PRESORTED
STANDARD MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO. 700
Tribe holds first
virtual General
Council meeting
— pg. 5
may 15, 2020
Government
plans phased-in
May 18 re-opening
Pandemic policing
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Grand Ronde Tribal gov-
ernment, partially closed
since mid-March in reaction
to the COVID-19 coronavirus pan-
demic, will begin a cautious re-open-
ing process on Monday, May 18.
However, things are going to be
different, General Manager Da-
vid Fullerton announced during
a Wednesday, May 13, Facebook
Live event.
Fullerton said the Tribe has
increased its capacity for testing,
contact tracing and personal pro-
tection equipment and no longer
fears not having enough health care
capacity to handle any coronavirus
cases. So far, Grand Ronde has not
reported any positive coronavirus
tests among the 81 conducted as
of May 13.
The first phase of re-opening will
include requirements that employ-
ees wear masks while interacting
in public with others, no walk-in
visitors will be allowed on the Trib-
al campus and employees will be
screened for possible fever before
being allowed to work.
Tribal employees will be provided
with masks and hand sanitizers as
the re-opening process begins. De-
pending on the results, re-opening
may progress to a second phase or
be scaled back to a partial opening.
There also will be no loose doc-
uments allowed, handshakes will
be discouraged and there will be
no refreshments available for the
public.
The Health & Wellness Clinic will
See OPENING
continued on page 6
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Tribal Police Officer Tyler Brown returns to his vehicle during a traffic stop along Highway 18 on Friday, May 8.
Tribal police officers are wearing masks and gloves while encountering members of the public during the course
of their duties.
Tribal officers adapting to COVID-19
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
T
here isn’t a single industry
that has remained unaf-
fected by the COVID-19
coronavirus pandemic, including
law enforcement.
From traffic stops to jail book-
ings, the way the Grand Ronde
Tribal Police Department per-
forms its job has required ad-
justments to ensure safety of
members of the public and of-
ficers, according to Chief Jake
McKnight.
“I would say the biggest chang-
es are not taking anyone to jail
unless it is domestic violence or
a mandatory arrest,” he says.
“Also, all of the officers are now
wearing masks and gloves, and
we’re making sure we always
have coverage in case a family
member gets sick and an officer
See POLICE
continued on page 10
Tribe preparing to take over area’s fire services
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Grand Ronde Tribe runs its own police
department and will soon add its own
fire department to its list of sovereign
nation-provided public safety services.
According to a Dec. 12 approved authoriza-
tion to proceed signed by seven Tribal Council
members, General Manager David Fullerton
was asked to renegotiate a memorandum of un-
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
derstanding with the West Valley Fire District
to include a “comprehensive transition plan” for
the Grand Ronde Tribe to assume operations of
the fire station on Grand Ronde Road.
In addition, Fullerton was directed to file the
appropriate documents to register the fire sta-
tion as being owned and operated by the Tribe,
See FIRE
continued on page 7
The Grand Ronde Fire Station will soon become operated by the Grand Ronde Tribe instead of the
West Valley Fire District. The station has been open for 10 years.