22
JULY 1, 2016
Constitutional election
ballots due on July 8
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal members who registered to vote with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
regarding two proposed constitutional amendments have until Friday, July
8, to get their ballots to the Grand Ronde post office to count.
According to the voter list released by the BIA, 1,546 Tribal members
registered to vote.
The two proposed amendments to the Tribal Constitution, which were
sent to voters in identical 5-2 Tribal Council votes on April 6, would affect
the powers of General Council and enrollment requirements.
The first proposed amendment would reduce the General Council partic-
ipation requirements for exercising the power of initiative or referendum
and the calling of special General Council meetings.
The amendment would reduce the number of General Council signatures
required for an initiative or referendum petition from 33 percent of the
voting-age membership to 15 percent. Using current Tribal enrollment
numbers, the amendment would reduce the number of signatures needed
from 1,323 to 601.
In addition, the amendment would reduce the number of qualified vot-
ers who must vote in an initiative or referendum election from at least 30
percent – or 1,202 Tribal members using current enrollment numbers – to
20 percent, or 802 Tribal members.
The amendment does not affect the required margin of approval, which
would remain at 66.7 percent of those actually voting to make the election
results binding on Tribal Council.
The amendment also reduces the number of General Council member
signatures required to call a special General Council meeting from 33
percent to 15 percent.
The more controversial constitutional amendment proposal is about
changing Tribal enrollment requirements.
Currently, Tribal membership requirements for new applications include,
among other things, that applicants have at least 1/16th Grand Ronde
blood quantum, were born to a parent who was a member of the Tribe at
the time of the applicant’s birth and at the time of application, unless the
parent is deceased.
Grand Ronde blood is currently defined as “all Indian blood derived from
a direct ancestor whose name validly appears on the official Tribal mem-
bership roll prepared under the Restoration Act, which may be corrected
by Tribal Council with approval from the Secretary of the Interior.”
The proposed amendment would eliminate the requirements that an
applicant be born to a parent who was a member of the Grand Ronde Tribe
at the time of their birth, as well as the requirement that their parent be
a Tribal member at the time of their application.
It also would change the definition of Grand Ronde blood to allow appli-
cants to use all Indian blood derived from a direct ancestor who not only
validly appears on the Restoration Roll, but also the Tribal membership
roll prepared by the Tribe between Nov. 30, 1984, and Sept. 14, 1999.
Tribal members are encouraged to watch the 47-minute video of an ed-
ucational session presented by the Tribal Attorney’s Office on the Tribal
website at www.grandronde.org by clicking on the News tab and then
Video.
In addition, Tribal Council signed an authorization to proceed to mail
out a special edition of Tilixam Wawa that included the PowerPoint pre-
sentation used at the educational session. The special section was sent
to the Tribe’s printing contractor on May 24 and was mailed first class.
Thirty percent of those who registered to vote must cast a ballot – 464 – in
the July 8 election and two-thirds of those voting must approve of the pro-
posal for an amendment to be incorporated into the Tribal Constitution.
S moke S ignals
Hillsboro woman hits royal flush at casino
Linda McQuinn of Hillsboro hit a royal flush playing “Let It Ride” at
Spirit Mountain Casino on Monday, June 20. The lucky hand earned
her $17,500 and entry into the $250,000 Shuffle Master Classic Three
Card Poker Tournament held at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
McQuinn will receive a $1,200 travel voucher to cover her hotel and
travel expenses to play in the national championship event on Sept. 26.
She also will receive VIP treatment during her stay in Las Vegas and
will play for a share of the $250,000 prize pool.
McQuinn said she is excited about her upcoming trip.
Spirit Mountain Casino guests can continue to play “Let It Ride” or
“Three Card Poker” through August to qualify for the Las Vegas tour-
nament. Any player who hits a royal flush on “Let It Ride” or a six-card
straight flush on “Three Card Poker” through Aug. 31 will qualify for
the tournament.
Grand Ronde
Housing Department
Housing Board seeks community input
The Grand Ronde Housing Board is inviting Tribal members
and Tribal housing residents to provide input to assist its mem-
bers in carrying out its advisory role to the Housing Department
and Tribal Council regarding policy guidance. The Housing Board
meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of each month in the Housing
Department conference room, 28450 Tyee Road. Its chair is Matt
Thomas. For more information, contact the Housing Department
at 503-879-2401.
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