S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2016
19
Tribal Council OKs grocery store study grant application
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Could Grand Ronde support a
grocery store?
The Tribe will study that issue if
it receives a grant from the Native
American Business Development
Institute, which is part of the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs.
Tribal Council approved a grant
application for between $35,000
and $50,000 that, if received, would
fund an economic development
feasibility study during its Wednes-
day, June 29, meeting.
The Tribe’s recent survey of mem-
bers found that 73.4 percent of local
Tribal members responding were
in favor of a grocery store being
established in Grand Ronde. In
addition, a grocery store has been
on the Tribe’s Capital Improvement
Plan projects list for several years.
“The grocery store appears to
have the best potential for local job
creation and to stimulate other eco-
nomic development,” stated a staff
report recommending applying for
the grant.
At the Monday, June 27, Legis-
lative Action Committee hearing,
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno said the Tribe issued a re-
quest for proposals for property on
the north side of Highway 18 that
is seeking a recommendation on the
site’s highest and best use. Leno
said that might be a good location
for a grocery store.
“The Tribe has contracted for a
highest and best use analysis for
the parcel known as HR Jones/
Round Valley, 24.33 acres located
off Salmon River Highway in Grand
Ronde,” said Lands Department
Manager Jan Reibach. “The study
will look at potential development
options for the property that are
economically viable.”
Planning and Grants Manager
Kim Rogers said the BIA grant,
if received, could complement the
Tribal analysis of the property.
In other action, Tribal Council:
Clothes Closet open Monday, Friday
The Clothes Closet is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday and Friday
on the Tribal campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Black-
tail Drive. It accepts clothes, small appliances, small pieces of furniture,
electronics and household goods that are clean and in good condition. It
does not accept books, large TVs or large furniture, but there is a com-
munity board where people can post those items.
Donations are accepted during regular business hours.
For more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Her-
nandez at 559-847-7565 or Daniele Powley at 503-917-8732.
• Approved the 2016 Right of Way
Logging Unit timber sale as pre-
sented by the Natural Resources
Department. It is expected to
generate an estimated $91,600
in timber revenue;
• Approved the Natural Resources
Department’s purchase of ap-
proximately $175,000 in crushed
rock for forest road construction
and maintenance for this year;
• Approved issuing a Tribal cred-
it card for Natural Resources
Silviculture and Fire Protection
Technician Aaron Williamson;
• Approved applying to the Ad-
ministration for Children and
Families for a five-year Tribal
Personal Responsibility Program
grant totaling $327,867 in the
first year and $300,000 annually
in the other four years to continue
funding the Tribe’s teen pregnan-
cy prevention efforts;
• Approved an easement agree-
ment with the Bonneville Power
Administration allowing the
agency access to transmission
lines through two Tribal proper-
ties;
• Approved accepting title for the
14-acre Kilchis Point property
near Bay City donated to the
Tribe by Tillamook County in
September 2015;
• And approved the enrollment of
nine adults and two infants into
the Tribe because they meet the
membership criteria outlined in
the Enrollment Ordinance and
Tribal Constitution, and denied
the membership of one infant for
not meeting the criteria.
Also included in the June 29 Trib-
al Council packet was a staff direc-
tive directing Tribal Council Chief
of Staff Stacia Martin to work with
Member Services to research how
many people relinquished their
membership in another Tribe and
waited five years to enroll in Grand
Ronde. However, a staff directive to
research blood quantum statistics
failed to garner five signatures.
There also were authorizations to
proceed that directed staff to adopt
the Tribal Match Home Repair
Program, adopt an Admissions and
Occupancy Policy for the Housing
Department, apply for a $150,000
Spirit Mountain Community Fund
grant to help pay for a preschool
addition to the Early Childhood
Education building and authorize
Finance Officer Chris Leno to
transfer $2,000 into the Human
Resources budget to establish an
anonymous tip line, which is being
established as a result of institut-
ing a whistleblower policy.
Reibach joined Culture Depart-
ment employees Jordan Mercier
and Bobby Mercier, Ceded Lands
Manager Michael Karnosh and
numerous other Tribal members
in performing the cultural drum-
ming and singing to open the
meeting.
The meeting, in its entirety, can
be viewed on the Tribal website,
www.grandronde.org, by clicking
on the News tab and then Video.
Tomanowos still connected to Grand Ronde people
TOMANOWOS continued
from page 18
100-year-old wooden prayer beads
that George gave to everyone to
leave for the meteorite. The cere-
mony ended with an ancestors’ song
and then Stewart joked that it was
“selfie time.”
After the ceremony, George, Mar-
tin, Clark, Shannon Simi, Briant,
Dan Ham, Lash, Genifer Grout and
Royalty members carried the cedar
that was used to clean Tomanowos
several blocks from the museum
to the Hudson River to release it
into the river, returning the ener-
gy from Tomanowos to the water.
George sang a prayer song as each
person tossed a piece of the cedar
over a pier railing into the river as
the sun set.
Because it was the first ceremo-
ny for most who attended, there
were many thoughts and feelings.
Chairman Leno said that the me-
teorite is an “amazing” thing that
people don’t realize until they visit
and really look at it and make that
connection and see Tribal people
performing a ceremony that con-
nects them. No matter how far
away Tribal members are, they are
still connected to Grand Ronde and
the meteorite is connected to Grand
Ronde people, he said.
Coulson said it was quite an ex-
perience to be there and that she
was glad she attended.
VanAtta said what’s amazing is
that everyone has an idea of what
they think the meteorite will look
like and it didn’t come close in
her case. She said she thought it
would have sharp edges, but it was
smoother with holes in it and that
it was “kind of amazing.”
During the ceremony, Dan Ham
said he was thinking about how
when he was the age of the interns,
the Tribe was terminated and that
if someone would have told him
back then that he’d be going to New
York to see Tomanowos he would
not have believed it.
From a youth’s perspective,
Mooney said she thought New York
was fun and since it was her first
trip to a large city, it was a good
experience. She said the meteorite
was “cool” to look at and it was
overall a fun trip.
On Thursday, June 23, a break-
fast with the Tribal delegation and
museum staff took place at the
museum, followed by a behind-the-
scenes tour where the Tribal con-
tingent viewed some of the Grand
Ronde artifacts in the museum's
collection, such as baskets, fish
hooks, an elk antler purse and a
stick game.
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Veterans Special Event Board Junior Queen Amaryssa Mooney hands David
Harvey, senior vice president of exhibition at the American Museum of
Natural History, a gift from the Tribe during a breakfast held at the museum
on Thursday, June 23. Passing out gifts with her was Little Miss Grand Ronde
Kaleigha Simi, background.
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno looks at fish hooks during a behind-the-
scenes collections tour for the Grand Ronde delegation at the American
Museum of Natural History on Thursday, June 23.