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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2016)
2 S moke S ignals NOVEMBER 1, 2016 NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings DATE TIME Wednesday, Nov. 9..............................................................................4 p.m. General Council meeting Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed. 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 Letters Tribal gymnasium Dear Smoke Signals: This is one of the most difficult letters I have ever tried to write and I al- most feel I must apologize for doing so. So forgive me, I am far from perfect and unwell. I am writing to ask for only a little help, nothing more than we do in our daily lives to lend each other a hand; help each other when needed. Where I am there is none I can call to except Creator, and while I know I am heard and help will come as I need it, I must nonetheless do my part, do my work, my part to find the help Creator gives us all – each other. One or two of you may know that I have been doing battle for quite a long time now. It has been hard on me. It must be that way or nothing will be gained, nothing learned. I have filed two separate lawsuits against the state of California and the United States concerning discrimination, abuse of our belongings, our ceremonies and the lack of legal protections. What I am doing will affect all U.S. indigenous peoples on Turtle Island and to my limited experience has not been done before. If these issues were brought up and settled properly before, then we would have proper protection and have full stewardship of our ways, ceremonies and what is ours and ours alone. I am tired of people talking and doing nothing but satisfying themselves, tired of white men pushing me aside, controlling my ceremonies. You tell me what I should do, fight them with my savagery or fight them with their own rule of law. I have done it all and my family suffers for it. I do what is right for all of us. I think of you our children in all I do. They need good teachings. I don’t want money or pity, just for the people to care a little more. Remember the world is bigger than what’s going on in Grand Ronde; that we all have much more work to do to protect our future. I do need help finding an attorney. I have very limited resources here. I can’t just get online and Google “American Indian civil rights attorney.” Other resources are outdated. I have copies of each lawsuit for anyone serious about helping. Walter F. Simmons Roll #751 North A-L.A.0236-L P.O. Box 705 Soledad, CA 93960 Smoke Signals PUBLICATIONS OFFICE 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 1-800-422-0232, FAX: 503-879-2173 Website: www.grandronde.org/news E-mail: news@grandronde.org Twitter: CTGRgov Facebook: Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde DEAN RHODES CHELSEA CLARK MICHELLE ALAIMO PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS/ PUBLICATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT PHOTOJOURNALIST 503-879-1463 dean.rhodes@grandronde.org 503-879-1961 michelle.alaimo@grandronde.org 503-879-1418 chelsea.clark@grandronde.org GEORGE VALDEZ JUSTIN PHILLIPS BRENT MERRILL GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST PAGE DESIGNER STAFF WRITER 503-879-2190 503-879-4663 503-879-1416 justin.phillips@grandronde.org brent.merrill@grandronde.org george.valdez@grandronde.org SCARLETT HOLTZ NOVALEE LANCOUR CENTRAL PHONES CENTRAL PHONES 503-879-1447 503-879-1446 scarlett.holtz@grandronde.org novalee.lancour@grandronde.org DEADLINE DATE ISSUE DATE Monday, Nov. 7 ........................ Nov. 15 Friday, Nov. 18 ............................Dec. 1 Monday, Dec. 5 ..........................Dec. 15 See page 14 for more letters. Editorial Policy Cedar reindeer class scheduled 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 verification purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not be published unless requested. SMOKE SIGNALS reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse letters that are determined to contain libelous statements or personal attacks on individuals, staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Letters to the editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. A class to make cedar reindeers for Christmas will be held at the Elders Activity Center, 48940 Blacktail Drive, from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Instructors will be Tribal Elders Julie Duncan and Connie Graves. Everyone is invited to attend. If interested, please sign up at the Elders Activity Center by calling 503-879-2233. MARRIAGES IN TRIBAL COURT The Tribal Court is now issuing marriage licenses and is able to perform marriage ceremonies for a filing fee of $40. For questions regarding scheduling, please contact the Tribal Court at 503-879- 2303. 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 third Tuesday of the month, which will be Nov. 15. Walk-ins are welcome between 9 a.m. and 4 p.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. Tribal Office Closures Tribal offices will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day. Offices also will be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 22, through Friday, Nov. 25, in observance of Restoration and Thanks- giving. Members of: Native American Journalists Association Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 2016-17 Tribal Council 1-800-422-0232 — tribalcouncil@grandronde.org Reyn Leno Tribal Chairman — ext. 2399 Denise Harvey — ext. 2353 reyn.leno@grandronde.org Chris Mercier — ext. 1444 Cheryle A. Kennedy Tribal Vice Chair — ext. 2352 cheryle.kennedy@grandronde.org Jon A. George Tribal Secretary — ext. 2355 jon.george@grandronde.org denise.harvey@grandronde.org chris.mercier@grandronde.org Brenda Tuomi — ext. 4555 brenda.tuomi@grandronde.org Tonya Gleason-Shepek — ext. 1777 tonya.gleason-shepek@grandronde.org Kathleen George — ext. 2305 Jack Giffen Jr. — ext. 2300 kathleen.george@grandronde.org jack.giffen@grandronde.org
