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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2019)
S MOKE S IGNALS FEBRUARY 1, 2019 7 Tribal Council adopts Enrollment Ordinance changes By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council adopted amend- ments to the Enrollment Ordinance during its Wednesday, Jan. 23, meeting. The amendments outline the En- rollment Committee’s role, chang- ing it from a board to a committee, and state that the board’s regular meetings occur quarterly to review enrollment applications. Special meetings still are permitted, but with the permission of the Tribal Council Chief of Staff. The amendments also set dead- lines for submitting enrollment applications. Tribal Attorney Brooks Wake- land said that the Tribe received three membership comments when the amendments were sent out for a fi rst reading. At the Tuesday, Jan. 22, Legis- lative Action Committee meeting, Tribal Council member Denise Harvey asked that the amend- ments be tabled for additional discussion, but her motion failed to receive a second. Enrollment Committee Chair Ann Lewis said during the Tribal Council meeting that she is con- cerned that the new restrictions will not allow committee members to do their job effectively. “We will have serious problems in fulfilling our duties meeting quarterly,” she said. Tribal Council member Jack Giffen Jr. said the amendments do allow for additional special meet- ings. “We’re not eliminating that. We are just attempting to establish a standardized process,” he said. Tribal Council member Michael Langley concurred with Giffen, asking for cooperation and pa- tience from Enrollment Committee members as the new process is implemented and evaluated. He added that if Enrollment Commit- tee members request additional meetings that he believes they will be approved by Tribal staff. Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier, who chaired the meeting, said Tribal Council is currently evaluating all boards and commit- tees regarding how often they meet and their effectiveness. The amendments were approved 6-1 with Harvey casting the lone dissenting vote. Tribal Council also voted to send proposed amendments to the Election Ordinance out for a fi rst reading, which will allow Tribal members 30 days to comment. The amendments would revamp how Tribal members vote every September for Tribal Council can- didates by providing for the use of ballot boxes and allowing the processing of ballots cast by voters who walk on before Election Day. The amendments were developed following work sessions with the Election Board, Audit Services and Legal. The amendments would allow Tribal voters who are casting their ballot absentee to deposit their ballot in a ballot box that will be located in the Tribal Governance Center. The ballot box will be under constant camera surveillance. Another ballot box will be located where voting is taking place on Elec- tion Day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The amendments also stipulate that a voter who cast their ballot absentee and then walked on before Election Day will have their vote processed as if they were still living. The amendments also would elim- inate the requirement that voters who have a 5-year-old or older sig- nature verifi cation form on fi le with the Election Board have to fi ll out a new form for an updated signature. Notices soliciting input on the Ad created by George Valdez proposed Election Ordinance amendments will appear in two issues of Smoke Signals before returning to Tribal Council for possible adoption. Tribal Council also approved the agenda for the Sunday, Feb. 3, General Council meeting to be held at the Monarch Hotel & Con- vention Center in Clackamas. The program report will be by the Cul- tural Resources Department and an additional report will be given by the Natural Resources Department regarding Willamette Falls and the ceremonial fi shery. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved four Tribal credit cards, including two generic credit cards for Procurement and credit cards for Wildland Fire Single Resource bosses Dustin Hawks and Mi- chael Graham; • Approved a renewed contract with the Oregon Judicial Case Information Network that al- lows the Tribe access to fi lings and information for cases in Oregon courts. The Tribe uses the network when conducting background checks on potential employees; • Re-appointed Harvey as the Tribe’s primary delegate to the National Indian Gaming Associa- tion and approved paying $25,000 in annual membership dues; • And approved the enrollment of three infants into the Tribe be- cause they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitu- tion and Enrollment Ordinance. Also included in the Jan. 23 Tribal Council packet was an ap- proved authorization to proceed that authorizes the Tribal Attor- ney’s Office to notify the Native American Rights Fund that Grand Ronde wants to be a signatory Tribe to a friend of the court brief in the Brackeen v. Zinke Indian Child Welfare Act case. Tribal Council member Kath- leen George made the cultural presentation to open the meeting. She discussed the Chinook Win- ter Gathering held in Ridgefi eld, Wash., on Saturday, Jan. 19. “It was just a wonderful day,” she said, adding that Mercier and Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George also attended the event. The entire meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on News and then Video. n PROPOSED ELECTION ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS OPEN FOR COMMENT The Tribal Council, in consultation with the Election Board and the Tribal Attorney’s Offi ce, has proposed amendments to the Elec- tion Ordinance. The fi rst reading of the proposed amendments was made at the January 23, 2019, Tribal Council meeting. The proposed amendments: • Provide for use of Ballot Boxes in Tribal elections. • Provide a process for collection of Ballot Box ballots. • Allow processing of ballots of voters who are living when they vote but are deceased on Election Day. • Add an additional transfer of voters address to the mailing service. • Remove the requirement that new Signature Verifi cation Forms be sent to voters whose forms on fi le are fi ve years or more old. • Add defi nitions for Ballot Box, Election Day and Post Offi ce Box. For a copy of the proposed Election Ordinance amendments, please contact the Tribal Attorney’s Offi ce at 503-879-4664. The Tribal Council invites comment on the proposed amendments. Please send your comments to the Tribal Attorney’s Offi ce, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347, or by e-mail to legal@ grandronde.org. Comments must be received by March 4, 2019. n Ad created by George Valdez
