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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
S moke S ignals AUGUST 1, 2018 5 Tribal Council approves agreement with Oregon Health Authority By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor 2013 – After a decadelong effort by Oregon Tribes, the state Department of Education was advertising for an Indian education specialist. “This was one of our priorities for this session, getting positions of equity for all Oregon students,” said Cindy Hunt, Gov- ernment and Legal Affairs manager for the Department of Educa- tion. She helped shepherd the new position through the Legislature. 2008 – Tribal member Francene Ambrose, 28, was the recipient of the Tribe’s 2008-09 Mark O. Hat- field Fellowship. She was selected to work in the Washington office of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden from November 2008 through July 2009. “I’ll be there for the election and the inauguration,” Ambrose said. “I will have a front row seat. This is the one thing I’ve been very excited about.” Ambrose lived in Portland and was finishing her master’s degree in Public Administration, focusing on Tribal governance, at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. 2008 File photo She attended the University of Washington in Seattle as an undergraduate and earned a degree from Portland State University. 2003 – The Tribe’s annual Elder Honor Day attracted almost 250 Elders from across the state and the West Coast to the Tribal gymnasium. The day included the traditional array of introductions, a prayer before lunch, an hour of bingo, a break for the hot part of the day, and then a barbecue and dance music. The next morning, breakfast was served at the Community Center. 1998 – Tribal member Jon A. George was hired as a vocational rehabilitation specialist, working for the Tribe’s Health and Human Services Division. He worked out of both the Portland and Grand Ronde offices. George noted that since he was hired the month be- fore, his Portland caseload had jumped from two to six clients, who learned about him through Smoke Signals and he expected to hear from more. “It’s shocking to realize how many people didn’t even know the Portland outreach office existed.” 1993 – Tribal Council joined Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts in signing Senate Bill 61 in her office at the state Capitol in Salem. The bill ensured the protection of Tribal burial sites, remains, sacred objects and funerary objects on state and private lands. It also gave Tribes control over the exploration of archeological sites by allowing them to issue permits to interested parties. The bill signing included representatives from most Oregon Tribes. Tribal Council Vice Chair Kathryn Harrison was given the signing pen. 1988 – The Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes joined efforts to es- tablish a youth alcohol residential treatment center for the region. As a part of the project, the Tribes were reviewing the feasibility of purchasing a facility in Keizer, which was owned by Turnaround Treatment Center and could house 44 patients. The treatment center would provide for Indian youth needing treatment in Ore- gon, Washington and Idaho. Youth treatment services were being handled by Red Willow Treatment Center in Gervais. However, its contract with Indian Health Service was set to expire on Oct. 1. Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in- crements through the pages of Smoke Signals. Community Health Program Medical Transport Services Medical transportation services are available to Tribal members within the six-county service area when an alternate means of transportation is not available. Advance notice required. Please call 503-879-2078 to schedule a reservation. Tribal Council approved an agree- ment with the Oregon Health Au- thority on Wednesday, July 25, that will bring the Tribe a contractual maximum of $10 million in addi- tional health care funding. However, Health Services Ex- ecutive Director Kelly Rowe said during the Tuesday, July 24, Leg- islative Action Committee meeting that the Tribe will more likely receive approximately $100,000 to $200,000 in additional funds. The agreement affects Native patients on the Oregon Health Plan whose health care is managed by the Tribe’s Health & Wellness Center. The additional “enhanced federal funding” – known as the federal medical assistance percentage – de- rives from the federal government paying 60 percent of costs for people on the Oregon Health Plan, but 100 percent for Native Americans who are enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan and receive health care through an Indian Health Service or Tribal medical facility. The extra 40 percent will now be paid back to the Grand Ronde Tribe. “It’s a huge advantage to get that money back into our system instead of in the state system,” Rowe said. The contract calls for the state to make the reinvestment savings pay- ments four times a year. The state will retain 10 percent of the pay- ments to cover administrative costs. Rowe said the contract is a stand- alone agreement and the other eight federally recognized Tribes in Oregon are working on their own contracts with the Oregon Health Authority. The agreement runs through 2023. In other action, Tribal Council also approved the 2018 Right of Way logging unit contract as pre- sented by the Natural Resources Department. The project will earn the Tribe approximately $35,650. Also included in the July 25 Trib- al Council packet were approved authorizations to proceed that recommend the Tribe sign a consor- tium agreement with the Universi- ty of Oregon College of Education in support of its application for federal funding for the Sapsik’wala Indi- an Teachers program, as well as approved letters to the Oregon De- partment of Environmental Quality and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the Jordan Cove project proposed in southern Oregon. Tribal Elder Debi Anderson and Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George gave the cultural presenta- tion, discussing the positive effects of Canoe Journey on Tribal youth and the three Tribal canoes that traveled through Grand Ronde ced- ed lands on the Columbia River on their way to Puyallup, Wash. The entire meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the News tab and then Video. 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 Virginia Kimsey-Roof at 503-879-2233.
