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PERMIT NO. 700
General Council
briefed on economic
development
— pg. 5
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march 15, 2020
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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
Coronavirus concerns prompt postponements
Tribe to reschedule
Round Dance, limits
employee air travel
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
G
rowing concerns nation-
wide about the spread of the
coronavirus have reached
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde.
On Wednesday, March 11, the
Tribe announced postponement of
the April 3-4 Agency Creek Round
Dance and the upcoming Native
Wellness Day. The announcement
coincided with Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown’s announcement that she
will be prohibiting events larger
than 250 people for four weeks to
help combat the spread of the virus.
“The Tribe’s Round Dance plan-
ning committee has made the
decision to postpone our April gath-
ering,” Communications Director
Sara Thompson said. “This decision
stems from our desire to protect the
health and safety of our people, our
visitors that travel and our guests
in attendance. We plan to resched-
ule this event for a later date and
will update everyone on the details
when they are available. We will
keep you all in our good thoughts.”
Although the Yamhill County
Health Department does not think
there is an imminent threat of a
novel coronavirus outbreak in the
area despite neighboring counties
reporting cases, the Grand Ronde
Health & Wellness Clinic has been
developing a response to a possible
outbreak.
See CORONAVIRUS
continued on page 3
Signs posted at the entrance of the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center ask patients who think they might have
contracted the novel coronavirus to call ahead instead of entering the facility and possibly infecting other people.
Tribal fl ags raised
Photo by Dean Rhodes
Showcasing
sovereign nations
Legislative Information
Day provides an opportunity
for Tribes to tell their stories
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
S
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Youth Council Chairwoman Isabelle Grout carries the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde fl ag during the Tribal Flag Raising Ceremony held at
Chemeketa Community College in Salem on Friday, March 6. The fl ags
from the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon will be on permanent
display in the Student Center to let Native American students know that they belong on campus,
and to help students and staff recognize Oregon’s Native American history.
ALEM – Tribal Legislative Information
Day at the State Capitol continues to be
well-attended despite cautionary travel
restrictions in response to the spread of the novel
coronavirus in Oregon.
Held Thursday, March 5, at the Capitol Galle-
ria, this year’s theme was “Working Together.”
The high turnout was good news to Mitch
Sparks, the new Legislative Commission on
Indian Services executive director. This year
marked his fi rst organizing the annual event.
“The attendance today is pretty good,” said
Sparks (Oglala Lakota Nation). “We’ve had ex-
cellent turnout from our governmental offi ces
and legislative offi ces.”
Held at the State Capitol in Salem, Legisla-
tive Information Day provides an opportunity
for Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes to
highlight who they are and what makes Tribal
governments different from the various special
interest groups and stakeholders with whom
legislators and state agencies mostly interact.
During the four hours the Tribes were at the
Capitol Galleria, a steady stream of advocates,
Capitol staff, agency directors and staff, legis-
lators and staff, lobbyists and members of the
public visited the tables. The only notable differ-
ence at this year’s event was the use of “elbow
bumps” and air handshakes instead of the usual
handshake, along with copious containers of
hand sanitizer.
See INFORMATION DAY
continued on page 11