6
S moke S ignals
DECEMBER 15, 2017
General Council briefed on Tribal Lands Department
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
For the first time ever, the Tribe
has taken land outside of Yamhill,
Polk and Tillamook counties into
trust with the 97-acre Rattlesnake
Butte property in Lane County re-
cently being approved, Tribal Lands
Manager Jan Michael Reibach said
during a presentation given at the
Sunday, Dec. 3, General Council
meeting held in the Tribal Commu-
nity Center.
“It’s historic for the Tribe,” Rei-
bach said during his 20-minute
presentation.
Trust land cannot be sold or trans-
ferred to non-Native Americans and
can benefit from federal programs
for business development, housing,
environmental and cultural protec-
tion.
The General Council meeting
started at 10 a.m. to accommodate
the Tribal Council Christmas Party,
which partially ran simultaneously
at the Tribal gym.
Reibach started his presentation
by outlining the mission of the Trib-
al Lands Department, which is to
support the Tribe in “exercising its
sovereignty by identifying, acquir-
ing, protecting, restoring and man-
aging Tribal lands and resources
throughout the Tribe’s ceded lands
and other areas of interest.”
The four-person Lands Depart-
ment staff has myriad responsibili-
ties, Reibach said, from monitoring
the Portland Harbor Superfund
site cleanup to land acquisition to
self-governance to participation in
the Northwest Power & Conser-
vation Council. The latter entity
is charged with implementing the
Bonneville Power Administration’s
Willamette Wildlife Mitigation
Program, which provides funds to
purchase a minimum
of 16,880 acres during a
15-year period through
2025 to mitigate the
resource losses caused
by the construction, in-
undation and operation
of federal dams on the
Columbia River.
The Grand Ronde
Tribe has acquired
five properties totaling
1,124 acres through the
program and works to
protect the properties in
perpetuity for fish and
wildlife conservation.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Reibach said a 97-acre
Tribal
Lands
Department
Manager
Jan Michael
parcel in Yamhill Coun-
ty, called K’anawi, has Reibach gives the membership an update on his
been approved for Bon- department during the General Council meeting
neville Power Admin- held in the Tribal Community Center on Sunday,
istration funding and Dec. 3.
two other properties are
either in due diligence or proposed departmental employees are totally
grant funded through the Portland
in Linn and Polk counties.
A new responsibility for the Harbor Cleanup effort and the Bon-
Lands Department, Reibach said, neville Power Administration.
Reibach said that he attempted to
is self-governance, which allows
Tribes to use federal funding to meet keep his presentation brief because
local community service needs and he made a presentation in May that
Tribally driven priorities. In 2018, outlined the properties the Tribe
the Grand Ronde Tribe will receive owns. Tribally owned properties
a record $2.778 million in self-gov- reach from the old Multnomah
ernance funds from the Department Greyhound Park in Wood Village
of the Interior, he said.
Other highlights included Rei-
bach announcing that the Tribe
purchased the 69-acre Rowell Creek
timberland property southeast of
Spirit Mountain Casino in 2017, as
well as the 3.3-acre Johnson allot-
ment – Russ Leno’s old house – in
Grand Ronde.
Reibach said the timber harvest-
ing on the Rowell Creek property
eventually will pay for its purchase.
Reibach added that two of his four
to Kilchis Point near Bay City in
Tillamook County to Rattlesnake
Butte near Junction City.
After his presentation, Reibach
fielded three questions and com-
ments from Tribal members in
attendance.
In other General Council action,
nominations for four open seats on
the Elders Committee were accept-
ed. Elders Diana George, Louise
Coulson, Cherie Butler, Serena
Layman and Linda Brandon were
nominated.
Voting for the Elders Committee
will occur at the late December birth-
day meeting to be held at the Elders
Activity Center and during the next
General Council meeting scheduled
for 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7.
Bob Duncan, Veronica Gaston
and Alton Butler won the $100 door
prizes and Michael Wiggs, Cherie
Butler, Sydney Clark, Blair Harvey
and Julie Duncan won the $50 door
prizes. Arlettia Krehbiel won a do-
nated necklace.
Reibach and Tribal Council Sec-
retary Jon A. George performed the
cultural drumming and singing to
open the meeting.
The meeting can be viewed in
its entirety by visiting www.gran-
dronde.org and clicking on the News
tab and then Video.
It’s a wrap
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Senior Miss Grand Ronde Isabelle Grout, left, and Tiny Tot Jameson
Turner wrap a present during Grand Ronde Royalty’s Christmas and
Wrapping Party held in the Governance Center on Monday, Dec. 11.
The presents are for children who had a tag on the Community Tree of
Giving, which helps local families that are in need this holiday season.
Royalty Coordinator Chelsea Clark said Royalty members wrapped 23
presents during the party.
Sewing class participants wanted
The sewing classes that have been held at the Elders Activity Center have
been canceled due to lack of participation. Classes could resume if at least
six people commit to attending. To commit or find out more information,
contact Elders Activity Assistant Dan Ham at 503-879-2233.
Fee assistance
Ad created by George Valdez
Enrolled Tribal members can request assistance with test fees (i.e. GRE,
SAT, LSAT, ACT) and admissions application fees. Contact Higher Education
for more information at 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2275.