S moke S ignals
MARCH 15, 2015
7
General Council briefed on economic development
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
A packed General Council meet-
ing heard Tribal Economic Devel-
opment Director Titu Asghar give
a 20-minute presentation in exec-
utive session about the Tribe’s eco-
nomic development efforts during
the Sunday, March 1, meeting held
in the Community Center.
After his presentation, Asghar
fielded eight comments and ques-
tions from the audience.
Since the briefing was held in
executive session, Smoke Signals
cannot report on the details of the
meeting. However, the presenta-
tion was recorded and Tribal mem-
bers unable to attend can request
a copy from Tribal Council Chief of
Staff Stacia Martin at stacia.mar-
tin@grandronde.org or by calling
503-879-2304.
Following Asghar’s presentation,
Tribal Attorney Rob Greene briefed
General Council on the two pro-
posed amendments to the Tribal
Constitution that will be decided
in the March 14 election.
On Nov. 5, Tribal Council asked
the Secretary of the Interior to call
an election to amend the Tribe’s
Constitution to do two things:
Remove Secretary of the Interior
oversight and approval of amend-
ments to the Tribe’s Constitution
and to institute term limits for
Tribal Council members. The latter
would allow future Tribal Council
members to serve three consecutive
terms – nine years – before requir-
ing a person to take a year off before
they could run for office again.
On Nov. 18, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs’ regional director called the
election for the two amendments.
Voter registration packets were
sent to Tribal members of voting
age on Jan. 13 with a deadline to
Photo by Dean Rhodes
Economic Development Director Titu Asghar briefed the membership in
executive session on Tribal economic development efforts during the Sunday,
March 1, General Council meeting held in the Community Center.
register of Feb. 6. Official ballot
packets were mailed to the 1,091
Tribal members who registered to
vote in the election on Feb. 20 and
ballots must be received by the
Grand Ronde Post Office by noon
Saturday, March 14, to count.
The first amendment, if it passes,
would remove federal oversight over
future constitutional amendments
and the election process would be
supervised by the Tribal Election
Board. In addition, all Tribally
registered voters would be allowed
to vote on proposed constitutional
amendments, not just those who
specially register with the BIA.
The second amendment would
end the current practice of Tribal
Council members serving an un-
limited amount of time by requiring
future Tribal Council members to
take a year off after serving three
consecutive three-year terms. After
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the 12-month break, a Tribal mem-
ber could then serve another three
consecutive terms.
To amend the Tribe’s Constitu-
tion, 30 percent of those who reg-
istered to vote must cast a ballot.
In this election, at least 327 Tribal
members must vote and two-thirds
of those voting must approve the
amendment for it to take effect.
Greene fielded about 10 com-
ments and questions after the pre-
sentation from audience members
and Tribal Council members.
Tribal members who registered
but did not receive a ballot should
call the Bureau of Indian Affairs’
Warm Springs Agency Office at
541-553-2439.
In other action, the next General
Council meeting will be held at 11
a.m. Sunday, April 12, in the Tribal
Community Center instead of April
5, which is Easter.
Isabelle Grout, Robert Wiggs
and Sean Gerbrandt won the $50
door prizes and Tribal Elder Julie
Duncan won the $100 door prize. In
addition, necklaces created by Trib-
al Council member Jon A. George
and food items donated by Veronica
Gaston were raffled off.
George, Brian Krehbiel, Bobby
Mercier, Travis Stewart, Jade Un-
ger and members of Tribal Royalty
performed the cultural drumming
and singing to open the meeting.
An edited version of the meeting
without the executive session can
be viewed on the Tribal website,
www.grandronde.org, under the
News tab and then click on the
Video link. n
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