S moke S ignals
MAY 15, 2018
Tribal Council OKs
attorney fees payment
Giffen appointed to Willamette
Falls Locks Commission
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
After postponing in mid-April
approval of a reimbursement to
Tribal Council member Denise
Harvey for attorney’s fees she
incurred in defending herself
against an ethics complaint,
Tribal Council voted on Wednes-
day, May 9, to pay the fees de-
spite a final ruling not yet being
handed down by Tribal Court
Chief Judge David Shaw.
Tribal member Rebecca
Knight filed an ethics complaint
against Harvey regarding her
participation in job interviews
for a new Spirit Mountain Com-
munity Fund program coordi-
nator.
A March 26 authorization
to proceed approved by seven
Tribal Council members OK’d
transferring $111,011.65 from
general contingency to the Trib-
al Council budget to pay for
Harvey’s legal expenses and
attorney’s fees.
Tribal Council considered the
reimbursement at its April 17
Legislative Action Committee
meeting and was set to approve
it at the April 18 Tribal Council
meeting. However, it was pulled
from the agenda.
Tribal Council Vice Chair
Chris Mercier said at the time
that the reimbursement was
postponed because more mo-
tions were filed after Shaw ruled
from the bench in Harvey’s fa-
vor. Mercier said Tribal Council
would await a final resolution
before re-addressing the reim-
bursement.
At the Tuesday, May 8, Legis-
lative Action Committee hear-
ing, the issue returned with
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy and Trib-
al Council member Kathleen
George saying that the reim-
bursement is consistent with
previous Tribal Council prac-
tices when a Tribal Council
member defended themselves
against a complaint.
An Executive Summary is-
sued in April stated that the
Tribal Council Ordinance au-
thorizes the reimbursement
and follows past practice with
how the Tribe handled ethics
proceedings involving Tribal
Council members that occurred
six previous times.
“The Tribal Council Ordinance
authorizes indemnification of an
individual who is made a party
to the proceeding because of
conduct by the individual while
she is or was a Tribal Council
member against liability for
reasonable expenses, including
defending costs, incurred in the
proceeding if council determines
that the individual met the
standards of conduct set forth in
the Tribal Council Ordinance,”
the proposed April 18 resolution
stated.
Harvey was appointed to the
Community Fund Board of
Trustees in September 2016 to
fulfill the term of former Tribal
Council member Ed Pearsall
and was re-appointed to serve a
two-year term in October 2017.
Tribal Council member Jack
Giffen Jr. said at the May 8
Legislative Action Committee
meeting that he supports pay-
ing the legal fees, but not those
incurred during an initial medi-
ation process.
In response to a question from
Kennedy, Tribal Attorney Rob
Greene said mediation is now
part of the process required
under the Tribal Council Ordi-
nance.
Harvey abstained from voting
on the issue.
In other action, Tribal Coun-
cil also approved an agreement
with the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs to receive $513,866 in
Tribal Transportation Program
funding.
Also included in the May 9
Tribal Council packet were
approved authorizations to pro-
ceed that:
• Directed Finance Officer Chris
Leno to allocate the $25,000
2018 Pepsi sponsorship funds
as follows: Veterans Powwow,
$10,000; Contest Powwow,
$13,000; Grand Ronde Food
Bank, $1,000; and Community
Garden, $1,000;
• Moved the deadline for Tribal
Council member submissions
for Tilixam Wawa to the last
Friday of the month;
• Approved scoring and evalu-
ation changes for enrollment
in the Tribal Head Start Pro-
gram that include increased
scoring for poverty, domestic
violence, unstable housing,
foster care, kinship care, teen
parents and family in recovery
from substance abuse;
• Approved a letter, as present-
ed by staff, to the Federal En-
ergy Regulatory Commission
regarding the Jordan Cove/
Pacific Connector projects in
southern Oregon;
• Approved the Tribe’s appli-
cation to the Oregon Health
Authority for its Opioid State
Targeted Response grant that
would bring in $27,870 over
two years.
