Smoke Signals 5
DECEMBER 1,2011
2006 Tribal offices were closed for parts or all of at least three
days as rain, wind, snow and freezing temperatures affected High
way 18 and the Grand Ronde area in late November. A skeleton crew
operated at the Tribal Health Clinic and at Public Works, which
kept the heat on and the on-campus roadways clear.
2001 Tribal member David Harrelson participated in an Out
ward Bound challenge in the North Cascades Mountains of Wash
ington state. He said he appreciated home more now after three
weeks spent in the wilderness, learning how to survive.
- 1996 More than 200 Tribal members attended the 13th cel
ebration of Tribal Restoration held at Grand Ronde Elementary
School. Powwow Committee Chairman Merle Leno asked Tribal
Council Chairwoman Kathryn Harrison to talk about Restoration.
She said Tribal Council did not invite any guests to speak so that
Tribal members could have an opportunity to talk about what
Restoration meant to them. "You all are the real special guests,"
Harrison said.
1991 Rebecca Crocker, granddaughter of Wilson Bobb Sr., was
selected as the new Adult & Family Services coordinator for the
JOBS Program, which assists Tribal members who are recipients
of assistance and reside in the six-county service area.
1986 The annual Christmas Party was scheduled for Dec. 20
at Grand Ronde Elementary School. The Tribe was soliciting dona
tions of money, gifts for door prizes, candy, nuts and fruit. A potluck
was set for 1 p.m. while Santa Claus was scheduled to make an
appearance at 3:30 p.m.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year
increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Chinuk Wawa classes offered
The Tribal Cultural Education Department offers adult Chinuk Wawa
language classes from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in Room 207
of the Tribal Education Building.
Language classes can be taken for college credit or for fun.
For more information, call 503-879-2249 or 503-437-4599. H
teen collecting
pennies for presents
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal teenager Loren Hahn,
16, knows the value of a penny.
Or, more accurately, the cumu
lative value of a lot of pennies.
For the second year in a row,
she is collecting pennies to buy
Christmas presents for the less
fortunate.
Hahn started Pennies for
Presents last year when she
was 15. It is a nonprofit foun
dation that helps less fortunate
families have a better holiday.
The goal, Hahn says, is to raise
enough money through penny
drives to help families in the
local community Hahn lives
in Aurora, Ore. who need a
helping hand for Christmas.
The pennies provide food and
gifts for children, and most of
the gifts are educational.
In 2010, Hahn collected
75,000 pennies, or $750, which
helped three families have a
better Christmas.
This year, she is working
with fellow Tribal member
Ayana Buxton, an 8-year-old
third-grader at McMinnville's
St. John's Lutheran Church
, rr -
f " 3l
i
Contributed photo
Tribal members Ayana Buxton,
left, and Loren Hahn.
who is this year's Junior Miss
Oregon.
Penny donations will be ac
cepted at the Tribe by Shannon
Simi at Tribal Social Services
and Kandee Little and Melody
Baker, who both work at the
Tribe's Health & Wellness
Center.
Hahn is a junior at North
Marion High School and plays
on the varsity soccer and soft
ball teams, among her other
interests. B
Per capita distribution
set for Friday, Dec. 9
Per capita check distribution will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday,
Dec. 9, in the Tribal Community Center. If checks are not picked up before
4 p.m., they will be mailed out at 4:30 p.m. that day.
If you are picking up a check for another Tribal member, you will need
a notarized note to do so. For more information, call Tribal Member Ser
vices at 503-879-2490. D
First Fish Ceremony sot for Doc. 16
The Tribe will celebrate its first First Fish Ceremony from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16.
The event is being planned by the Tribal Culture Committee, Cul
tural Resources Department and Natural Resources with assistance
from the Public Affairs staff.
Tribal members are encouraged to attend.
The ceremony will start at 10 a.m. at the Tribal Fish Weir on
Agency Creek and be followed by a community meal at the Tribal
Community Center. Representatives of the state Department of
Fish & Wildlife will be special guests. For more information, call
the Public Affairs Department at 503-879-1418. D
Critics objected to the
bundled approach
ENROLLMENT
continued from front page
quota set by Tribal Council on how
many new Tribal members could
be enrolled.
Supporters were optimistic of
attaining the Tribal Constitution's
benchmark of two-thirds approval
since several of the proposed chang
es were supported by a majority of
Tribal voters in early 2008.
However, critics objected to the
bundled approach, wanting to vote
on each proposal separately. They
also did not support the new vote
on the five-year relinquishment pe
riod, which was the only proposal to
garner two-thirds approval in 2008,
the redefinition of Grand Ronde
blood and the annual quota.
The only Tribal consensus ap
peared to be support in eliminating
the parent on the roll requirements,
but since it was incorporated into
an "all-or-nothing" approach, sup
port was not enough to overcome
concerns that many Tribal mem
bers had about other aspects of the
bundle.
Slightly more than 38 percent of
Tribal members who could have
registered to vote in the Nov. 15
election did so. Of those who regis
tered to vote in the special election,
71 percent cast ballots, which was
a decrease from the 78 percent
turnout in 2008 constitutional
election.
'There is still a lot of work to do
with regard to enrollment," said
Tribal Council member Toby Mc
Clary, who opposed the bundled
approach. "Individual views of this
most recent election will probably
vary. However, my view is that
there are a lot of people who belong
on our rolls who are currently being
denied. How we remedy that is still
uncertain.
"There are many people who are
hurting as a result of this election
and when people are hurting, there
are no winners. I feel that the cur
rent members of Tribal Council
are committed to the issues that
surround enrollment. I also be
lieve there is a way to help Tribal
families through our hard work
and my hope is that we begin that
work now."
Tribal Council member Chris
Mercier, who supported the bundle,
said, "It's obviously a very divisive
issue, and probably will always be
a divisive issue. I think that the
reality is that getting two-thirds
majority support makes getting a
constitutional amendment really
daunting. ...
"I personally think that the eco
nomic climate has to have had an
impact. There were a lot of people
who expressed concern over the
financial impacts of suddenly en
rolling all these new people, and
we are worse off financially than
we were three years ago."
Mercier said he thinks enroll
ment issues will continue to be a
topic of discussion for the Grand
Ronde Tribe.
"The fact that it hasn't been re
solved means it is still a live issue,
and it is still something that people
can campaign on and keep alive,"
he said.
The Nov. 15 election was the third
time Grand Ronde Tribal members
have voted on enrollment issues
since 1983's Restoration.
In 1999, Tribal members ap
proved a bundled proposal that
tightened up requirements to limit
burgeoning enrollment caused
by the financial success of Spirit
Mountain Casino.
In 2008, only one of three sepa
rate proposals - the five-year relin
quishment period that people have
to wait after they leave another
Tribe before they can apply to enroll
in the Grand Ronde Tribe - received
the constitutionally mandated two
thirds majority to be incorporated
into the Tribal Constitution.