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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2017)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 Community Fund exceeds 2,500 grants — pg. 9 SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 Community Fund selects new Hatfield Fellow By Angela Sears Newly elected Tribal Council member Michael Langley, left, is congratulated by Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson after the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected Tribal Council members held in Tribal Council Chambers in the Governance Center on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Langley received 708 votes, the first person to ever receive more than 700 votes, in the Tribal Council election held on Saturday, Sept. 9. Community Fund program coordinator K Photo by Michelle Alaimo The new 700 Club Langley receives most votes ever in Tribal Council victory By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor F ormer Spirit Mountain Casino Internal Auditor Michael Langley became the first candidate ever to receive more than 700 votes on Saturday, Sept. 9, when he was elected during his second try at Tribal Council. Langley, who finished sixth in 2016 with 434 votes, received 708 votes this year. He received 19 percent of votes cast and surpassed the 690 votes received by Tribal Council Chair Cheryle A. Kennedy in 2006. Also elected to serve three-year terms on Tribal Council were incumbent Chris Mercier, who re- ceived 695 votes, and Youth Prevention Specialist Lisa Leno, who received 648 votes. Mercier captured his fifth Tribal Council term while Leno was elected to her first term during her second run for Tribal Council as well. In 2016, Leno See ELECTION continued on page 7 arlen Yallup, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, has been selected as the 2017-18 Hatfield Fellow and will begin her fellow- ship with a month-long orientation at the American Political Science Association in Washington, D.C., in November before working in Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden’s office. Yallup is a graduate of the Uni- versity of Idaho where she received a bachelor of science degree in For- est Resources, and Fire Ecology and Management. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde established the Mark O. Hatfield Fellowship in 1998 as a tribute to the Oregon senator who played an instrumental role in the Tribe’s 1983 Restoration. Spirit Mountain Community Fund annually sponsors a highly motivated and capable Native American to serve as the Hatfield Fellow, who works as an intern in a congressional office for eight months. Placement of the fellow has traditionally rotated through the Oregon congressional del- egation to enhance the mutual understanding between federal leadership in Washington, D.C., and Indian Country. Wyden has been active in Ore- See FELLOW continued on page 5 Reyn Leno bids farewell after 21 years (Editor’s note: Former Tribal Council Chair Reynold L. Leno, 66, retired from office after spending 21 consecutive years on Tribal Council and winning seven straight elections. He argu- ably has received more votes than any candidate ever for Tribal Council with 3,564. Those votes were cast during his seven successful runs and four unsuccessful runs in the early 1990s. Since 1996, Leno has served five years as Tribal Council chair, 10 years as vice chair, one year as secretary and five years as a Tribal Council member. Below is a transcript of his “exit interview” with Smoke Signals conducted by Editor Dean Rhodes on Tuesday, Aug. 29.) S moke Signals: At the May 31 Trib- al Council meeting when you an- nounced that you would not seek re-election, you said it was a “quick 21 years.” What prompted your decision to not seek an eighth consecutive term? Leno: Number one, 21 years on a Tribal Council is pretty grueling. You usually don’t have council people who run that long. I think it is just a good time in my life to step out for at least a year. I’m only 66 years old. Time to take a look, you know, do I want to do this some more or do I want to go into retirement and do some more of my personal stuff? So that was kind of why I decided this was a good year. Smoke Signals: In your first four runs for Tribal Council in the 1990s, you were See LENO continued on page 10 Photo by Michelle Alaimo Then-Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno responds to interview questions about his 21 years serving on Tribal Council and his impending retirement on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
