2
S moke S ignals
SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings
DATE
TIME
Wednesday, Sept. 14...........................................................................5 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 28...........................................................................5 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 12.............................................................................5 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 26.............................................................................5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 9..............................................................................5 p.m.
General Council meeting
11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11
Tribal Community Center
Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed.
Letters
Dear Smoke Signals:
I have just inished reading the recent Appeals Court decision, Val
Alexander et al v CTGR, and I must say it is one of the most convoluted
and nonsensical pieces of legalese I have ever had the pleasure to read.
Apparently, the Appeals Court does not believe our Tribal Constitution
places any boundaries or restraints upon their decision-making process.
If the Tribal members and our Tribal Council allow this decision to stand
without questioning the decision’s constitutionality, it will set a very dan-
gerous precedent for the future of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
My irst question is: Does the Appeals Court recognize that their deci-
sions are limited by our Tribal Constitution? According to the court’s own
guidelines, the court must provide to the Tribe, Tribal members, lawyers
and others a fair and prompt resolution of legal disputes. This means
the decisions must be fair to the CTGR as well as to the appellants. Most
important, the Tribal Court must interpret the Tribe’s laws and Consti-
tution in resolving these disputes. It is obvious that the Appeals Court
simply chose to ignore our Tribal Constitution when they wrote the Val
Alexander et al v CTGR decision.
Also, according to our Constitution’s Enrollment Ordinance, Chapter
102, § (i), “The Tribal Court shall recognize the obligations of the Tribe
and the board to uphold the requirements for enrollment under the Tribal
Constitution.”
The Appeals Court resorted to the doctrine of laches and completely
ignored the clear language of our Tribe’s Constitution. It appears to me
that the Appeals Court has not only ignored our Constitution, they are
literally attempting to overturn our Constitution.
Our Tribal Constitution is very clear regarding the requirements of
membership: “Section 1. Requirements. The membership of the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon shall consist of
all persons who are not enrolled as members of another recognized Tribe,
band or community and, (a) whose names validly appear on the oficial
Tribal membership roll prepared under the Grand Ronde Restoration Act;
provided, that such roll may be corrected by the Tribal Council with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior; or (b) who possess one-sixteenth
(1/16) or more degree Indian blood quantum of a federally recognized
Tribe or Tribes, are descended from a member of the Confederated Tribes
of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, have iled an application for
enrollment according to procedures established pursuant to Section 3 of
this Article, and have been accepted as members in accordance with the
Tribal ordinance adopted under Section 3 of this Article.
"For purposes of this section, descent from a member of the Confederat-
ed Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon shall include lineal
descent from any person who was named on any roll or records of Grand
Ronde members prepared by the Department of the Interior prior to the
effective date of this Constitution."
These enrollment requirements are not dificult to understand, neither
are these requirements dificult to prove if you are actually a member of
the CTGR. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has records of the CTGR mem-
bership and their blood quantum that go back well over 100 years. There
is absolutely no excuse for the Appeals Court to resort to the doctrine of
laches to resolve any enrollment dispute.
This brings me to my second question: Why does the CTGR even have
an appellate court? If our Tribe had a membership with hundreds of
thousands, like the Cherokees or the Navajos, and we had several courts
that might have conlicting decisions, I could understand why we might
need an appeals court. Our Tribe is a small tribe and we are not rich, no
matter what others may believe.
The CTGR needs an Appeals Court like we need an aircraft carrier. After
reading the Val Alexander decision, I am irmly convinced that the Appeals
Court is a waste of time and resources, not only for our Tribe, but for future
appellants that believe they have a legal controversy with the CTGR.
I propose that our Tribe quickly dismantle and dissolve the Appeals
Court, and I also strongly urge that the Tribal Council pass a resolution
to ignore the Val Alexander Appeals Court decision because it is an un-
constitutional overreach of the court’s judicial authority.
Michael Haller
Roll #903
See page 16 for more letters.
Tribal Oice Closures
Tribal ofices will be closing at noon Friday, Sept. 2, and closed
on Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of Labor Day. Ofices also will be
closed on Friday, Sept. 23, in observance of National Indian Day.
Smoke Signals
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DEADLINE DATE
ISSUE DATE
Tuesday, Sept. 6 ........................ Sept. 15
Tuesday, Sept. 20 .........................Oct. 1
Wednesday, Oct. 5 ......................Oct. 15
Editorial Policy
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Com-
munity of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted
without permission.
Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers
about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be
signed by the author, an address must be given and a phone number or e-mail address
must be included for veriication purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not
be published unless requested.
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editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily relect the
opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council.
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