20
S moke S ignals
JULY 15, 2015
TRIBAL EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ORDINANCE
OPEN FOR COMMENT
The Tribal Council is considering adopting amendments to the
Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance. The proposed amendments
were given a First Reading at the July 1, 2015, Tribal Council
meeting.
The purpose of the amendments is to strengthen and clarify the
role of the Tribal Employment Rights Office. The proposed amend-
ments include the following:
1. Revisions to the definition of “Qualified.”
2. Clarification on the TERO Commission’s and TERO Director
roles.
3. Requirements for TERO involvement at various stages of the
Employment Process including, without limitation, review of
candidate assessments and interview questions.
4. Provisions addressing promotions and retention.
5. A prohibition against retaliation.
6. Succession planning requirements;
7. Provisions permitting the issuance of a notice of violation to a
Tribal Employer and allowing the Employer to appeal notices
of violation to the TERO Commission; and
8. Clarification on workforce goals for contractors.
The Tribal Council invites comment on the proposed amendments.
For a copy of the proposed amendments please contact the Tribal
Attorney’s Office at 503-879-4664. Please send your comments to
the Tribal Attorney’s Office, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde,
Oregon 97347 or by e-mail to legal@grandronde.org.
Comments must be received by Aug. 15, 2015. n
Request for Proposals for Museum
Exhibit Design Services
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is soliciting for consultant
services for creating an exhibit design plan for the Chachalu Muse-
um & Cultural Center. Electronic copies of the RFP documents are
available by e-mailing kim.rogers@grandronde.org or by calling him at
503-879-2250. Responses are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2015,
to the same e-mail address. This work is being funded primarily by
a grant from the Administration for Native Americans. n
Invitation to Bid
General Contractor Services
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Tribal Police Station Construction Project
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hereby extends
an Invitation to General Contractors to bid on the Grand Ronde
Tribal Police Station Project in Grand Ronde, Oregon. The
project includes the construction of a 4,400-square-foot police station
located at 9675 Grand Ronde Road. Construction also includes a
new paved vehicle parking area and utility improvements.
Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting: Wednesday, July 22, 2015, at 2
p.m.
Bids Due: 3 p.m. local time, Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Bid Documents, including contract terms, conditions, and specifi-
cations will be available beginning July 15, 2015. Contact the Project
Architect for bid documents, Paul Bentley, Paul Bentley Architect,
615 S.E. Jackson Street, Roseburg, Ore., 97470; Ph: 541-672-0273,
E-mail: paul@paulbentleyarchitect.com.
For additional project information contact Jesse White, CTGR
Engineering & Public Works Manager, at 503-879-2404 or jesse.
white@grandronde.org.
Invitation to Bid
General Contractor Services
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
9533 Raven Loop Burn Repair Project
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hereby extends an
Invitation to General Contractors to bid on the 9533 Raven Loop
Burn Repair Project in Grand Ronde, Oregon. The project
includes the re-construction of a duplex unit located in the Tribe’s
Multi-Family Housing Development. Construction will include the
complete repair of the home to its original condition.
Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting: Thursday, July 23, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Bids Due: 3 p.m. local time, Thursday, August 6, 2015
Bid Documents, including contract terms, conditions, and specifica-
tions will be available beginning July 15, 2015. Contact Jesse White,
CTGR Engineering & Public Works Manager, for bid documents and
project questions at 503-879-2404 or jesse.white@grandronde.org. n
Not appropriate to keep remains in a museum
BUILDING continued
from front page
David Harrelson. “The term can
also be used more generally as a
description of a place filled with
death and destruction. The term
was used by Lewis and Clark and
other early Europeans in the region
as they navigated the Columbia
River referring to structures built
by our ancestors on burial islands
in the Columbia River and else-
where throughout our homelands.”
Historically, charnel houses or
burial chambers were built near
churches and used for depositing
bones unearthed while digging
graves.
