4
S moke S ignals
JUNE 1, 2016
Tribal Council awards contract
to construct police station
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
2011 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde agreed to pur-
chase the soon-to-be vacated middle school facility on the east side
of Grand Ronde Road from the Willamina School District, which
was consolidating its student population at the Oaken Hill campus
in Willamina.
2006 – The government-to-government process is working, said
Grand Ronde Tribal Coun-
cil Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy on the 10th anni-
versary of American Indian
Week being declared in
Oregon during Tribal Infor-
mation Day held in Salem.
2001 – The Tribal Ro-
deo Grounds were under
File photo
construction. The 140-by-
250-foot competition size
grounds will feature two camping areas and bleachers to seat the
expected crowds. The site was located on a lood plain, but yards of
dirt were built up to make a difference.
1996 – Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed an executive order on
State-Tribal government-to-government relations that will hopefully
set a national precedent for other states to follow. “Our Tribe takes
government-to-government relationships very seriously,” said Tribal
Council Chairman Mark Mercier. “I hope this will be the starting
block of an effort between all of us.”
1991 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier and Junior Miss
Grand Ronde Tara Leno presented a $1,500 check to Willamina
Elementary School Principal Joan Rivenbark to purchase computer
equipment for the school.
1986 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier reported that ne-
gotiations with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife were
nearly complete. “The agreement will set aside future litigation and
claims by the Grand Ronde Tribe for hunting and ishing rights,” he
said. “The council sought to leave this issue out of the Reservation
Plan until a bill was passed. The council felt that a land resource
base was the key. Hunting and ishing was an issue that could have
been taken up at a later date.”
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in ive-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Tribal Council approved a con-
tract with Cearley Construction of
Estacada to build a Tribal police
station during its Wednesday, May
18, meeting.
The 4,400-square-foot police sta-
tion will be constructed south of the
Food Bank on the west side of Grand
Ronde Road.
According to the May 18 Tribal
Council packet, the Tribal police sta-
tion will cost $1.153 million to build
and is being funded through two
Housing and Urban Development
grants totaling $667,000, an expected
$237,000 U.S. Department of Justice
grant and approximately $260,000 in
Tribal funds.
The station will include a sally
port, holding cell, controlled water
closet, audio visual room and stor-
age area, as well as ofices for Tribal
police staff.
Construction should start on June
1 and take about ive months to com-
plete, said Tribal Engineering and
Public Works Manager Jesse White.
Tribal police are currently housed
in a cramped modular adjacent to
Spirit Mountain Casino.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Re-appointed Toby McClary
and Steve Bobb Sr. to the Spirit
Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of
Directors with terms that will
expire in June 2019;
• Approved paying a negotiated
amount of up to $25,000 in annu-
al membership dues to rejoin the
National Congress of American
Indians;
• Approved an application for a
$378,148 Tribal Homeland Secu-
rity Grant that would, if received,
pay for radio equipment, an
emergency tent with heating and
air conditioning, a trailer and a
small drone;
• Approved an application for a
$62,500 Oregon Emergency Man-
agement Performance Grant that
would help pay for the Tribe’s
Emergency Operations staff
members;
• Declared June 10 as the next per
capita payment date;
• And amended bylaws for the new
Youth Council that would make
membership open to enrolled
Grand Ronde Tribal members, di-
rect descendants of enrolled Trib-
al members or enrolled members
of another federally recognized
Tribe receiving services from the
Grand Ronde Tribe.
Also included in the May 18 Tribal
Council packet were authorizations
to proceed to live audio stream Tribal
Council work sessions, appoint Trib-
al Council member Brenda Tuomi
to the Salem Mayor’s International
Council, authorize Nutrition Program
Manager Kristy DeLoe to execute all
documents for the Tribe’s requested
funding from the Department of
Agriculture’s Natural Resources Con-
servation Service for the Community
Garden project, and authorize Tribal
Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin
and Tribal Attorney Rob Greene
to develop a plan for meetings and
negotiations with British Museum
staff regarding possible return of the
Summers Collection to Grand Ronde.
Cultural Outreach Coordinator
Bobby Mercier and his family and
Public Affairs Administrative As-
sistant Chelsea Clark performed
the cultural singing to open the
meeting.
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.
Casino’s parade loat
honors 20th anniversary
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Spirit Mountain Casino’s loat
entry in this year’s Grand Flo-
ral Parade will cause a sense
of déjà vu for those with a good
memory.
Casino Sponsorship Adminis-
trator Jocelyn Huffman said the
loat is a recreation of the casino’s
irst loat ever – a mother coyote
playing with her two babies.
“We’re calling it ‘Have Some
Real Fun,’ ” Huffman said.
In addition to commemorating
the casino’s 20th anniversary
of being involved in the Grand
Floral Parade, the loat honors
the retirement of Peg Roseboro,
who designed the irst loat.
The Spirit Mountain Casino
Grand Floral Parade will wind
its way through the streets of
Portland beginning at 10 a.m.
Saturday, June 11.
The parade’s path begins at
Memorial Coliseum and travels
down Martin Luther King Jr. Bou-
levard, across the Burnside Bridge
and into downtown Portland, end-
ing at Lincoln High School.
Paid ad
Spirit Mountain Casino has
been the main sponsor of the
parade for six years, signing its
second three-year contract in
2014.
Tribal Elders and Tribal em-
ployees will be traveling to a
Gresham warehouse on Wednes-
day and Thursday, June 8 and 9,
to put the inishing touches on
the casino’s loat. Float judging
day is Friday, June 10.
People interesting in helping
to decorate should contact Huff-
man at 503-879-3054 by Monday,
June 6.
Because Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino is title sponsor, the Tribe’s
loat will be the irst to emerge
from the back door of the Port-
land Coliseum at the start of the
parade for the four-mile parade
route.
Tickets for indoor seating are
$30 reserved and $15 super-sav-
er while outdoor seating is $30
for reserved chairs and $25 for
reserved bleachers.
For more information, go to
www.rosefestival.org on the In-
ternet.