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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2020)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 ATNI held in Portland — pg. 10 s i g n k • o February 1, 2020 l z s N f Smoke Signals U M P Q U A • M O L A L L A • R O G U E R I V E R • K A L A P U YA • C H A S TA An Independent Publication of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde • Smokesignals.org Tribal Council expands debt forgiveness By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor T ribal Council approved ex- panding the Tribe’s debt forgiveness to deceased mem- bers who may still owe money to the Housing Department during its Wednesday, Jan. 22, meeting. Previously, the Tribe has only forgiven student debt, Finance Officer Chris Leno said during the Tuesday, Jan. 21, Legislative Ac- tion Committee meeting. Debt forgiveness requests are sent to the Executive Review Com- mittee, which includes General Manager David Fullerton, Leno and Tribal Attorney Rob Greene for approval or denial. “Delegating authority to waive deceased member debt … will clear outstanding debt of deceased members and allow the clearing of accounts receivable owed to the Tribe,” states an executive summa- ry regarding the issue. Leno said he would keep Tribal Council informed of forgiven debt through his weekly Finance Office updates. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved paying the Tribe’s $25,000 dues to the National Indian Gaming Association and re-appointed Tribal Council member Denise Harvey as the principal delegate; • Approved a $750,000 grant ap- plication to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment to fund an expansion of the Tribal Community Center See MEETING continued on page 5 Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez Elder Dave Leno joins a group gathered in a conference room at Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center for a meeting of the AV Club on Friday, Jan. 24. They watched a video taken during the 1988 Grand Ronde Powwow. Tribal history channel AV Club provides opportunity to watch preserved videos, recordings By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer I n an effort to ensure recent Tribal history is preserved and accessible for future gen- erations, Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center staff have been digitizing old VHS videos, photos, audio recordings of Elders and other media. During the project, they launched a program called AV Club, which aims to share the Tribe’s history with community members and employees by show- ing videos and photos from the archives. “It is something the Collections team started doing to try and get See HISTORY continued on page 8 If you go AV Club When: Noon to 1 p.m. every other Friday, starting Feb. 7. All are welcome Where: Chachalu Museum & Cultural Center, 8720 Grand Ronde Road. RSVP: Not necessary Native American on-time graduation rates increase By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer H igh school graduation rates for Tribal students are improving. According to numbers released by the Oregon De- partment of Education on Thursday, Jan. 23, Native American on-time graduation is up 14 percent statewide compared to five years ago. Local school districts also posted big increases. “We are very proud of the gains students have made toward graduating on time,” Willamina School District Superintendent Carrie Zimbrick says. “I would credit the gains to the entire staff. During the past five years, on-time graduation rates at Willamina High School have jumped from 70 percent to 88 percent, higher than the statewide average of 80 percent for all students. We have made a concerted effort to improve stu- dent outcomes through improved instructional practices.” Willamina has the largest Native American student population in the area, with approx- imately 40 percent of students identifying as such, and most of those are Grand Ronde Tribal members or descendants. During the past five years, on-time graduation rates at Willamina High School have jumped from 70 percent to 88 percent, higher than the statewide average of 80 percent for all students. Zimbrick also credits parent and mentor sup- port from the Tribal Education Department, and See GRADUATION continued on page 9
