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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2017)
S moke S ignals OCTOBER 1, 2017 Former Tribal Council member Darrell Mercier walks on at 87 By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Darrell Leroy Mercier, a mem- ber of the Tribe’s first post-Res- toration Tribal Council, walked on Friday, Sept. 22, at the age of 87. Mercier was Darrell Mercier born on Sept. 23, 1929, in Grand Ronde and he worked on the Tribe’s Restoration efforts starting in the early 1970s. He joined Kathryn Harrison, Dean Mercier, Candy Robertson, Frank Harrison, Merle Leno, Russell Leno, Mark Mercier and Henry Petite on the first interim Tribal Council that served following 1983’s Restoration after being elected from a field of 27 candidates on Feb. 11, 1984. He was elected to the first offi- cial Tribal Council on March 23, 1985, receiving the third most votes among 28 candidates, and served through May 1986. “I am concerned about the needs of our people, young and old alike,” he said in a candidate statement that appeared in the February 1984 edi- tion of Smoke Signals. “I will work for the betterment of the Tribe, in all honesty, as I have been for the past nine years. … I will have the Tribe’s best interest in mind at all times before making any decisions.” He was a lifelong resident of Grand Ronde and had eight chil- dren. Viewing was held Tuesday, Sept. 26, in the Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. Recitation of the Rosary occurred Wednesday, Sept. 27, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Grand Ronde. A funeral service was held Thurs- day, Sept. 28, in the Tribal gym and private interment followed. A dinner followed the services at the Elders Activity Center on Thursday. To leave a message or memory, visit www.dallastribute.com. A full Waking On notice will ap- pear in Smoke Signals at a future date. We Want To Hear From You! That’s right, the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Comment Box is located at the entrance of the Health & Wellness Center, next to the drinking fountain. Share your experience, good or bad with us! We look forward to hearing what you have to say. Ad created by George Valdez Tribal Council changes authorized signers By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor It happens most every fall after Tribal elections: Tribal Council removes and appoints signers on Tribal bank accounts, credit cards and lines of credit. It was no different at the Wednes- day, Sept. 27, Tribal Council meet- ing in the wake of former longtime Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno and Tonya Gleason-Shepek leaving office and a shakeup in Tribal Council officers occurring. As a result of the Sept. 9 election results, Tribal Council voted to grant signing authority to newly elected Tribal Council members Lisa Leno and Michael Langley on the Tribe’s bank, sweep and in- vestment accounts and authorized their use of Tribal credit cards. Tribal Council removed Reyn Leno and Gleason-Shepek as signers on the Tribe’s bank, sweep and investment accounts and ended their use of Tribal credit cards. In reaction to a new lineup of Tribal Council officers, Tribal Council authorized Vice Chair Chris Mercier as a signer on the line of credit loan and removed Reyn Leno. Tribal Council Chair- woman Cheryle A. Kennedy and Secretary Jon A. George were already signers on the line of credit loan because they were Tribal Council officers. Kennedy was previously vice chair before being elevated to chairwoman on Sept. 13. In other action, Tribal Council approved the 2018 harvest licens- es on locally owned lands. Tribal Lands Manager Jan Mi- chael Reibach and Realty Spe- cialist Teresa Brocksen said at the Tuesday, Sept. 26, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the harvest license program has earned more than $160,000 in revenue for the Tribe since its in- ception while saving resources in maintaining vacant lands. In 2017, the Tribe received $59,148 in revenue from hay and crop licenses. The estimate for 2018 is slightly less at $58,967. The decrease is a result of better calculations of acreage farmed due to aerial imagery, a staff report stated. The staff report also said that if the Tribe were to maintain the properties as idle land, it would cost approximately $5,000 in wag- es and fringe benefits in addition to fuel costs, as well as not receiv- ing the income from the crop and harvest licenses. Tribal Council also approved the enrollment of three infants and two non-infants into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements outlined in the Trib- al Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance, and recommended removal of one Tribal member from the Restoration Roll because submitted documents prove that the person did not meet the re- quirements to be included. The Secretary of the Interior must approve any Restoration Roll changes. By consensus, Tribal Coun- cil also set the agenda for the Sunday, Oct. 1, General Council meeting, which will be a financial overview. The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. in the Tribal gym. Also included in the Sept. 27 Tribal Council packet were autho- rizations to proceed that allotted an additional $2,000 to the Cer- emonial Hunting Board due to increased harvesting and process- ing, waived Tribal policy to allow five members of the Enrollment Board to attend the 2017 North- west Enrollment Conference and directed the Information Services Department to research a vendor who could create a centralized database that all Tribal depart- ments could use to ensure data is current. Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson opened the meeting with a cultural pre- sentation on the Upper and Lower Table Rocks near Medford and Tribal practices in harvesting acorns from oak trees in the area. The entire meeting can be viewed on the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org by clicking on the News tab and then Video. 7