Cultural Resources Depart-
ment Manager David Harrelson
made the cultural presentation
to open the meeting, discussing
two summers – cultural practic-
es that are changing as warmer
weather arrives and the June 1
opening of Chachalu Museum &
Cultural Center, which will dis-
play 16 items from the Summers
Collection that are being loaned
to the Tribe by the British Mu-
seum in London.
The entire meeting can be
viewed on the Tribal website
www.grandronde.org by click-
ing on the News tab and then
Video.
9
WEST LINN – Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown has appointed Tribal Coun-
cil member Jack Giffen Jr. as
one of two Native American rep-
resentatives to serve on the new
23-member Willamette Falls Locks
Commission.
The commission will oversee
the potential recommissioning of
the Willamette Falls Locks, which
possibly would create millions of
dollars in transportation and recre-
ation benefits for Oregonians.
Located on the Willamette River
in West Linn, the Willamette Falls
Locks are owned by the Army Corps
of Engineers. The locks opened in
1873 and provided passage around
Willamette Falls.
They were decommissioned and
given a “non-operational status” in
December 2011 because of failing
gate anchors and needed extensive
repairs. A lack of potential national
economic benefit has prevented the
Corps of Engineers from justifying
requests for federal funding to re-
pair and re-open the locks.
Options for the Willamette Falls
Locks include decommissioning
them or transferring ownership
from the Corps of Engineers to a
new owner, either private, public
or a combination of both.
The commission will work to
advise state, local and regional
stakeholders on the development
and implementation of policies
relating to the repair, re-opening,
operation and maintenance of the
Willamette Falls navigation canal
and locks. The commission also will
oversee transfer of ownership from
the corps, as well as the operation
and financing of the navigation
canal and locks.
According to an economic study con-
ducted by Portland-based ECONor-
thwest, Oregon would see economic
benefits from
recommis-
sioning the
locks esti-
mated from
$24 million to
$99 million,
as well as en-
vironmental
benefits from
Jack Giffen Jr.
reducing the
number of truck trips on Port-
land-area roadways.
“Re-opening the locks and re-
turning navigational access around
Willamette Falls also holds tremen-
dous historical and cultural value to
Oregonians and to the state’s Native
American Tribes,” said a press
release announcing commission
appointments. “Tribal history in
the area dates back at least 14,000
years, once serving as a place to col-
lect food and fiber, and to trade with
other Tribes, as well as a spiritual
and ceremonial gathering place for
members of the region’s Tribes.”
Giffen, 66, is serving his fifth
term on Tribal Council. He is joined
on the commission by Umatilla
Tribal Chairman Gary Burke.
During a Wednesday, May 2
meeting, West Linn Mayor Russ
Axelrod was elected chair of the
commission and Clackamas County
Commissioner Martha Schrader
and West Linn resident Sandy
Carter were named co-vice chairs.
The commission is scheduled to
meet several times over the next
two years to determine the best
option for repair, re-opening, op-
eration and maintenance of the
navigation canal and locks.
The next meeting is slated for
Wednesday, June 6, in West Linn
City Hall.
The Oregon Legislature created
the Willamette Falls Locks Com-
mission in 2017 with the passage
of Senate Bill 256.
MARRIAGES IN TRIBAL COURT
Tribal Court is now issuing marriage licenses and is able to
perform marriage ceremonies for a filing fee of $40.
For questions regarding scheduling, please contact the
Tribal Court at 503-879-2303.
Elders sought for New York
City trip to see Tomanowos
Two Elders are being recruited for a planned June 19-22 trip to visit
Tomanowos – the Willamette Meteorite – that is housed in the American
Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The deadline to enter a drawing to go on the trip is 10 a.m. Wednesday,
May 30.
Elders must be 60 or older and physically able to get around since there
is a lot of walking involved. Elders who have previously gone on the trip
are not eligible.
A sign-up sheet is posted at the Elders Activity Center, 48940 Blacktail
Drive.
The itinerary includes travel days on Tuesday, June 19, and Friday, June
22. The meteorite ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 20, and a
breakfast with museum staff is slated for Thursday, June 21.
If selected, Elders will need to submit their current ID, list of medica-
tions, emergency contact, primary care physician and any special needs to
Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark by Tuesday, June 5.
For more information, contact the Elders Activity Center at 503-879-
2233.