6
S moke S ignals
JULY 1, 2018
BPA training
Tribal Council approves fourth
round of hunting seasons, tags
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Photos by Dean Rhodes
Bonneville Power Administration employees visited Grand Ronde
on Wednesday, June 20, as part of the annual government-to-
government Culture & Consultation exercise "People Working
Together." While at the Tribe's Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center,
BPA Contract Administrator Vishnu Jetmalani, above, learned how to
make beargrass braids from Cultural Education staff members Flicka
Lucero, left, and her sister, Candi LaBonte. They also toured the "Rise
of the Collectors" exhibit and practiced with a bow and atlatl, below.
The second day of the consultation on Thursday, June 21, saw BPA
employees travel to Chankawan in Marion County where they learned
about Tribal conservation properties and toured the site. The event,
which is paid for by the Power Administration, involves the Lands and
Cultural Resources departments.
Social Services has bike helmets
The Tribe’s Social Services Department has bicycle helmets available
for distribution. Those needing a helmet should visit the department and
sign a helmet application, as well as get fitted.
For more information, contact Social Services at 503-879-2034.
Tribal Council approves
website redesign contract
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council held its sec-
ond consecutive meeting on
Wednesday, June 27, because
the Fourth of July falls on a
Wednesday and approved two
items.
Tribal Council OK’d a max-
imum $105,000 contract with
Subtext of Portland to redesign
and develop the Tribal website
at www.grandronde.org.
In addition, Tribal Council
appointed Kristina Summers to
the Enrollment Board out of 14
applicants for the position. Her
term will run through March
2020.
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy reminded
Tribal members that the first
educational meeting regarding
this year’s advisory votes that
will appear on the September
Tribal Council ballot will be
held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July
11, in the Community Center.
The entire meeting can be
viewed by signing on to the
Tribal website and clicking on
the News tab and then Video.
Tribal Council approved the
fourth year of Tribal hunting sea-
sons and tags at its Wednesday,
June 20, meeting.
The Grand Ronde Wildlife Man-
agement Plan, which was approved
by the Oregon Fish & Wildlife
Commission in September 2014,
allows the Tribe to designate its
own hunting seasons outside of
state-sanctioned seasons on Reser-
vation and trust lands, as well as
issue Tribal hunting tags.
Fish & Wildlife Program Man-
ager Kelly Dirksen said during
the Tuesday, June 19, Legislative
Action Committee meeting that
this year’s Tribal hunting seasons
will mostly fall ahead of state-sanc-
tioned seasons and will feature 87
tags over seven seasons.
In 2015, the Tribe issued 46 tags
for black-tailed deer and Roosevelt
elk, 70 in 2016 and 76 last year.
According to an executive sum-
mary, Tribal hunters have been
issued 192 hunting tags with 149
Tribal hunting days and have had
a 10 percent hunter success rate
over the first three years.
The Tribal hunting seasons will
run from mid-August through
mid-December.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Approved an agreement with the
Willamette National Forest that
will allow Grand Ronde firefight-
ers to participate in prescribed
burns on national forest lands
that will promote Native plants
and provide professional devel-
opment for Tribal employees.
Natural Resources Department
Manager Michael Wilson said the
Tribe’s relationship with Willa-
mette National Forest is “good”
and “productive.” The Forest
Service will reimburse the Tribe
up to $24,300, according to the
agreement.
• Approved acceptance of an
$119,924 Natural Resources
Conservation Service grant that
will fund wildlife habitat en-
hancement projects on meadows
on the Reservation.
• Approved sending amendments
to the Enrollment Ordinance
out to the general membership
for a first reading after receiv-
ing myriad comments from the
membership. Assistant Tribal
Attorney Kim D’Aquila said at
the Tuesday, June 19, Legisla-
tive Action Committee meeting
that the amendments address
a process for reinstatement of
disenrolled Tribal members in
a set of limited circumstances.
The disenrollment must have
occurred between July 2, 2014,
and Jan. 28, 2018, which was
the time period during which the
Enrollment Board was invested
with the final decision-making
authority when it came to invol-
untary loss of membership. A
first reading will advertise the
proposed changes twice in Smoke
Signals and allow Tribal mem-
bers to comment.
• Approved Tribal staff submitting
a plan to the Department of the
Interior to consolidate funds from
general assistance, Native em-
ployment works and job training
programs into a single three-year
plan to provide employment and
training services;
• And approved applying for a five-
year grant from the federal De-
partment of Health and Human
Services that would fund suicide
and drug prevention and mental
health promotion.
Tribal Council also approved the
agenda for the Sunday, June 24,
General Council meeting, which
only included Tribal Council nom-
inations and door prizes.
Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy also announced
that one of the advisory votes that
will be on the September Tribal
Council ballot will address the split
family situations and ask if unen-
rolled siblings who met the enroll-
ment requirements before the 1999
amendment should be enrolled.
Cultural Resources Department
Manager David Harrelson gave
the cultural presentation to open
the meeting regarding mainstream
society still having the antiquated
idea that Native American people
will eventually cease to exist.
Also included in the June 20
Tribal Council packet were ap-
proved authorizations to proceed
that raise the Tribal government
minimum wage to $10.75 to match
the state minimum wage that goes
into effect on July 1 and authorizes
staff to spend $5,000 to evaluate the
functionality of the Depot building,
including structural analysis, space
usage capacity, and historical and
cultural reports.
The entire meeting can be viewed
on the Tribal website www.gran-
dronde.org by clicking on the News
tab and then Video.
Adult Members’ Trust and Minors’
Custodial & Rabbi Trust Funds
Investments in the Adult Members’ Trust Fund and the Minors’ Custodial
and Rabbi Trust Funds are updated each business day.
If you are a trust participant and/or if you are the parent/guardian of a
minor member, you can access and review your balance and your minor
child’s balance by visiting www.401Save.com.
To log-in, the initial User ID is your (or your child’s) Social Security number,
and the initial Password is “00” followed by your (or your child’s) membership
number. Once logged in, you can customize your User ID and password for
security purposes. If you have any trouble logging in to or using the sys-
tem, contact the 401Save Call Center at 1-888-700-0808 between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday.