18
S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2018
Education Summit discusses Tribal curriculum
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Approximately 110 educators
from two different states filled the
Tribal gym for the second annual
Grand Ronde Education Summit
held on Wednesday, June 27.
Teachers from all grade levels
came to learn more about the Grand
Ronde Tribe, how to create mean-
ingful Native American curriculum
and Oregon’s Senate Bill 13.
Gifts were given to those who
traveled more than 250 miles for
the one-day conference, which
opened with an invocation from
Tribal Council Secretary Jon A.
George who expressed thanks for
teachers and the stabilizing influ-
ence they provide youth.
Also in attendance were Tribal
Council members Brenda Tuomi
and Denise Harvey.
Education Department Manager
Leslie Riggs, Cultural Resources
Department Manager David Har-
relson, Recreation Specialist Harris
Reibach and George led the singing
and drumming.
Curriculum Specialist and Ac-
ademic Adviser Mercedes Jones
said she was happy to see high at-
tendance for a summer conference.
“We have educators here today
from all over Oregon and even
Washington,” she said. “Last year
it was 90 people, and this year 130
registered and it looks like all of
you made it.”
Harrelson gave an overview of
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde’s history.
“There was no Grand Ronde Tribe
until (the government) put more
than 30 Tribes and bands here,”
he said. “The amount of diversity
that existed around here is often
missed. When I went to school, we
were taught that there were Plains
See SUMMIT
continued on page 23
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Shadiin Garcia presents information on Senate Bill 13 Tribal History/Shared
History during the 2018 Grand Ronde Education Summit held in the Tribal
gym on Wednesday, June 27. Garcia is a leader in Indian education and
special projects for Education Northwest in Portland. In the background is
Leilani Sabzalian, an assistant professor of Indigenous Studies in Education
at the University of Oregon, who also presented with Garcia.
Candidates Forum scheduled for July 25
CANDIDATES continued
from front page
coordinator and previously worked
at Spirit Mountain Casino. He was
nominated by Amber George.
Peter Grout, 43, is a surveillance
technician at Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino and was nominated by former
Tribal Council member Val Grout.
Kristina Helfrich, 42, is assistant
manager at Legends restaurant at
Spirit Mountain Casino and was
nominated by Tribal Elder Deitz
Peters.
Cureton, 66, is a current member
of the Tribe’s Election Board and
will be replaced by alternate Lori
Sterling for the duration of the
election season. He was nominated
by Tribal Elder Ed Larsen.
Jonathan R. George, Grout, Hel-
frich and Cureton are all making
their first runs for a Tribal Council
seat.
Election office opens July 23
Starting Monday, July 23, and
running through Thursday, Aug.
30, the Election Office in the
Tribal Community Center, 9615
Grand Ronde Road, will be open
from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a
half-hour lunch from noon to 12:30
p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The office can be reached at 503-
879-2271.
For eligible voters’ convenience,
blank signature verification forms
will be placed in a hanging basket
outside the Elections Office door.
Completed forms with a notarized
signature or legible copy of ID,
including your signature, (driver’s
license, member ID card, passport,
etc.) attached need to be mailed to
the Election Board office for pro-
cessing. The form will not be pro-
cessed unless it has been notarized
or includes a legible copy of ID and
your signature attached.
Ballots will be mailed to voters
with verified signatures on Wednes-
day, July 25. Tribal members may
create a verified signature card at
any time up to and including Elec-
tion Day on Saturday, Sept. 8.
The Grand Ronde post office is no
longer open to accept your ballots
on Saturday, Sept. 8. For those
members intending to walk into
the post office with your ballot, you
will have ensure that you turn it in
before the post office closes at 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 7.
Candidate statements are due to
the Publications office by 5 p.m. Fri-
day, July 6, and will be featured in
the next edition of Tilixam Wawa,
scheduled to be mailed out the fol-
lowing week.
Candidates are limited to 600-
word statements and candidates
must submit their statements via
e-mail to dean.rhodes@grandronde.
org or on a compact disk or memory
drive. Hand-written statements are
not allowed to avoid transcription
errors. Late statements will not be
accepted for any reason.
Candidate statements run “as is,”
meaning the Tribe’s Publications
staff will not edit the submissions
in any way other than to ensure
they do not exceed 600 words in
length.
Candidates also can contact
Smoke Signals photojournalist
Michelle Alaimo at 503-879-1961
or michelle.alaimo@grandronde.
org to schedule a time to have a
portrait taken for Tilixam Wawa,
or candidates can submit their own
photo. Deadline for photos is also 5
p.m. Friday, July 6.
2018 also marks the second year
in a row that political ads will be
allowed in Smoke Signals. Candi-
Graphic created by George Valdez
dates can buy up to a cumulative
full page of advertising in the July
15 through Sept. 1 editions of the
Tribe’s independent newspaper
with the largest permissible ad
restricted to a half-page in any one
issue.
A Candidates Forum is sched-
uled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, July
25, in the Tribal Community
Center in Grand Ronde. Questions
for Tribal Council candidates may
be e-mailed to candidatequestion@
grandronde.org. Please include
your name and roll number.
Ballots will be counted at the
Community Center on Saturday,
Sept. 8, and election results will be
posted that evening on the Commu-
nity Center’s front doors.
At the end of the special meeting,
Bob Duncan, Kaileighann Taylor
and Garry Williams won $100 door
prizes and Julie Duncan, Joyce
Kirk, Dorothy Shortt, Kalene Con-
treras and Bobb won the $50 door
prizes. Bobb donated his winnings
back to the veterans.
Advisory votes determined
An educational meeting to dis-
cuss this year’s advisory votes that
will appear on the September Trib-
al Council ballot will be held at 6
p.m. Wednesday, July 11, following
the Tribal Council meeting.
This is the second year that advi-
sory votes are being placed on the
Tribal Council ballot. Last year,
Tribal members were asked their
collective opinion on enrollment
requirements, possible entry into
the marijuana market and creating
market-rate housing for Elders.
Tribal members were asked for
advisory vote topics after General
Council meetings held in Portland,
Eugene and Grand Ronde earlier
this year.
Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris
Mercier said during the Tuesday,
June 26, Legislative Action Com-
mittee meeting that Tribal Council
was still trying to decide between
putting three or five advisory votes
on the ballot.