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OCTOBER 1, 2020
Smoke Signals
LCIS executive director resigns
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
SALEM — Legislative Com-
mission on Indian Services Ex-
ecutive Director Mitch Sparks
has resigned after less than a
year in the position, according
to information shared by Tribal
Council Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy during a Tuesday, Sept.
22, Legislative Action Committee
meeting.
Kennedy is the longest-serving
member on the commission and
also served on the selection com-
mittee when Sparks was chosen
for the job.
On Friday, Sept. 18, the com-
mission held a special meeting
to discuss whether to proceed
with the immediate hiring of an
interim director, with a commit-
ment to do a full recruitment and
hiring process within a certain
period of time.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the com-
mission met again to discuss the
issue and unanimously approved
hiring Danny Santos as interim
director until March 2021, and
for an extension of that em-
ployment be allowed as needed
until the commission can fill the
position.
Santos previously served as
interim director in 2019. He
currently serves as co-chair of
Gov. Kate Brown’s task force on
Oregon Tribal cultural items.
“We’re really looking at options
for the next step,” Commission
Chair Brenda Meade (Coquille)
said. “We went through this pro-
cess a little over a year ago. This
interim position can be as long as
we want.”
Kennedy said that much of the
work the commission has done in
the past has changed due to the
pandemic.
“I was heavily involved in the
last hiring process,” she said.
“This time, it’s an opportunity to
take another look at the work of
the commission. (The pandemic)
is a paradigm shift in how we look
at those things. Moving forward,
I support inclusion. We eliminate
many problems if we stay con-
nected and on the same page. I
am confident we will attract a
good candidate (for the executive
director) position.”
Sparks’ departure marks the
second time in less than two
years that the commission will
search for a replacement execu-
tive director. Longtime director
Tribe offering flu shots
as autumn arrives
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Mitch Sparks (Oglala Lakota
Nation) resigned as executive
director of the Oregon
Legislative Commission on Indian
Services after less than a year
on the job. The commission is
starting the process of recruiting
a new director.
Karen Quigley retired in late
2018 and the search began for a
replacement.
Sparks, a retired Navy veter-
an and Oglala Lakota Nation
member, accepted the job in late
2019. Before that, he worked
for the Oregon Department of
Veterans’ Affairs as a veterans
benefit counselor beginning in
2007. Eventually, he became
interim director and then deputy
director.
Sparks’ goals for his first year
at the commission were focused
on co-chairing the Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women’s
Task Force and encouraging
Native American participation
in the 2020 Census.
He served on active duty in
the Navy for 26 years and had
several deployments overseas,
including five in the Middle East.
The Oregon Legislative Com-
mission on Indian Services was
formed 45 years ago and was the
first of its kind in the country. It
continues as a forum for consid-
eration of Tribal-state govern-
ment relations and consultation.
In 2001, Oregon was the first
state in the nation to pass a
state-Tribal government-to-gov-
ernment relations law, which
required ongoing state consul-
tation with its nine federally
recognized Tribes. The commis-
sion has been a key partner in
furthering these efforts. 
To help ward off the flu and keep
people from becoming more suscepti-
ble to COVID-19, the Health & Well-
ness Clinic has free flu shots available
to Tribal members and employees.
As an added perk, employees who
get a flu shot will be given a coupon
for a 16-ounce drink from Kofi Haws,
which recently re-opened after a six-
month closure due to the pandemic.
To get a flu shot, an appointment
must be made by calling 503-879-
2032, Health Services Executive Di-
rector Kelly Rowe said in a Facebook
Live event on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
“Everyone six months or older
should get a flu shot,” Rowe said.
“Also, people who are at high risk for
the flu are also high risk for COVID.
A flu shot gives the ability to protect
against one respiratory illness that
can make you more susceptible to
contracting COVID. Both of these
illnesses are incredibly dangerous
to vulnerable populations.”