“There is a need at the Tribe for
a place to keep things that we re-
patriate,” says Harrelson.
Harrelson says the problem of
what to do with burial items and
remains was brought to Tribal
leadership by the Historic Preser-
vation Office staff as a way to bet-
ter handle an issue that had been
building for years, and in some sit-
uations, decades. He says the idea
of ancestral remains being kept in
a box on a shelf in someone’s office
or a storage room was not ideal and
goes against the belief system held
sacred by many Tribal members.
“It’s not appropriate to keep
people’s remains in a museum. It’s
not appropriate to keep people in
Tribal buildings,” says Harrelson.
“It’s felt that a building at the cem-
etery could facilitate that. This can
be done in a respectful way. The
charnel house is going to be that.”
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno says he agrees with Harrelson
on the issue of properly caring for
an ancestor’s remains.
“From my perspective, it is a mat-
ter of respect,” says Leno. “I think
it is just another piece of us recov-
ering our culture. This project fits
into the fabric of the Tribal family.
Whether they died a 100 years ago
or whether they died today, they
have a right to be in the sacred
grounds of our cemetery.”
“Now we have a place to bring
those items home to,” says Harrel-
son. “It’s a very simple stone block
structure with a roof and it will
have shelves inside.”
The charnel house will be a
20-foot-by-24-foot concrete mason-
ry building.
Tribal Engineering and Public
Works Manager Jesse White says
his department was asked by the
Land and Culture Department to
put together a budget estimate for
construction of the charnel house.
White says the building was bud-
geted this year and should be com-
pleted by the fall.
“It’s a pretty basic structure as
far as it’s just a concrete slab, con-
crete masonry block walls and a
simple roof,” says White. “We just
need to finish up the plans and put
the project out to bid.”
White says an area just south of
the south access road to the cem-
etery is where the charnel house
will be located. Tribal Archeolo-
gist Briece Edwards will survey
the area with ground penetrating
radar before breaking ground to
avoid disturbing previous burials
in that spot.
Harrelson says the ground pene-
trating radar measures soil density.
“People think the imagery you get
looks a lot like a dental X-ray and
it’s not,” says Harrelson. “Metal,
concrete and different types of ma-
terials reflect a unique signature
that pops like a metal detector.
We are not taking X-ray images of
our ancestors, these are not photo-
graphs.”
In fact, White says only about a
foot of topsoil will be removed for
construction of the charnel house.
“We are providing a place where
our ancestors and these remains
can rest peacefully until they are
laid to rest forever,” says Tribal
Council Secretary Toby McClary. “I
think this charnel house is a perfect
spot for them to have some comfort
and peace while we get them to
where they need to go.”
Harrelson says that Tribal Ar-
tisan Travis Stewart will create
carvings for the building’s en-
trance. Harrelson says the art will
be minimal, but important.
“It’s not a spot to be seen,” says
Harrelson.
Stewart says culture staff collec-
tively felt a need to make a change
in the way remains and burial
goods were being cared for and that
they settled on a charnel house be-
cause it seemed appropriate.
“We just figured it would be a
good idea to come up with a more
permanent structure at least to
house the items until they can be
reburied,” says Stewart. “We now
have a little more time and resourc-
es to take care of that sort of thing.”
Stewart says that even though
the art he will create for the charnel
house is not necessarily to be seen,
it is important and he is proud to
be selected for the job.
“Art is important to culture,”
says Stewart. “It’s how we tell our
stories.”
Harrelson will host a public meet-
ing at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 15,
in the Tribal Community Center
to discuss the charnel house with
the membership. He said he will be
discussing the differences between a
charnel house and a mausoleum so
that everyone is clear that what is
being proposed is not a place for living
members to have their ashes placed.
Harrelson said he is prepared
to answer any and all questions
about the project and that he has
asked White and Member Services
Department Manager Penny DeLoe
to attend to help answer questions
as well. A meal will be provided. n