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Tribal member
heading to
National Finals
Rodeo — pg 12
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
Voters select
Kennedy, Tuomi
and George
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
T
ribal voters re-elected Tribal
Council members Cheryle A.
Kennedy and Jon A. George
and newcomer Brenda Tuomi was
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Tribal Council Secretary Toby Mc-
Clary, who did not run after serving
two terms.
Tribal Council election results
were released following a recount
at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept.
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posted on the door of the Tribal
Community Center.
Kennedy, who has served five
consecutive terms on Tribal Coun-
cil, received the most votes with
459 or 14.646 percent of the total
votes cast.
“I’m very serious about our cul-
ture and our traditions and our
well-being. That is the backbone of
our Tribe.” said Kennedy. “What I
believe has held us together is our
culture and our belief in ourselves.
We are here with a purpose. We
were intended to be here and every
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here, and that comes from those
traditions and those values.”
Grand Ronde voters elected Tu-
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with the second most votes at 439
votes or 14.008 percent. Tuomi
becomes the 45th person elected to
Tribal Council since the Tribe was
restored in 1983.
Tribal membership also re-elect-
ed George to his second consecutive
term with 434 votes or 13.848 per-
cent of votes cast.
Former Tribal Council member
and Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr.
See ELECTION
continued on page 7
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Grand Ronde Honor Guard, from left, Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr., Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno, Tribal
Elder Alton Butler and community Elder Al Miller lead a procession of Tribal members down Tilikum Crossing
alongside the first ride of TriMet’s Orange Line during the grand opening celebration for both in Portland on
Saturday, Sept. 12.
Grand Ronde leads way at
Tilikum Crossing opening
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
P
ORTLAND – Members of
the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, descendants
of the original tilixam – “people”
in Chinuk Wawa – of the Port-
land area, appropriately lead the
way at the grand opening of the
new Tilikum Crossing Bridge in
Portland on Saturday, Sept. 12.
With a light southerly breeze
blowing, the Grand Ronde Honor
Guard of Tribal Council Chair-
man Reyn Leno, Tribal Elders
Alton Butler and Steve Bobb Sr.,
and community Elder Al Miller
lined up on the new transit bridge
See OPENING
continued on pages 10-11
Tribe accepts 14-acre donation at Kilchis Point
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
B
AY CITY – The Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde is no longer landlocked. On
Wednesday, Sept. 2, the Tribe accepted a
donation of 14 acres from the Tillamook County
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Board of Commissioners at Kilchis Point on the
eastern shore of Tillamook Bay.
“This is a very historic day for Grand Ronde,”
See DONATION
continued on page 16
After Tribal Council gifted Tribal logo Pendleton blankets, Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno shakes hands
with Tillamook County Commissioner Tim Josi during a ceremony in which the Tribe accepted a donation of 14
acres at Kilchis Point on the eastern shore of Tillamook Bay from the Tillamook County Board of Commissioners
on Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Bay City. On the right is Tillamook County Commissioner Bill Baertlein.