It was the Tribe’s 12th Facebook
Live event, with approximately 127
people logged in to watch. Tribal
Council Secretary Jon A. George
chaired the meeting. Also in atten-
dance were Tribal Council member
Michael Langley, Chief of Staff
Stacia Hernandez and General Man-
ager David Fullerton.
George reminded those watch-
ing that the Tribe had sent out a
COVID-19 application for its Virus
Relief Payment program, which
will send adult Tribal members two
more $600 payments on Oct. 16
and Nov. 16. An application must
be submitted for each payment and
is also online at grandronde.org.
These payments will bring the total
to $4,400 that the Tribe has given
its members in relief money since
March using its CARES Act funding.
Rowe announced that the clinic
has conducted 659 COVID-19 tests.
Of those, 647 were negative, seven
were positive retests and five were
positive tests.
Fullerton reminded Facebook Live
viewers that the Tribe was still in
a state of emergency as it has been
since March.
“Remember to keep wearing your
masks, social distancing and wash-
ing your hands,” he said. “We’re
still under Phase Two of our plan
and don’t expect to move into Phase
Three until the end of the year.”
Fullerton also thanked the 60 em-
ployees and volunteers who helped
while the Tribe was hosting fire-
fighters battling the Echo Mountain
Complex blaze west of Grand Ronde
in Lincoln County. The fire is now
100 percent contained.
“I really appreciate the people
who stepped up to help,” he said. “It
reflected well on the Tribe.” 
Officials encourage Oregon residents
to register for disaster assistance
FIRES continued
front front page
Additionally, state and federal
officials are encouraging Oregon
residents to register for disaster
assistance with the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency.
There is an individual assistance
program for survivors in Clackamas,
Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, Lane,
Lincoln, Linn and Marion counties.
“Disaster assistance may include
grants for temporary housing and
home repairs, low-cost loans to cover
uninsured property losses, and other
programs to help individuals and
business owners recover from the
effects of the disaster,” a FEMA
press release stated.
More information can be found at
the following:
• Browsing DisasterAssistance.gov
or FEMA.gov.
• Downloading the FEMA app.
• Calling 800-621-3362. The toll-
free telephone lines are open from
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a
week.
Low-interest disaster loans from
the U.S. Small Business Adminis-
tration also are available to home-
owners, renters and businesses. Call
the SBA at 800-659-2955 or visit
www.sba.gov/services/disasterassis-
tance for more information. 
OCTOBER 14 TH / 7 PM
Marys Peak Group of the Sierra Club, The Spring Creek Project,
and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde present the
October 2020 Virtual Champinefu Lecture|
Changes in the Land: Oregon 1800 to 2020
Community Health Program
Presented By| Dr. Stephen Dow Beckham
Professor Emeritus of History at Lewis & Clark College
OCTOBER 22 ND / 6 PM - 7:30 PM
Medical Transport
Services
The Oregon Historical Society & The Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde present|
The Surprising Adventures of George Gibbs,
1816-1873, on the Oregon Frontier
Presented By| Dr. Stephen Dow Beckham Professor Emeritus of
History, Lewis & Clark College, with a panel discussion to follow.
Medical transportation
services are available to
Tribal members within
the six-county service
area when an alternate
means of transportation
is not available. Advance
notice required.
Please call 503-879-2078
to schedule a reservation.
Panelists| Dr. Stephen Dow Beckham, Dr. Sara Gonzales
(University of Washington), Dr. Shannon Tushingham (Washington
State University),and David Harrelson (Grand Ronde Tribes)
NOVEMBER 18 TH / 7 PM
Marys Peak Group of the Sierra Club, The Spring Creek Project
and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde present the
November 2020 Virtual Champinefu Lecture|
StoryMap: Indigenous Naming of Creeks on Marys Peak
Presented By| Grand Ronde Tribal Members (Jesse Norton
and Greg Archuleta)
Valley of the Willamette River, 1848 by Henry J. Warre &
Thomas Miles Richardson, Jr. Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society