote in the upcoming election.
You can bring about justice, you can make a difference in the lives of these
children, simply by voting "yes."
Shawni Modrell-Astrof
Roll 2591
Dear Smoke Signals:
My name is Joel Selwyn. I am 19 years old and have been a proud mem
ber of the Grand Ronde Tribe my whole life.
I've only been voting age for two years. I think our younger generation
of Tribal members needs to start speaking out when something concerns
them. We are the future of this Tribe.
I am only starting to become familiar with this election we have going
on right now with enrollment. This issue is deeply personal for me. Until
recently, I had no idea what took place in 1999. But what I have learned
lately is that it affected members of my family, the Norwests, in a way
that is totally unfair.
My cousins are the same generation as me. They have parents and an
cestors who are Grand Ronde. Their blood quantum should be the same
as mine because we all have the same grandmother. Like me, they should
be Grand Ronde Tribal members, but they are not. All of this because of
the 1999 amendment.
I am not writing this letter just for my family. But had it not affected
my family, I might not have educated myself and realized how unjust
these situations are. There are other people also affected this way and I
would like to think that many of my fellow Tribal members, if given the
opportunity to fix this problem, would do it.
This isn't about money or politics for me. My life will go on the same
regardless. It's about what is right and fair. Please vote "yes" in this elec
tion. Joel Selwyn
Roll 3688
Dear Smoke Signals:
I sincerely hope that everyone has registered to vote in the upcoming
election. Now is the time to finally correct and end the enrollment problems
and unfairness related to split families and to our fellow Tribal family
members who have been denied enrollment once and for all.
My only child, Lucy, is now 5 years old and deeply wishes to be enrolled
along with her denied two cousins, and to join her two older cousins who
are enrolled. She loves being involved in Tribal activities and is very proud
of her Native heritage.
She adores the support she enjoys from her Portland Tribal "family,"
who have all contributed to her regalia and language and her Tribal his
tory and involvement.
These denied three children born after 1999 do not understand why
they are not included as enrolled Tribal members. They all have the same
blood quantum, and an enrolled parent or grandparent. Please find it in
your heart to vote "yes" in the upcoming election. I believe in the Native
tradition to include family in our Tribe.
This will end the divisiveness and let us focus on coming together as a
whole. It can only make us stronger as a proud and caring Tribe.
Nina Shields
Roll 2943
Dear Grand Ronde Culture Committee:
Recently we were out visiting family in Oregon from Montana and were
invited to the encampment celebration in Grand Ronde.
I would like to thank the committee and Tribal members who were part
of making this possible. We had a great time meeting people, praying and
just being around in a positive place. We ate food, ate again, and then
again. You will never go hungry in the community of Grand Ronde. Our
favorite was the nice salmon brought in by Rachelle Holiday.
Thanks to all who helped cook, clean and put up tipis. You are all in our
hearts and prayers.
LaFawn & William Bostwick
Great Falls, Mont.
Dear Smoke Signals:
Eleven months ago, I had a baby. He is such a gentle spirit who loves
to smile at everyone he meets. Of course, I immediately submitted the
required papers so he could join us in our Tribe. I want him to feel the
pride of being a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde as he
grows up and throughout life.
Sadly, my little baby was rejected because of the 1999 constitutional
amendment and it truly broke my heart. I wondered how I would explain
to my child when he was old enough why some of his family was enrolled
and why he wasn't. I couldn't help but think of our ancestors and how
disappointed they would be to think these little babies and others are
being denied. The Indian way is to take care of their own, not turn them
away.
So with that said, I ask you, my fellow Tribal members, to please vote in
the upcoming constitutional election for the families who have been split
by the 1999 amendment to be reunited in the Tribe. To make a wrong
become right again by voting "yes."
Candace Modrell
Roll 2578
Dear fellow Tribal members:
A great man once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter. "I started mentally writing this letter some time
ago, stopped, and today resumed because of that quote. This might be
an unpopular view to take right now, it certainly feels like that at times,
but I've little regrets about saying I plan on voting "yes" on the upcoming
constitutional amendment. I hope that you will join me.
I honestly cannot think of an issue that has consumed more council time
than enrollment. Nor can I think of one for which there will likely never
be a consensus. But that is the fact of the matter regarding this particular
topic, and has been since 1999 and probably even before then.
The 1999 council did what they thought was in the best interest of the
Tribe at that time. Grand Ronde was experiencing a population boom
that would have made providing services nearly impossible if not put
in check. I do not believe the leadership then intended many of the side
effects we've been dealing with since then, from the split families to the
premature blood quantum cutoffs. Their intent was not to harm anybody.
But make no mistake there was harm done to some Tribal families, and
we've become all too familiar with their stories. Those stories resonated
with the membership in 2008, who voted in a clear majority to fix these
glaring problems. But a constitutional amendment needs more than that,
and here we are again.
There were a number of proposals put forth by Tribal Council members,
ranging from split issues to single issue at a time approaches. Almost as
many proposals were made as there are council members, which shows
you we were trying. While the one we are voting on didn't have unanimous
consent, it did get majority support, a prospect I thought nearly impos
sible. Yet no single council member, I'll wager, is getting exactly what
they want.
My personal belief is that if the amendments were split up most of them
would fail. They did last time, and that was before the great divide amongst
those groups of Tribal members who champion enrollment reform. We
tweaked the language from 2008 and added another dimension, the "cap."
I can speculate as to why Amendments B and C failed three years ago, but
my best guess would be many Tribal voters weren't ready to enroll several
hundred new members for fear of the strain that would put on our Tribal
government. The enrollment "cap" provides us the opportunity to ensure
that doesn't happen too quickly. In other words, we have a tool to ensure
our growth doesn't happen quicker than our ability to accommodate it.
On a personal level, I have an ancestor on the Restoration Roll. My own
situation is secure. Furthermore, I've friends on both sides of this issue,
those who want change and those who don't. I might lose some depend
ing on how this vote pans out, and probably already have. Regardless, I
honestly and sincerely believe the proposal we have in front of us will heal
some of the unintended damage brought about by the 1999 amendment,
but still keep the end goal intact. It recognizes and fixes present prob
lems without undoing the intent of a past decision, one that past leaders
thought necessary.
My life has been made better by being a Grand Ronde Tribal member.
This Tribe helped me through college, through tough personal times, and
more. It has allowed me to be part of a community where I've forged deep
personal relationships and seen unique opportunities available nowhere
else. Seriously, who wouldn't want to be a Grand Ronde Tribal member?
Years from now another young man might be typing a letter to his fellow
Tribal members. This will be a letter to Smoke Signals, urging the mem
bers to see his point of view on some contentious issue. He will have been
helped through college, earned the trust of his fellow members, and come
to care deeply about this community, this family of families. Who knows
what contributions he will have made to the Tribe, to society perhaps. This
young man too will have lifelong friendships with fellow Tribal members.
He may even be a Tribal Council member one day, feeling a debt owed to
this Tribe, one stemming from opportunities afforded him because decades
earlier his people sought not to keep him out on based on a technicality,
but instead said collectively, "Yes, you belong."
Christopher G. Mercier
Roll 1821