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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2016)
S moke S ignals NOVEMBER 1, 2016 15 Sophie Grout plays a game of skee ball during a Halloween party held in the Tribal gym on Friday, Oct, 28. Halloween fun Photos by Michelle Alaimo Chazz Leonard gets candy from Tribal GIS Analyst Alex Drake as Youth Education students trick or treat in the Governance Center on Friday, Oct. 28. Behind him in line is Tribal Youth Education Elementary K-5 Tutor/Adviser George Neujahr. Patricia Strutton helps her 1-year-old granddaughter Mila Strutton get candy from a treasure chest during a Halloween party held in the Tribal gym on Friday, Oct, 28. The party was hosted by Children and Family Services and Youth Prevention. ONABEN investing in Tribal youth PORTLAND – The national nonprofit organization ONABEN – Our Native American Business Network – plans to utilize five recent grants totaling $245,000, including $20,000 from Spirit Mountain Community Fund, to continue program delivery with a strategic focus on small business owners, art entrepreneurs and youth over the next year. Most notably, and as part of a larger multi-year initiative, ONA- BEN is adapting its nationally renowned Indianpreneurship curric- ulum to pilot a comprehensive entrepreneurial and finance learning platform for Native youth. Approximately 10 to 15 youth from the Grand Ronde Tribe will participate in the pilot camp where they will develop their personal financial capabilities, goal-setting skills and ability to navigate opportunities and challenges. “Working with youth is one of the most rewarding things, and one of ONABEN’s most important strategies. We have to invest in our youth now. They are our opportunity for creating real change,” said ONABEN Executive Director Veronica Hix. In addition, ONABEN will use the majority of the funds to facili- tate a peer mentoring program, deliver a series of four trainings and provide more than 200 hours of customized professional assistance to 15 Native American business owners located in a multi-state area. ONABEN also will provide culturally appropriate training and assistance to 10 Native women artisans of the Warm Springs Res- ervation to help them grow their audience and build their entre- preneurial skills. In addition to the Community Fund grant, ONABEN received $150,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration, $71,713 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $3,500 from KeyBank Foundation. Kaleigha Simi gets fruit from Tribal Elder Julie Duncan as Youth Education students trick or treat in the Elders Activity Center on Friday, Oct. 28. Simi’s costume is a crazy cat lady. City of Vancouver withdrew from lawsuit in March DECISION continued from front page “The Secretary (of the Interior) reasonably interpreted and applied the Indian Reorganization Act to conclude that the Cowlitz are a ‘recognized Indian Tribe now un- der federal jurisdiction,’ ” Wilkins wrote in his opinion. “The Secretary also reasonably determined that the Cowlitz meet the ‘initial-res- ervation’ exception to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.” Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno released a statement shortly after the Court of Appeals decision was released. “The Tribe continues to believe it is wrong for the Cowlitz to build a casino in Clark County, a region historically belonging to the Tribes and Bands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde,” Leno said. “The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde doesn’t believe that a Tribe should be allowed to go reservation shopping outside their historic territory, simply because they have identified a location that is more desirable because of its proximity to an urban area. We look forward to keeping our membership informed and are determined to forge ahead in a positive manner. “In addition to how we respond to this decision, the Tribe has ini- tiated a major renovation of Spirit Mountain Casino, is redeveloping the greyhound track at Wood Village and continues to explore options to build the Grand Ronde economy.” The Grand Ronde Tribe consis- tently stated throughout legal pro- ceedings that the Cowlitz Tribe’s traditional homelands are about 60 miles farther north in the Toledo, Wash., area. Tribal officials stated that if the Cowlitz had received a Reservation in that area, the Grand Ronde Tribe would never have filed a lawsuit. The city of Vancouver withdrew from the lawsuit following oral arguments heard in March. Clark County also decided not to be a party in seeking a Supreme Court review.
