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