2
S MOKE S IGNALS
DECEMBER 1, 2015
NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings
DATE
TIME
Wednesday, Dec. 2...............................................................................4 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 16.............................................................................4 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 30.............................................................................4 p.m.
Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed.
General Council meeting
10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6
Earlier time to accommodate Tribal Council Christmas Party
Tribal Community Center
Letters
Dear Tribal members:
This is written to address a letter by Rosemary Jameson that appeared in
the Nov. 15, 2015, issue of Smoke Signals. Her letter was misleading and
included a number of inaccuracies and omissions that I plan to clarify here.
Rosemary urges that Tribal members contact Tribal Council and ask for
enrollment issues to be voted on separately and to not be “bundled.” She
then erroneously identifi es the July 2015 proposed constitutional amend-
ment removing a “parent on the roll requirement” as a single issue. The
problem is that the “parent on the roll” is actually two different require-
ments that were bundled together and which consisted of:
1. Parent on the roll at time of birth;
2. Parent on the roll at time of application (unless deceased).
While Rosemary rails against voting on bundles, what she wanted Tribal
Council to move forward with was a bundle. This is indisputable. These
were listed on the sample ballot sent to BIA as two different requirements.
They are also listed as two separate requirements on the checklist for
membership which we on Tribal Council review when voting to enroll a
member.
These points were all discussed at the July 29 Tribal Council meeting
and again at the Oct. 22 special Tribal Council meeting. In fact, in a letter
Rosemary Jameson herself wrote to Smoke Signals on Nov. 1, 2011, which
was during the last constitutional election on enrollment, she personally
identifi ed these two requirements as being distinct and deserving to be
separated out for different votes. But, for whatever reason, she either
changed her mind or plain old forgot. Rosemary omitted those key facts
from her letter.
The Oct. 22, 2015, meeting which took place was not easy. But those of
us who chose to delay moving forward were very clear and sincere in our
desire to see enrollment justice for all of those families adversely impacted
by the 1999 amendment. In my opinion, to turn our backs on some families
without even trying to help them would have only made a divisive issue
more so. It would have created a lot of resentment among those split fam-
ilies as some would get to experience the joy of seeing their 16-year wait
ended, while others would be left out in the cold, wondering why Tribal
Council chose to leave them behind.
Mrs. Jameson mentions the Restoration Roll correction as being an av-
enue for correcting one of the problems created by the 1999 amendment.
There may be some truth to that, but at this point we don’t really know.
We don’t know who will apply, what their situations will be and whether
they will be able meet the requirements to be added to the Restoration Roll
per our Enrollment Ordinance. For her to put that forth as an alternative
to a constitutional amendment, especially when we just don’t know, could
be giving some people false hope. I really wish she hadn’t done that.
I, too, would like to see the unintended consequences of the 1999 amend-
ment resolved. But I would like to see a solution that does not entail helping
some families and deliberately turning our backs on others. No family in
this Tribe is better than any other.
Chris Mercier
Roll #1821
Smoke Signals
PUBLICATIONS OFFICE
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1-800-422-0232, FAX: 503-879-2173
Website: www.grandronde.org/news
E-mail: news@grandronde.org
Twitter: CTGRgov
Facebook: Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
DEAN RHODES
CHELSEA CLARK
MICHELLE ALAIMO
PUBLICATIONS
COORDINATOR
PUBLIC AFFAIRS/
PUBLICATIONS
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT
PHOTOJOURNALIST
503-879-1463
dean.rhodes@grandronde.org
503-879-1961
michelle.alaimo@grandronde.org
503-879-1418
chelsea.clark@grandronde.org
GEORGE VALDEZ
JUSTIN PHILLIPS
BRENT MERRILL
GRAPHIC DESIGN
SPECIALIST
PAGE DESIGNER
STAFF WRITER
503-879-2190
503-879-4663
503-879-1416
justin.phillips@grandronde.org
brent.merrill@grandronde.org
george.valdez@grandronde.org
SCARLETT HOLTZ
VALERIE COX
CENTRAL PHONES
CENTRAL PHONES
503-879-1447
503-879-1446
valerie.cox@grandronde.org
scarlett.holtz@grandronde.org
DEADLINE DATE
ISSUE DATE
Friday, Dec. 4 .............................Dec. 15
Friday, Dec. 18 ....................Jan. 1, 2016
Editorial Policy
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Com-
munity of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted
without permission.
Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers
about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be
signed by the author, an address must be given and a phone number or e-mail address
must be included for verifi cation purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not
be published unless requested.
SMOKE SIGNALS reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse letters that are determined
to contain libelous statements or personal attacks on individuals, staff, Tribal administration
or Tribal Council. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Letters to the
editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily refl ect the
opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council.
Members of: n Native American Journalists Association
n Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
See page 14 for more letters.
Name changes in Tribal Court
Tribal Court provides both minor and adult name changes to enrolled
members for a fi ling fee of only $30. If you have any questions or would
like to request a packet, please contact Devin Larsen at 503-879-2303
or devin.larsen@grandronde.org. n
St. Michael’s off ers brunch
St. Michael’s Catholic Church offers an open house brunch every
Sunday following Mass. The brunch is free to the community.
Brunch begins at about 11:30 a.m. following the 10:30 a.m. Mass.
Mass attendance is not required for brunch attendance. For more
information, contact Janelle Justen at 503-550-0923. n
Tribal Offi ce Closures
Tribal offi ces will be closing on Thursday, Dec. 24, at noon and
closed on Friday, Dec. 25, in observance of Christmas. Offi ces also
will be closing on Thursday, Dec. 31, at noon and closed on Friday,
Jan. 1, 2016, in observance of New Year's Day.
2015-16 Tribal Council
1-800-422-0232 — tribalcouncil@grandronde.org
n Reyn Leno
Tribal Chairman
— ext. 2399
n Denise Harvey
— ext. 2353
reyn.leno@grandronde.org
n Chris Mercier
— ext. 1444
n Jack Giffen Jr.
Tribal Vice Chair
— ext. 2300
jack.giffen@grandronde.org
n Cheryle A. Kennedy
Tribal Secretary
— ext. 2352
cheryle.kennedy@grandronde.org
denise.harvey@grandronde.org
chris.mercier@grandronde.org
n Brenda Tuomi
— ext. 4555
brenda.tuomi@grandronde.org
n Tonya Gleason-Shepek
— ext. 1777
tonya.gleason-shepek@grandronde.org
n Ed Pearsall
— ext. 2305
n Jon A. George
— ext. 2355
ed.pearsall@grandronde.org
jon.george@grandronde.org