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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2016)
10 S moke S ignals DECEMBER 15, 2016 Grand Ronde leaders attend annual summit By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor LINCOLN CITY – Tribal Council Vice Chair Cheryle A. Kennedy was among the nine Oregon Tribal lead- ers who welcomed about 200 people to the 17th annual State-Tribal Government Summit held Wednes- day, Dec. 7, at Chinook Winds Convention Center in Lincoln City. Kennedy joined eight other Tribal leaders to welcome elected state legislators, state department heads and their employees, and Tribal staff members to the event, which had the theme of “Ties That Bind.” “For Native people, in ancient times we sat around campfires and the leadership and the people talked,” Kenne- dy said about the day’s theme during her wel- coming address. “They talked about how to care for their people, how to protect their people, how to manage their village. They talked about those things that were good for the people. It was a very organized way of life that we lived and enjoyed. “It was always fore- Elizabeth Furse, a former Oregon member most to look after your of Congress, holds up a copy of the U.S. people, to take care of Constitution, which she always carries on them. … Through that era is what I believe to be her, during her luncheon speech at the 17th the beginnings of mean- annual State-Tribal Government Summit held ingful conversation and at Chinook Winds Convention Center in Lincoln dialogue among others. City on Wednesday, Dec. 7. That’s the kind of thing that I would hope these consulta- of Oregon go back 15,000 years,” tions represent here today. That’s Quigley said. “Something the state it’s not just an exercise of coming needs to remember is that the past together … but to embrace in its matters (to Tribes). Think about entirety the way of dialoguing and those 15,000 years before acting.” really looking through the eyes of To reiterate Tribal history in Or- our hearts in how we can make egon, the morning session featured these things happen. Dr. Dennis Jenkins of the Museum “I believe that we are going back of Natural and Cultural History at to the way we used to do when the University of Oregon, who spoke Tribes sat around their campfires about his archaeological research at and we dialogued and really lis- the Paisley Caves in central Oregon tened to one another. And we take during the presentation titled “The to heart and try to find ways of Past Matters: Archaeology Pre- resolving issues and minimizing serves Oregon’s History.” barriers. … It’s very important Jenkins’ findings show that hu- that when you ask a question, the man beings have lived in what is answers lie in many different areas now Oregon for at least 14,500 and they all need to be considered.” years. The original residents were Put on by the Legislative Com- generally related through DNA mission on Indian Services, the testing of coprolite – fossilized dung annual summit is an opportunity – to Siberians/Asians and modern for Tribal leaders and employees to Native Americans. educate the never-ending revolving Jenkins said the Paisley Caves door of state officials and employees are the oldest settlement ever found on the nine Oregon Tribes and their in the Americas and the items sovereignty. found were preserved because of Karen Quigley, executive direc- the dry climate. tor of the Legislative Commission “You will never find another Pais- on Indian Services, told attendees ley Caves,” he said. that during her many years in state The summit started with an open- government that the most misun- ing ceremony that included Grand derstanding occurs when the state Ronde resident Dennis Kleffner forgets Tribal sovereignty either carrying in the Grand Ronde flag inadvertently or intentionally and and Warm Springs member Carlos fails to consult on matters affecting Calica giving the invocation. Tribes. Siletz Tribal Chair Delores Pig- Many at the summit cited the sley welcomed attendees and Ben Standing Rock Sioux situation re- Souede, Gov. Kate Brown’s general garding the Dakota Access Pipeline counsel, performed the duties of in North Dakota as an extreme master of ceremonies since Brown example of what can occur when was unable to attend because of governments – state and federal – conflicting memorial services for fail to consult with affected Tribal former Oregon Attorney General Nations. Hardy Myers, who walked on Nov. “Tribal ties to the land and waters 29. Photos by Michelle Alaimo Tribal Council Vice Chair Cheryle A. Kennedy gives a welcome address during the 17th annual State- Tribal Government Summit held at Chinook Winds Convention Center in Lincoln City