S moke S ignals
january 15, 2014
16 Tribal members
retain membership
Tribal Council votes 5-3
to not disenroll for dual
membership in another Tribe
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Sixteen Tribal members who saw
their enrollment cases sent back to
the Enrollment Committee in mid-
August for reconsideration were
retained in the Tribe during the
Dec. 30 Tribal Council meeting.
In mid-August, Tribal Council
voted to disenroll 13 Tribal mem-
bers because the members ran afoul
of the Tribal Constitution’s provi-
sion forbidding dual enrollment in
another federally recognized Tribe.
Tribal Council also sent 17 cases
involving possible dual enrollment
back to the Enrollment Committee
for reconsideration. One of those 17
Tribal members has since walked
on.
After rehearing the cases, the
Enrollment Committee endorsed
its original decisions, recommend-
ing the 16 Tribal members for dis-
enrollment for violating the dual
enrollment clause.
But in a series of 5-3 votes, Tribal
Council voted to retain all as mem-
bers.
Tribal Council Secretary Toby
McClary said he voted to keep the
16 as members because his inter-
pretation of the Tribal Constitution
convinced him that they had ful-
filled their obligation by relinquish-
ing membership in another Tribe.
“I believe that these folks don’t
have any control over when they
are relinquished and when they
are enrolled,” he said about when
another Tribe might act on a written
request for relinquishment. “I think
that their responsibility was to sub-
mit relinquishment in writing and I
believe that they were in compliance
with the Tribe’s Constitution.”
McClary joined Tribal Council
members Denise Harvey, Kathleen
Tom, Cheryle A. Kennedy and Jon
A. George in voting to retain the 16
members.
Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno
said afterward that there are dif-
fering interpretations of the Tribal
Constitution that will eventually
have to be settled by the Tribal
membership regarding the dual
enrollment wording. “We need a
clean interpretation,” he said.
In response to a question, As-
sistant Tribal Attorney Kimberly
D’Aquila said the Dec. 30 vote
would not affect the 13 people
who were disenrolled in August
for violating the dual membership
clause.
In other action, Tribal Council
approved the agenda for the Jan.
5 General Council meeting held in
the Tribal Community Center.
Tribal members and Land and
Culture Department employees
Jordan Mercier, David Harrelson,
Brian Krehbiel and Eirik Thorsgard
and Tribal Council member Jon A.
George performed the cultural
drumming to open the meeting. n
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5
Tribal Council approves
agreement with ODOT
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council approved a
memorandum of understanding
with the Oregon Department of
Transportation on Jan. 8 that
will help Tribal members obtain
jobs working on state road con-
struction projects within a 60-
mile radius of Grand Ronde.
During the Dec. 24 Legisla-
tive Action Committee meet-
ing, Tribal Employment Rights
Office Director Greg Azure said
that the memorandum is similar
to one the Umatilla Tribe near
Pendleton has with the Depart-
ment of Transportation.
The Tribe stands to also collect
a fee on state road construction
projects that occur either on the
Reservation or within the 60-
mile radius when the Tribe cites
Indian preference and deploys a
Native workforce. For example,
the Tribe would receive $20,000
for a $3 million road construc-
tion project within the area.
Azure said the road construc-
tion season will start in earnest
in April or May, which will give
his office time to recruit Tribal
members who are qualified to
work on state road construction
projects. He added that his of-
fice is assessing training needs
for Tribal members that will
support the memorandum of
understanding.
In other action, Tribal Council
approved the Needle Pig Thin
Logging Unit timber sale.
Timber and Roads Manager
Jeff Kuust said during the Jan.
7 Legislative Action Committee
meeting that the sale includes five
areas encompassing 114 acres.
The blocks used to be managed by
the Bureau of Land Management
and include young stands that
need to be thinned, he said.
The estimated sale volume
is 848,000 board feet in conifer
and 76,000 board feet in hard-
wood, Kuust added.
The Jan. 8 Tribal Council
packet also included an authori-
zation to proceed to re-nominate
Tribal Council member Cheryle
A. Kennedy to serve on the U.S.
Department of Health and Hu-
man Services Secretary’s Tribal
Advisory Committee.
Tribal members and employ-
ees Jan Looking Wolf Reibach,
Travis Mercier and Brian Kreh-
biel and Tribal Council member
Jon A. George provided the
cultural drumming to start the
meeting. n
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helps fund the after-school and weekend youth community center lo-
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tions. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed
Sunday and Monday. Donations also can be left at the Wildwood Hotel
and Restaurant in Willamina. For more information on volunteering, call
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