S moke S ignals
JUNE 15, 2016
7
Nature Area visit 1,546 register
for BIA election
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Contributed photo
The Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Program hosted the Chihuk
Skul at the Tyee Nature Area near Tribal Housing on Monday, May 23.
The children learned about the variety of Native plants grown in the
area, as well as some of their uses. The Tyee Nature Area kiosk and trail
were constructed and opened in 2011. The area is used as a habitat for
threatened plants to grow. Plants in the area include camas, wild rose,
bare steam biscuit root and a variety of other plants that will be open
for gathering once a sustainable community of them is established.
Journey visiting Tribe
The quadrennial Peace and Dignity Journey will
be stopping in Grand Ronde on Friday, June 17, for
an overnight stay.
The journey has been run every four years since
1992. This year, one group started May 1 in Alaska
and another group started in Tierra del Fuego, Argen-
tina, and they will meet up after seven months of running in Panama.
The 2016 run is dedicated to the seeds and traditional foods that
are threatened by industrial agriculture. Participants are handing
out seeds for a Three Sisters Garden – corn, beans and squash – for a
$5 donation. Peace and Dignity Journeys were inspired by an ancient
prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor coming together, symbolizing
the uniication of indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere.
The local contact for the runners’ visit is Kathy Provost, 503-857-
8440. Tribal and community members are invited to meet and greet
runners from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 17. Runners will arrive at
the Tribal Education building in the afternoon and there will be an
evening potluck dinner.
For more information, visit PeaceandDignity.org on the Internet
or contact Mel Huey, 11448 Fetters Loop, Eugene, Ore. 97402, call
541-915-0788 or send an e-mail to mel97402@gmail.com.
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More than 1,500 Tribal members registered with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs to vote in the July 8 constitutional amendment election.
According to the voter list released by the BIA, 1,546 Tribal members
registered, surpassing the 1,491 Tribal members who registered to vote
in the February 2008 constitutional election. About 40 percent of eligible
Tribal members registered to vote.
Other recent constitutional amendment elections have seen about 1,100
Tribal members register to vote in 2012 and 2015, but those elections did
not concern enrollment requirements.
The July 8 election will mark the sixth time Tribal members vote on
proposed changes to the Tribal Constitution and the fourth time the pro-
posals involve enrollment criteria.
Three educational sessions regarding the two proposed amendments to
the Tribal Constitution were held in May in Portland, Grand Ronde and
Eugene, respectively. A video of the Grand Ronde session can be viewed
on the Tribal website, www.grandronde.org. In addition, a PowerPoint
presentation prepared by Tribal staff was mailed irst class to all adult
Tribal members at the end of May.
Tribal Council decided in identical 5-2 votes to send the proposed amend-
ments to voters during its April 6 meeting.
The irst amendment would, if approved by voters, remove the parent
on the roll at time of birth and time of application requirements and add
language deining “Grand Ronde blood.”
The new deinition, with new wording in italics, would read: “Grand
Ronde blood is deined as all Indian blood derived from a direct ancestor
whose name validly appears on the oficial Tribal membership roll pre-
pared under the Grand Ronde Restoration Act; provided, that such roll
may be corrected by Tribal Council with the approval of the Secretary of
the Interior or the oficial Tribal membership roll prepared by the Tribe
between Nov. 30, 1984, and Sept. 14, 1999; provided that such roll may be
corrected by the Tribal Council in accordance with the Tribal Enrollment
Ordinance.”
The second proposed amendment would reduce General Council partici-
pation requirements for initiatives, referendums and the calling of special
General Council meetings.
Currently, the Tribal Constitution requires at least one-third of the
adult membership – more than 1,300 people – to sign a petition for an
initiative, referendum, recall effort or membership-proposed constitutional
amendment to proceed.
Tribal members were required to register to vote with the BIA for the
special election. Thirty percent of those who registered to vote must cast a
ballot – 464 – and two-thirds of those voting must approve of the proposal
for an amendment to be adopted.
Ballots were scheduled to be sent to all registered voters on Monday,
June 13, and they must be returned to the Grand Ronde post ofice by
Friday, July 8, to count.
The list of registered voters can be viewed at the Tribal website.
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