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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2018)
S moke S ignals FEBRUARY 15, 2018 13 'We do not have classes of membership' MEETING continued from front page At the Jan. 10 Tribal Council meeting, Gray also criticized Trib- al Council for placing unspecified non-members on Tribal committees and special event boards. “At a number of Tribal Council meetings, including the last meet- ing, statements have been made suggesting that certain Tribal members are not ‘Grand Ronde’ and should not be appointed to Tribal committees or boards,” the Tribal Council statement says. “These statements are aimed at descendants of Chief Tumulth who were the subject of disenrollment proceedings. The (Tribal) Council views these statements as inap- propriate personal attacks. They must stop. “We do not have classes of mem- bership. Grand Ronde members – including those whose mem- bership was restored following disenrollment proceedings – share equal rights, benefits and respon- sibilities. All Tribal members are entitled to the same level of respect. Statements suggesting anyone is “We did take that action to let everyone know that we will adhere to make sure that folks when they come to the mic understand that we are not here to make disparaging remarks against anyone. We are very serious.” ~ Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy a lesser member are offensive and will not be tolerated.” The only Tribal Council member who did not sign the statement was Jack Giffen Jr., who also voted on Jan. 10 against the re-appointment of two Grand Ronde Appeals Court judges who were part of a unani- mous three-judge ruling that ended disenrollment proceedings against the Chief Tumulth descendants in August 2016. Giffen, who was absent from the Jan. 24 meeting because he was representing the Tribe at the Affil- iated Tribes of Northwest Indians’ Winter Convention in Portland, said during the Wednesday, Feb. 7, Tribal Council meeting that he did not sign the statement because YouTube screenshot Tribal Lands Manager Jan Looking Wolf Reibach performed “A Special Place,” joined by the Oregon State Choraliers, at Oregon State President Edward Ray’s “State of the University” address held Thursday, Feb. 1, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Reibach was commissioned to write the song to commemorate the university’s 150th anniversary. Reibach composes song for Oregon State’s 150th anniversary By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Lands Manager and multiple Native American Music Awards recipient Jan Looking Wolf Reibach wrote “A Special Place” to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Oregon State University. Reibach performed the song, joined by the Oregon State Cho- raliers, at Oregon State Pres- ident Edward Ray’s “State of the University” address held Thursday, Feb. 1, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Approximately 800 people at- tended the annual event and the video of the performance can be watched on YouTube at https:// youtu.be/3mSrxpi5LGM. “I really tried to capture what a beautiful place Oregon State is,” Reibach said. “I was inspired by the journey students take to get here and the dedication of faculty.” Reibach is a Native American flute instructor at the Oregon State College of Liberal Arts. He said he spent more than 200 hours working on the song, which is more time than he has spent on any individual song on his 22 commercial releases. Reibach’s great-great-grandfa- ther was Chief Joseph Sangretta of the Santiam Kalapuya who have lived in the mid-Willamette Valley for more than 14,000 years. Oregon State Vice President of University Relations and Marketing Steve Clark said the university commissioned the song to help commemo- rate “OSU150,” the university’s 150th anniversary, which is a 15-month celebration including a series of events and activities through October. “The song poignantly captures what we are about here at Or- egon State,” Clark said. “We provide the chance for learning, economic opportunity and pros- perity for all Oregonians and our state’s communities. We hope to hear this song through the next 150 years of the university.” he was not at the meeting and un- aware of what occurred. “When it came time to sign it, it was the following Monday and we were in a training down at the casino and it was presented to me,” Giffen said. “I knew nothing about it. I had no background on it. Basi- cally, I was asked to sign it without any information on it, which is not the way I work.” The Tribe’s Appeals Court ruled that the “alleged enrollment er- rors” regarding the Chief Tumulth descendants had occurred so long ago that the Tribe had failed to act within a reasonable amount of time to correct it. The Tribe’s Enrollment Board voted in early October 2016 to dis- miss its decision to disenroll the 67 descendants and they immediately became eligible for all Tribal ser- vices again. Since then, Chief Tumulth de- scendants have been appointed to Tribal committees and special event boards, including Tribal Elder Debi Anderson to the Enroll- ment Board and Russell Wilkinson on the Tribal Employment Rights Office Commission. In addition, Jade Unger was appointed to the Ceremonial Hunting Board, Mia Prickett to the Editorial Board and Eric Bernando to the Culture Committee in 2017. “Please remember, we are all Grand Ronde,” the Tribal Council statement concludes. “Our family is very thankful for the Tribal Council’s statement as it serves to protect all Tribal members from personal attacks,” Wilkinson said. “We have always felt that we belonged as full members even during the disenrollment process. This family remembers that ‘We are all Grand Ronde’ as council’s statement concludes. I am also hon- ored to be able to serve the Tribe by volunteering for the appointment to the TERO Commission.” Kennedy read the Tribal Council statement at the Sunday, Feb. 4, General Council meeting and re- ceived applause. “We did take that action to let everyone know that we will adhere to make sure that folks when they come to the mic understand that we are not here to make disparaging remarks against anyone,” Kennedy said. “We are very serious.” Tribal member Bryan Mercier asked how Tribal Council knows that other forms of discrimination are not occurring against Chief Tumulth descendants. Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez said that the statement has been sent to the chairs of all Tribal committees and special event boards and it will be discussed at the upcoming annual board summit. Kennedy also read the statement at the Wednesday, Feb. 7, Tribal Council meeting and again received applause. Tribal Council member Kathleen George, speaking during a Smoke Signals podcast posted on Spreak- er.com on Monday, Feb. 5, said it is time for elected and community Tribal leaders to work on unifying the Tribe and not fostering division. “The case against the Chief Tu- multh family was decided in our court quite a while ago. It’s done,” George said. “It’s time for our Tribe to heal and move forward together.” Ironically, Tribal Council voted to re-assume responsibility for final decisions regarding involuntary loss of membership cases at the Jan. 24 meeting. In 2014 in the midst of the controversial disenroll- ment proceedings, Tribal Council divested itself of that responsibility and placed the final decision-mak- ing authority on the Enrollment Board.
