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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2016)
4 S moke S ignals APRIL 1, 2016 Food donations Tribal Council approves enrollment of 22 members By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Photo by Michelle Alaimo Macie Ayala puts a can of stewed tomatoes on a shelf at the Grand Ronde Food Bank, iskam mfkhmfk haws , on Friday, March 25. Youth in the K5 Afterschool Program held a food drive over spring break and collected 72 pounds of food for the Food Bank. After the food was weighed and youth took a tour of the Food Bank, the students got to put the food they donated on the shelves. ATTENTION CTGR TELEPHONE SERVICE If you have an emergency and need to dial “911” you must first dial a “9” (9911). The only calls that do not require that you dial a 9+ are those made from the CTGR extensions within the CTGR campus and/or those who use CTGR Tel for their home phone service. 2011 – The first river canoe carved in Grand Ronde since Resto- ration and probably much earlier went on display at the Willamette Heritage Center at The Mill in Salem. The canoe was part of the Grand Ronde Canoe Journey exhibit at the Heritage Center. 2006 – Two wood- en carvings by Adam McIsaac and designed by Grand Ronde Cul- tural Resources Interim Manager Tony Johnson were erected at the edge of Blue Lake in Fair- view. They commem- orated the arrival of Lewis and Clark in In- dian Country. A formal dedication ceremony was scheduled for May. File photo 2001 – Kim Rogers, the Tribe’s new Policy and Planning director, started working for the Tribe. He had worked for the Tulalip, Sauk-Suiattle and Puyallup Tribes in Washington state before moving to Oregon. 1996 – Phase II expansion at Spirit Mountain Casino was pro- gressing rapidly with employees and customers eagerly anticipating the addition of 36,500 square feet of gaming, dining and family entertainment space in July. The new expansion will include Leg- ends Steakhouse and Lounge, a video arcade and expansion of the gaming space. 1991 – Tribal Chairman Mark Mercier and Tribal Council member Larry Brandon attended a Tribal Leaders Forum in Seattle where they met Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, who was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Inouye said that he is generally supportive of Indian people and he was attending the meeting to take his “marching orders” from Tribal leaders. 1986 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier and fellow coun- cil members Merle Leno and Kathryn Harrison met with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employees to discuss the hunting and fishing consent decree. Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in- crements through the pages of Smoke Signals. Tribal Council approved the enrollment of 22 new members into the Tribe during its Wednesday, March 23, meeting. The 22 new members included 21 non-infants and one infant who meet the provisions for enrollment outlined in the Tribal Enrollment Ordinance and Tribal Constitution. In other action, Tribal Council approved the contract for the Sunday, April 3, General Council meeting that will be held at the Valley River Inn in Eugene. The program report will be from Emergency Management. Tribal Council also approved applying for a two-year Administration for Native Americans’ Social Economic Development Strategies grant that would be used for preservation and education to renovate the Depot, process and curate a backlog of artifacts and assist with the development of two exhibit areas at Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center. If awarded, the Tribe would receive $730,113 over the two years. Also included in the March 23 Tribal Council packet was a staff direc- tive requesting the Tribe’s Information Services Department to research the possibility of live audio streaming Tribal Council work sessions with the live stream still subject to rules of confidentiality, such as executive session and attorney-client privilege. The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org, clicking on the News tab and then Video. Bike helmets available The Tribe’s Social Services Department has bicycle helmets available for distribution. Those needing a helmet need to visit the department and sign a helmet application, as well as get fitted. For more information, contact Social Services at 503-879-2034. Decision might be delivered in June APPEAL continued from front page independent respects,” Robbins argued. Robbins said the Record of De- cision erred in deciding that the Cowlitz did not have to be recog- nized by the federal government in 1934. “If you look at the text of the stat- ute and if you look at the structure of the statute, everywhere you look there are signs pointing to 1934,” Robbins said. Robbins’ presentation was in- terrupted often by questions from members of the three-judge panel, who inquired if the Indian Reorga- nization Act limits the Secretary of the Interior’s ability to take land into trust for Tribes who were only recognized in 1934, as well as trying to determine the exact definition of “federal recognition.” “The ROD most conspicuously fails to reckon in any serious way with the 2005 proceedings be- fore the National Indian Gaming Commission in this very case with respect to this very parcel,” Rob- bins said. “In seeking a so-called restored lands exception to IGRA (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act), the Cowlitz admitted and the NIGC determined that any recognition or jurisdiction for the Cowlitz was terminated as of 1934 and had been throughout the entire 20th century.” Robbins asked the Court of Ap- peals to remand the case back to District Court. “We would hold the agency to its historical position that recognized means recognized in 1934,” Robbins said. Sharp, who represented Clark County, said that a Tribe had to occupy lands set aside by the federal government in 1934 to be federally recognized, as well as that the Cowlitz were so dispersed in the early part of the 20th century that they were not considered a Native American Tribe under federal ju- risdiction. He also argued that the Cowlitz do not have a historical connection to the land taken into trust for them. Leno said during the Tuesday, March 22, Legislative Action Com- mittee hearing that a decision from the Court of Appeals might be is- sued in June at the earliest. Meanwhile, Clark County and some of its residents are awaiting a Court of Appeals ruling on a mo- tion for emergency relief to halt the current construction occurring at the Cowlitz site west of Interstate 5 near La Center and plans by the Cowlitz Tribe to inject treated wastewater from the casino into the ground, potentially affecting the water quality of the Troutdale Aquifer, which is a primary source of fresh water in the region. A recording of the Appeals Court hearing can be heard at www.cadc. uscourts.gov/recordings/record- ings.nsf/DocsByMonday?Open- View&StartKey=20160320160314 &Count=12&scode=2
