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.