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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
smok signflz NOVEMBER 1, 2019 Home-ownership development may break ground by fall 2020 By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Housing Department Manager Shonn Leno said during a community listening session held on Thursday, Oct. 17, that the Grand Ronde Tribe might break ground on its first single-family home development in Grand Ronde by late 2020. According to a Housing Depart- ment survey conducted in June and July, 142 Tribal members out of 222 who answered the question indicated that they are interested in buying land and building a home in Grand Ronde. Sixty-nine said they would be interested in leasing land and building a home and 71 said they are interested in buying a home and have the financial re- sources to do so. The survey had 602 total respons- es from Tribal members and em- ployees at Spirit Mountain Casino and the Tribal government. The response rate between Tribal and nonTribal members was almost 50-50 with 309 Tribal members responding. The survey found that the great- est barrier mentioned by Tribal members wanting to relocate to Grand Ronde was a lack of avail- able housing. The Tribe’s housing options in Grand Ronde all had occupation rates of 94 percent or higher in 2018. The survey also found that the most popular new home option would be stick-built homes and the most popular lot size was between a half-acre to an acre. Leno said the Housing Depart- ment would use the Housing survey results to determine a target popula- tion for a Phase One housing devel- opment and then work with Tribal Council to identify a site on which to build. Leno has previously said the 86.48-acre Rink property east of Grand Meadows and the eight-acre Windsor property south of Grand Meadows and east of the Grand Ronde Fire Station as possible sites for a home development locally. “The Housing Department will interview respondents to more definitively estimate the number of ready-to-buy prospective home owners,” the survey results state. “This will inform a development strategy that will designate the Tribal lands for home ownership, infrastructure development and construction, financing terms and procedures, contracts for home construction and new home con- struction. We anticipate new home construction in 2020.” PROPOSED GENERAL WELFARE ORDINANCE OPEN FOR COMMENT The Tribal Council, in consultation with the Tribal Attorney’s Office, has proposed adopting a General Welfare Ordinance. The proposed ordinance was given a first reading at the Oct. 9, 2019, Tribal Council meeting. The proposed ordinance: 1) memorializes the procedures used by the Tribe to determine what services or programs are needed to promote the general welfare of the Tribe; and 2) establishes basic guidelines and procedures for programs to follow ensuring compli- ance with the general welfare doctrine and Internal Revenue Code Section 139E incorporating the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act. For a copy of the proposed General Welfare Ordinance, please contact the Tribal Attorney’s Office at 503-879-4664. Tribal Council invites comment on the proposed ordinance. Please send your comments to the Tribal Attorney’s Office, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347, or by e-mail to legal@ grandronde.org. Comments must be received by Nov. 30, 2019. PROPOSED ELDERS’ RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS OPEN FOR COMMENT The Tribal Council, in consultation with the Tribal Attorney’s Office, has proposed amendments to the Elders’ Retirement Sup- plemental Security Income Program Ordinance. The proposed amendments were given a first reading at the Oct. 9, 2019, Tribal Council meeting. The proposed amendments 1) rename the Ordinance the “Elders’ General Welfare Assistance Retirement, Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income Programs Ordinance”; 2) add pro- visions for General Welfare Program designation; and 3) include minor technical (i.e., formatting and typographical) modifications. For a copy of the proposed Elders’ Retirement Supplemental Security Income Program Ordinance amendments, please contact the Tribal Attorney’s Office at 503-879-4664. Tribal Council invites comment on the proposed amendments. Please send your comments to the Tribal Attorney’s Office, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347, or by e-mail to legal@ grandronde.org. Comments must be received by Nov. 30, 2019. 5 State seeks veterans for advisory committee SALEM – Gov. Kate Brown and the director of the Oregon Depart- ment of Veterans’ Affairs are seeking interested veterans to serve as members of the Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee. The committee, established in 1945, advocates for veterans issues and shares insight on veterans concerns with the ODVA director and staff. Meetings are held throughout the state on the first Wednesday in March, June and December, and the second week in September. Recruitment for qualified veteran applicants is open and ongoing. All veterans are welcome to apply. For more information and an application, go to www.oregon.gov/ odva/Connect/Pages/Advisory-Committee.aspx. Harrelson to speak at watershed event MCMINNVILLE – Cultural Resources Manager David Harrelson will speak at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, as part of a fundraiser for the Yamhill Watershed Stewardship Fund. Harrelson will discuss “Indigenous Peoples and Practices of the Greater Yamhill Watershed.” The event, called “Celebrate Our Watersheds,” runs until 9 p.m. at the McMinnville Grand Ballroom, 325 N. Third St. Funds raised support the organization’s mission to promote knowledge and appreciation of healthy lands, waters and wildlife in Yamhill County. To register, go to www.YWSF.org. For more information, call 503-539- 2859. 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. Everyone is invited to attend celebration RESTORATION continued from front page Restoration celebrations since we had them at the Grand Ronde Grade School gym.” George grew up in Grand Ronde during the 1960s and ’70s, when all the Tribe had left to its name was a 2.5-acre cemetery. Most people who lived in the area struggled to make ends meet in a rural economy with scant opportunity and rampant rac- ism. Many Tribal members moved away after Termination in 1954 to survive, leaving their roots behind. The seeds of Restoration were just beginning as George became a young adult, but he always knew his Tribal family was important. On Nov. 22, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed House Res- olution 3885 restoring the Grand Ronde Tribe, which had been ter- minated 29 years earlier, to federal recognition. His signature on the bill officially ended a dark time. Next came the work of guiding the Tribe into the future. George began working for the Tribe in 1991. “To see how far we have come in that time is incredible,” George said. As in years past, doors will open at 10 a.m., a meal will be served at noon and a powwow begins at 3 p.m. with a “Visionaries” dance spe- cial. There also will be recognition of Restoration Elders. Entertain- ment will be provided by the Grand Ronde Canoe Family. There will be a giveaway to honor Margaret Provost, a key Restoration Elder who passed away in August 2018 at the age of 88. In July 2019, a life-sized bronze statue honoring Provost, Marvin Kimsey and Merle Holmes, created by Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., was un- veiled in front of the Governance Center and named “Visionaries.” “The giveaway will definitely be one of the highlights,” George said. Everyone is invited to attend the celebration. Last year’s event at- tracted approximately 400 people. “These celebrations have definite- ly gotten bigger over the years,” George said. “I remember when we had them at the old grade school and everyone would fit in the gym. Now, the young ones are grown up and have children of their own. To see all that, and to spend time hon- oring our Elders, fills me with joy.” At 9 a.m. on the day of the Res- toration celebration, George will go to the Tribal Cemetery, where he performs a drum song and prays every year. “Even if I am the only one there, I still do it,” he says. “Praying for the healing of our people is an import- ant part. I find it very purposeful. To me, it is an obligation. Resto- ration is a day that should never be forgotten, so our young ones will always know and that history will always be there. We have all of this because of the work of all of those Elders.” To find out more about the Tribe’s Restoration celebration, visit www. grandronde.org.
