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.