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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2020)
2 JULY 15, 2020 Smoke Signals General Council meeting 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13 Tentatively: Tribal Community Center NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings DATE TIME Wednesday, July 22.............................................................................4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5.............................................................................10 a.m. sNok signflz PUBLICATIONS OFFICE 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 1-800-422-0232, FAX: 503-879-2173 Website: www.smokesignals.org E-mail: news@grandronde.org Editorial.Board@grandronde.org Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed. Twitter: CTGRSmokeSignal www.facebook.com/SmokeSignalsCTGR/ Letter s www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDXdTzfGjzJ_j3NPpCrtcw Dear Smoke Signals: We would like to start by saying “thank you” for letting us address the Tribal Council and the Tribal membership in this manner. We appreciate our ancestors who were true warriors who fought to keep our Tribe together. As most of you know, every day is a battle being Native American Indian and fortunately none of us have had to endure the hard- ships, pain and suffering that our ancestors had to keep our Tribe united. For various reasons, our mother was unable to enroll in the Tribe be- fore her passing. She was 1/4th Grand Ronde. My siblings and I are 1/8th Grand Ronde. Our grandmother, Mary Lachance Spohn, was born on the Reservation along with her siblings as well as her mother and father. Our grandmother and great-grandfather are on the Restoration Roll of the CTGR. Our great-grandmother was on various Grand Ronde rolls before Termination, but she passed away in 1917. As with many on the Reservation, they all experienced tremendous hard- ships, but were able to take comfort in the united family within the Tribe. Our grandmother, great-grandmother and great-grandfather have since passed, but unfortunately their family is not united. Their family and many other families like ours have become divided due to the 1999 enrollment amendment, which states an applicant must be “born to a parent who was a member of the Tribe at the time of the applicant's birth.” We would like to propose the Tribal Council bring this issue up for discus- sion during a current Tribal Council meeting and put forth as a standalone survey question and placed on a ballot in this fall's Tribal Council election so the Tribal membership can vote to remove the current constitutional membership requirement to be “born to a parent who was a member of the Tribe at the time of the applicant's birth.” If such a proposal could be approved this fall and then be placed on a constitutional amendment ballot it would bring hope to our family and all the other families within the Tribe in similar situations. Please help us and others to claim our Native American Indian heritage birthright. We hope to count on your support and vote in changing the current membership requirement to be “born to a parent who was a member of the Tribe at the time of the applicant's birth.” Melissa DeVoss Bayles Chris DeVoss Jill DeVoss Burkhalter DEAN RHODES PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR 503-879-1463 DANIELLE FROST TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ STAFF WRITER 503-879-4663 PHOTOJOURNALIST 503-879-1961 dean.rhodes@grandronde.org danielle.frost@grandronde.org timothy.gonzalez@grandronde.org SAMUEL F. BRIGGS III JUSTIN PHILLIPS KAMIAH KOCH GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST 503-879-1416 PAGE DESIGNER 503-879-2190 SOCIAL MEDIA/ DIGITAL JOURNALIST 503-879-1461 samuel.briggs@grandronde.org justin.phillips@grandronde.org kamiah.koch@grandronde.org DEADLINE DATE ISSUE DATE monday, july 20 ...................aug. 1, 2020 wednesday, aug. 5 ............aug. 15, 2020 friday, aug. 21 ......................sept. 1, 2020 tuesday, sept. 8 ...................sept. 15, 2020 Editorial Policy smok signflz , a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Communi- ty of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without permission. Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be signed by the author, an address must be given and a phone number or e-mail address must be included for verification purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not be published unless requested. Letters must be 400 words or less. smok signflz reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse letters that are determined to contain libelous statements or personal attacks on individuals, staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Letters to the editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of smok signflz . Members of: Native American Journalists Association Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 2020 Tribal Council tribalcouncil@grandronde.org Cheryle A. Kennedy Tribal Council Chairwoman — ext. 2352 cheryle.kennedy@grandronde.org Chris Mercier Tribal Council Vice Chair — ext. 1444 chris.mercier@grandronde.org Jon A. George Tribal Council Secretary — ext. 2355 Ad by Samuel Briggs III Jack Giffen Jr. — ext. 2300 jack.giffen@grandronde.org Denise Harvey — ext. 2353 denise.harvey@grandronde.org Michael Langley — ext. 1777 michael.langley@grandronde.org Lisa Leno — ext. 1770 jon.george@grandronde.org lisaleno@grandronde.org Kathleen George Steve Bobb Sr. — ext. 2305 — ext. 4555 kathleen.george@grandronde.org steve.bobb@grandronde.org