on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Next to Kennedy is Burns Paiute Tribal Chair Joe DeLaRosa, middle, and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Tribal Board of Directors member Tom Cox waiting to give their welcomes. In a video presentation, Brown said that governing takes “mutual trust, respect and understanding” and that she hopes the annual State-Tribal summit fosters that be- tween the state and Oregon’s Tribes. Brown met with Tribal leaders the night before during a dinner that was attended by Kennedy. Souede said one of his other roles in the Brown administration is to act as the liaison with Oregon’s nine Tribes. “The Governor’s Office recognizes that a lot of the value of today is that you are all here in the same room together at the same time,” Souede said. Souede then read the Oregon statute that requires the Gov- ernor’s Office to annually hold a summit between Tribal representa- tives and state employees to “work together to achieve mutual goals.” “We are here to satisfy both the words and spirit behind that stat- ute,” Souede said. “I don’t know how much time you have spent reading the Oregon Revised Stat- utes … I have spent too much … but take my word for it, working together to achieve mutual goals may be the most positive, hopeful and productive language in the entire Oregon code.” Souede said now is a good time to remember those words, citing the takeover of the Malheur Na- tional Wildlife Refuge in Harney County by armed outsiders, which damaged Burns Paiute cultural resources, and the Standing Rock Sioux situation. “That is not how we do things here,” Souede said. “We are com- mitted mutually to improving rela- tionships and improving the lives of all of our peoples together.” In addition to Kennedy, Grand Ronde Tribal Council member Kathleen George, Tribal Attorney Rob Greene, Acting TERO Direc- tor John Mercier and Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Manager Briece Edwards attended the summit. Former Grand Ronde Education Department Manager April Camp- bell, who is the Indian Education adviser with the state Department of Education, also attended with her supervisor, Deputy Superin- tendent of Public Instruction Salam Noor. Luncheon speaker at the summit was Elizabeth Furse, a former Ore- gon member of Congress who spoke about Tribal sovereignty and the importance of consultation. Furse, brandishing a copy of the U.S. Constitution, said she wanted to send out a warning to state agen- cies and their employees that lack of coordination and meaningful con- sultation with Tribes can lead to the fiasco that occurred in North Dakota. “If those Tribes had been consult- ed, if they had known enough … yeah, millions of dollars have been spent, but the Tribal people were not listened to,” Furse said. “All state agencies have to be aware of, and perhaps you probably are, that states have no jurisdic- tion over Tribes unless the federal government has specifically trans- ferred that jurisdiction. States are less sovereign than Tribes.” Citing a case where the state of Washington banned net fishing of steelhead without consulting Tribes and in violation of several treaties, she advised state employees that they do not want to be responsible for violating the U.S. Constitution and federal-Tribal treaties and put the state into federal court. “My word is a warning,” Furse said. “As state agencies, be sure that you are meticulous. … I think the thing I am most concerned about, particularly because of the Lakota situation, is how can we get into such trouble by not doing proper consultation with the Tribe that is most affected. … It is very important to say that you have this awesome responsibility to make sure that what you do does not violate in any way the federal trust responsibility and Tribal treaty rites.” After lunch, state agency directors took the stage to offer comments on how they incorporate Tribal input into their agency’s work and then the summit ended earlier than scheduled to allow attendees to leave in anticipation of freezing rain and snow that occurred regionally on Thursday, Dec. 8. Another unplanned running theme throughout the day was Native concerns about the incoming Trump administration. Furse expressed her concerns and Warm Springs Chairman Austin Greene Jr. said there is “great un- certainty” in Indian Country about Trump’s potential policies. “Overall it was a very special day and one of the best summits ever,” Quigley said. “Everyone ap- peared engaged and interested in the leaders’ remarks, the presen- tations, panels and, perhaps most importantly, the time together. I really loved people coming up and telling me that they were at ‘the best table.’ They had met so many new Tribal and state folks and had great conversations.”
