S moke S ignals
march 1, 2014
7
Legislative Day helps build relationships
By Ron Karten
of Oregon’s Tribes. One result has
been the building of sweat lodges
for Native American prisoners at
all 14 correctional facilities, though
he says that other inmates also
have participated in the Native
American practice.
By mid-morning, Giffen had seen
staff from fi ve state departments,
he said, “and the day’s not half-
done.
“It’s pretty educational,” said
Giffen, “and it’s a better setting
now than we have had.” Previously,
Tribal leaders went from offi ce to
offi ce to reach out to legislators and
agency heads.
“The main thing for me,” he said,
“is that we’re a government and are
looking for respect in our govern-
ment-to-government relations.”
“Tribal government is the basic
message we are trying to get across
on this and every other day — that
Tribes have governmental status,”
Quigley said in an e-mail.
Regarding Oregon Department of
Transportation staff in particular,
Giffen said that now is the time to
develop the Tribe’s Tribal Employ-
ment Rights Offi ce program.
“This is the time to educate agen-
cies about it. Everybody’s excited to
work with Grand Ronde,” he said.
“They see the strength of working
with us. These days, government
funds only go so far.”
For Tribal Council member Denise
Harvey, the day brought her back in
touch with two contacts that she used
to work with. She let John Mohlis, ex-
ecutive secretary of the Oregon State
Building and Construction Trades
Council, know that the Tribe had
established a TERO program.
He said, Harvey related, “I don’t
understand that program. We have
to get together. I need to know
about this.”
The other contact was Orvie Dan-
zuka, who worked in the Tribe’s
Natural Resources Department,
but is now a Tribal Council member
with the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs.
Harvey and Danzuka worked
together in different capacities in
the past. They have new roles now,
but getting reacquainted is going
to help them work more effi ciently
and cooperatively on new issues,
Harvey said.
Among Grand Ronde Tribal
Council members also attending
were Chairman Reyn Leno and
Tribal Council members Cheryle
A. Kennedy, June Sherer, Jon A.
George and Ed Pearsall. n
Smoke Signals staff writer
Two Grand Ronde culture pho-
tographs sat on easels in the state
Capitol Galleria on Thursday, Feb.
13. The easels sat in front of two
photos and one painted representa-
tion of Oregon’s three state Capitols
dating back to 1854.
The scene set the stage for Tribal
Governments Legislative Day, an
annual forum during which Oregon
Tribal representatives can interact
with legislative and state agency
staff, as well as the public.
“This is a fi rst step in the develop-
ment of a Tribal-state partnership,”
said Grand Ronde Tribal Council
Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr.
“There are so many people in
Oregon that don’t know what we
do or what sovereignty is. This is
an opportunity for people to stop by
and take our literature and fi nd out
who we are,” said Tribal Council
member Kathleen Tom.
With all nine federally recognized
Tribes in Oregon attending, Tribal
lobbyist Justin Martin observed
that the event has become a place
where Tribes also speak to each
other.
“That’s huge,” Martin said. “Any
time we get the opportunity to tell
who we are, why we exist and how
we’re a positive force in the fabric
of Oregon, it’s a positive for the
Tribe.”
The event, organized annually
by the Legislative Commission on
Indian Services, is “an attempt to
provide legislative agencies and
Tribal governments to interact,”
said Karen Quigley, executive di-
rector of the commission. “It’s an
informal morning to visit primarily
staff and provide them with Tribal
information.”
Success can be measured, she
said, when Tribal leaders are re-
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack Giff en Jr. talks about the Tribe’s ceded lands
with Joanna Robert, local program coordinator for the Oregon Department
of Transportation, during Tribal Governments Legislative Day in the State
Capitol’s Galleria in Salem on Thursday, Feb. 13.
laxed and comfortable in the state
Capitol. “In the beginning (of this
event, started 15 years ago as
Tribal Information Day), Tribal
leaders were not so used to being
in the Capitol in this type of set-
ting. They are now, and that’s an
achievement.”
“We can be a resource on culture,
on legal issues,” said Grand Ronde
Public Affairs Director Siobhan
Taylor. “We want to put in their
minds the government-to-govern-
ment relationship and that on
shared issues they should come to
Tribes fi rst. It is important that we
come together for communications
coordination.”
Grand Ronde Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program
The Grand Ronde Tribe is
operating its own Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) to assist
Grand Ronde Tribal member
households with energy
payments (utility bills,
firewood, etc.), energy
emergencies and weatherization
(e.g. furnace repairs). Income
eligible households within Polk, Yamhill,
Marion, Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties with a
Grand Ronde Tribal member are eligible to apply. CTGR members in
these counties need to contact Grand Ronde to receive assistance
instead of from the community action agency in their area. Grand
Ronde’s program enables more CTGR members to be served than
would otherwise have been possible.
If you are interested in obtaining services contact Social Services at
1-800-242-8196 for energy assistance and the Grand Ronde Tribal
Housing Authority at 503-879-2405 for weatherization. The Tribe’s
LIHEAP program also serves all income eligible Indians on Grand
Ronde Reservation or trust land.
Kris Mitchell, manager of the
federal National Environmental
Protection Act and Cultural Re-
sources for the Oregon Military
Department, came by to meet with
Tribal Council members and staff.
“I like to see what everybody’s up
to,” he said.
With federal and state lands all
over Oregon set aside for military
exercises and training, Mitch-
ell said he partners with Oregon
Tribes often.
“The department is a land man-
aging agency,” he said. “Tribes are
one of our partners. We work to-
gether to minimize adverse impacts
on the land.”
Dennis Holmes, administrator
of Religious Services for the state
Department of Corrections, also
attended. His goal? “Just network,”
he said. “Find out how things are
going. It’s really informal. I an-
swer questions, and then of course
there’s the frybread.”
Staff from Portland-based Na-
tive American Rehabilitation As-
sociation of the Northwest made
frybread just outside of the Capitol
during the event. They brought the
Native delicacy inside and passed
it around.
As chair of the Public Safety
Cluster meetings, Holmes makes it
a practice to consult with all nine
Share Your Home
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