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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2016)
S moke S ignals JULY 1, 2016 Journey stopover Tribal Council approves ocean-related resolutions By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Photo by Michelle Alaimo Tribal Elder Carol Logan, middle, enters the Tribe's Adult Education building as she walks with 2016 Peace and Dignity Journey runners, and some of her family members, during the group’s overnight stop in Grand Ronde on Friday, June 17. A meet and greet and dinner were held for the runners and they spent the night in Grand Ronde before continuing their trek southward. This year's run is dedicated to the seeds and traditional foods that are threatened by industrial agriculture. Peace and Dignity Journeys started in 1992 to fulfill the prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor and continue in the spirit of the traditions of Native American ancestors. WIC visits Health & Wellness Center Pregnant? Breastfeeding? Does your family include a child under the age of 5? If so, you may qualify for the Women, Infants and Children program. With WIC, people can receive answers to nutritional questions and access fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, milk, cheese, juice, cereal and more. A WIC representative visits the Health & Wellness Center on the first and third Tuesday of the month, which will be July 5 and 19 this month. Walk-ins are welcome between 8:45 and 11 a.m. When WIC clients arrive at the Health & Wellness Center, they should enter through the Wellness Department located at the back of the medical wing. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 503-623-8175, ext. 2297. 7 Tribal Council approved applying for five grants as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Resilience Grant program on Wednesday, June 15, that will help strengthen the Tribe’s connections with the Oregon coast. The first grant for ocean and coastal management would bring the Tribe $222,477 to hire a ma- rine resources specialist for two years, said Tribal Environmental Resources Specialist Meagan Flier during the June 7 Legislative Ac- tion Committee meeting. “They would do some shellfish work, some toxicity work along with prioritizing the Tribe’s marine resource efforts,” Flier said. The second grant for $10,565 would fund a Tribal Estuary Coali- tion workshop that would bring the four federally recognized coastal Oregon Tribes together to collab- oratively evaluate Tribal marine resources and develop management recommendations. The third grant for $193,196 would fund the completion of a forest risk assessment and supple- mental monitoring that will more fully define the effects of climate change and other stress factors on Tribal forestry resources. The other two grants of about $5,000 each would provide travel support for the other grants. In addition, Tribal Council ad- opted a resolution to sign the West Coast Regional Planning Body charter and the West Coast Ocean Partnership strategic framework, making the Grand Ronde Tribe an active member of each marine planning body. “These are similar marine plan- ning bodies, but they are also very different,” Flier said about her in- volvement in both. “The idea is that they will work in parallel. … What we are looking to do is officially sign on as members of both of these par- ties. The simple act of just showing up at the table to show people that the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is there and present, and that we care about marine resources and the future of the ocean.” Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno said during the Legislative Action Committee meeting that it is important to re-assert the Tribe’s connection to the Oregon coast. “I think it is important when we start these deals that we need to show the history and the connec- tion,” he said. “A lot of our peo- ple gathered mussels at Lincoln City. The Trask (Hunting) Unit, of course, borders up against the ocean. Tillamook County has a coastline. We actually own prop- erty just north of Tillamook now. We need to make all of those con- nections, which will make us a lot stronger at the table. “For our membership, too. A lot might be wondering, ‘We’re in the Valley, why are we doing these grants for the ocean?’ A lot of people don’t realize that Tillamook County was given to us at Restoration, so we have a huge area there that we have interest in.” In other action, Tribal Council: • Appointed Joanna Brisbois to the Culture Committee with a term expiring in March 2018; • Re-appointed Steven Holmes to the Powwow Special Event Board with a term expiring in March 2018; • Appointed Khani Schultz to the Timber Committee with a term expiring in March 2018; • And adopted a resolution urging the Oregon Transportation Com- mission to move forward with Phase II and the completion of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass project, including acquisition of rights-of-way and using Phase I savings for those acquisitions. Tribal Council member Jon A. George joined Culture Department Manager Kathy Cole, Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Specialist Cristina Lara, Youth Prevention Supervisor Lisa Leno and Culture Department Office Assistant Nick Atanacio in per- forming the cultural drumming 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. BIA creates electronic Tribal Leaders Directory Ad created by George Valdez The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ popular Tribal Leaders Directory is now available as an electronic searchable map that provides current contact information for the nation’s 568 federally recognized Tribes and all BIA regional offices and agencies. The map can be accessed via www.bia.gov and www.indianaffairs.gov by clicking on the Tribal Leaders Directory link. “The BIA’s new Tribal Leaders Directory electronic map offers the abil- ity to more quickly find information to reach Tribal governments and our field offices,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Lawrence Roberts. “With the map’s launch, we are taking another step forward in transforming the BIA into a 21st century service provider for Indian Country.” The directory’s new format is a searchable interactive map where users can click on icons to locate Tribal governments and BIA offices across the United States. The map is accessible via most modern Web browsers on desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
