PRESORTED
STANDARD MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO. 700
Seventh annual
History and Cultural
Summit held
— pg. 9
OCTOBER 15, 2019
General Council
briefed on portfolio,
2020 projections
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Hebo Rd
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By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
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See MEETING
continued on page 6
Elders Housing
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Grand Ronde Rd
representative from Robert
W. Baird & Co. Inc. briefed
the general membership on
the Grand Ronde Tribe’s burgeoning
investment portfolio during the Gen-
eral Council meeting held Sunday,
Oct. 6, in the Tribal Community
Center.
The 20-minute session with Di-
rector Joe Hoon was held in open
session instead of executive session
with all in attendance permitted to
hear the details.
“We had a phenomenal third quar-
ter,” Hoon said. “Our global portfolio
is up to $753 million. Even though
we have downturns in the market, a
fully diversified portfolio has worked
very well.”
Hoon said that two key factors
– whether the country is headed
toward a recession and if President
Donald Trump will be impeached –
will likely influence how 2020 looks
regarding the economy.
“I’m going to try to give you some
insight to how things stand today by
looking at the market and other key
aspects of the economy to answer
those questions,” he said.
Hoon said that there are concerns
over recent dips in the manufactur-
ing sector, but manufacturing only
makes up 10 percent of the economy.
Seventy percent of the U.S. economy
is consumer-driven, and with the
Federal Reserve indicating that
there is at least one interest rate cut
coming before the end of the year, it
should have a positive effect.
“When the Fed lowers rates, it
stimulates growth,” Hoon said. “We
are a consumer-driven economy.”
At the moment, Baird consultants
believe that there will not be a re-
cession in 2020, but that warning
signs are starting to become more
prominent.
“The expectation is with the im-
pending impeachment, it is adding
a degree of uncertainty,” Hoon said.
“It will probably add a lot of choppi-
ness as the year unfolds. … Watch
the consumer sentiment, which is
key.”
Finance Officer Chris Leno fielded
one question from the audience after
the presentation. He also noted how
the Tribe’s investment funds have
increased over the years.
Tribal Housing
Grand Ronde Field
Ackerson Rd
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Current
Grand Ronde
Tribal Housing
Grand Meadows
McPherson Rd
Photos courtesy of GIS Coordinator Alex Drake
Map by Samuel Briggs III
How big can
Grand Ronde be?
Housing Department encouraging incremental growth in area
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Grand Ronde Tribe’s
Strategic Plan states as a
goal that it wants to “at-
tract new Tribal members, diver-
sify and grow the population, and
promote a healthier, sustainable
community.”
If the Tribe is successful in
accomplishing that goal, where
is the growing population going
to live?
The Tribe currently has 225
potential places where Tribal
members can live in the Grand
Ronde area, ranging from leased
(Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of Smoke Signals
stories in 2019 that examine the infrastructure of Grand
Ronde and how many Tribal members could conceivably
return to live in the community safely and comfortably.
The first two stories examined the area’s water supply and
transportation needs.)
mobile home sites to Elder hous-
ing to low-income and market
rate homes to apartments.
And there is consistently a
waiting list for every conceivable
housing option. Occupancy rates
in 2018 were between 94 percent
and 100 percent for all Tribal
housing, according to the Housing
Department’s annual report.
“Our biggest waiting list is one
bedrooms,” says Housing Depart-
ment Manager Shonn Leno, citing
more than 20 people waiting on
that particular Tribal housing
See HOUSING
continued on page 8