S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 1, 2017
Tribal Council appoints
Youth Council member
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council had a light agenda
with only two decisions – appoint-
ing a new Youth Council member
and approving the enrollment of an
infant into the Tribe – during its
Wednesday, Oct. 25, meeting.
Tribal Council appointed Willami-
na High School junior Aspen Wilson,
16, to the Youth Council with a term
expiring in March 2018 or until she
graduates from high school.
Wilson joins Payton Smith, Raven
Harmon, Isabelle Grout, Madalyn
Volz, Dominik Briant and Jason
Page on the Youth Council.
Membership on the Youth Council
is open to enrolled Tribal members,
direct descendants of enrolled Trib-
al members or an enrolled member
of a federally recognized Tribe
that receives services from Grand
Ronde. Applicants have to be in
sixth grade or higher and have a
minimum 2.5 cumulative grade
point average.
Tribal Council appointed the first
group of Youth Council members
in August 2016 after finalizing the
bylaws for the new entity in May of
that year.
Wilson received a certificate and
necklace from Tribal Council Chair-
woman Cheryle A. Kennedy in hon-
or of her appointment during the
meeting.
The infant was enrolled into the
Tribe because, based on the evi-
dence submitted, he or she meets
the requirements outlined in the
Enrollment Ordinance and Tribal
Constitution.
Cultural Resources Department
Manager David Harrelson gave a
brief presentation about wapato
collection by Tribal ancestors to open
the meeting.
Also included in the Oct. 25 Tribal
Council packet were approved au-
thorizations to proceed that appoint
Tribal Council member Brenda Tu-
omi to the Spirit Mountain Gaming
Inc. Board of Directors, Tribal Coun-
cil member Lisa Leno to the Oregon
Youth Authority and Tribal Council
member Jack Giffen Jr. as the Tribal
representative to the Willamette
Falls Locks Commission and Affil-
iated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
Another approved authorization
to proceed instructed staff to create
an update on Spirit Mountain at
Wood Village for the Sunday, Nov. 5,
General Council meeting and not to
spend more than $8,500 in creating
the presentation.
Under other business, Tribal
Council also approved a resolution
to release a copy of the investigatory
report on the Spirit Mountain Com-
munity Fund coordinator interviews
to the parties in the Knight v. Har-
vey matter as long as the names of
the job applicants not involved in
the case are redacted, the report
only is given to the parties involved
and their legal counsel, and that the
report remains sealed from public
access.
The entire meeting can be viewed
by going to the Tribal website at
www.grandronde.org and clicking
on the News tab and then Video.
Tribal Elders seek reparations for
bulldozed site near Mount Hood
PORTLAND – Three Northwest Tribal Elders, including Grand
Ronde Elder Carol Logan, argued in federal court on Monday, Oct.
23, that an expansion of U.S. Highway 26 near Mount Hood violated
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by destroying Ana Kwna Nchi
nchi Patat, or the Place of Big Trees.
Logan was joined by Yakama Nation Elders Wilbur Slockish Jr. and
Johnny Jackson in filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
The Tribal Elders contend that the federal government violated
the act when it allowed the Oregon Department of Transportation
to bulldoze the site, remove trees and install earthen berms and a
guardrail that block access.
The Tribal Elders were joined in the lawsuit by the Cascade Geo-
graphic Society and the Mount Hood Sacred Lands Preservation
Alliance. They are asking that the berm and guardrail be removed
and the trees replanted.
Before the five-acre parcel on the north side of Highway 26 was
widened in 2008, the area was home to a rock altar estimated to be
hundreds of years old. There also were a dozen stone monuments
marking burial sites and a clearing that served as a campsite for
traders headed to the once-great Celilo Falls.
Logan said she worshipped for decades at the site. “This is where
our ancestors rest, and yet they rip the soil apart like an open wound,”
she said.
The Elders contend that Tribal members with cultural interests in
the area were not notified during the planning stages and their voices
were ignored when they learned of it before construction.
The U.S. Department of Justice countered that the Elders were
not substantially burdened by the expansion of U.S. Highway 26 and
lacked standing to sue.
Judge Youlee Yim You will decide whether the case filed nine years
ago will move forward. She did not indicate when she will rule.
Includes information from The Associated Press.
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CTGR Youth Education Annual Fall Community Service Project
SOCKtoberfest
2017
Accepting donations through
December 1 st
SOCKtoberfest is a youth service project to assist
the Grand Ronde Community Clothes Closet
Bring your donations to the Youth Education
Building, the Wellness Center, the Elders Activity
Center or the Governance Building
The G.R. Clothes Closet is in need of new socks for all seasons.
For kids, teens and adults, work socks, dress socks,
all sizes, styles and colors would be greatly appreciated.
Only new items, please
Registration Information
$50 for conference
$25 for plank house dinner
$25 for workshops
Free for Tribal Members
and Staff
Rooms are available
at Spirit Mountain Casino
for $69 per night if you
reference the History Summit
Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde Gymnasium
9615 Grand Ronde Rd.
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
Further information at
www.grandronde.org/hcsummit
Join us for two days of interdisciplinary
lectures and discussions. Sessions will
include topics on anthropology, culture,
history, archaeology, and environment.
Each day there will be a light breakfast
and lunch provided. There will be
an evening event at the plank house
for the first 150 guests who register. The
event will include a dinner.
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