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.
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