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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2020)
6 NOVEMBER 1, 2020 Smoke Signals Publication provides snapshot of Native Americans in Oregon By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Pretend you’re on “Native Amer- ican Jeopardy” and provide the question for the following clue: This Oregon county has the larg- est percentage of its population identifying as American Indian or Alaskan Native. If you guessed Umatilla County, home of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, you’d be ... wrong! The correct answer is Jefferson County, home of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Sixteen percent of the 23,143 Oregonians who reside in Jefferson County identify as American Indi- an or Alaskan Native. That is just one of the many facts one can find out about Native Americans in Oregon in the new “Oregon By the Numbers 2020” publication issued by Oregon State University Extension Service and The Ford Family Foundation. The next most densely populated counties in Oregon for Indigenous peoples, based on a percentage of the county’s population, are Gil- liam, 4.3 percent; Klamath, 3.6 per- cent; Wasco, 3.4 percent; Lincoln, 2.6 percent; and then Umatilla, 2.5 percent. Polk and Yamhill counties, home to many members of the Confeder- ated Tribes of Grand Ronde, boast 1.7 percent and 1 percent Native American populations, respective- ly. According to “Oregon By the Numbers,” there are between 45,000 and 50,000 Native Ameri- cans residing in Oregon, which has a population of slightly more than 4 million people. Combined with Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, about 1.3 percent of the state’s pop- ulation is Indigenous. “A significant portion of Native Americans in Oregon are affiliated with Tribes other than those that are federally recognized as being located in Oregon,” the book states. “In addition, federally recognized Tribes in neighboring states may have land and relationships within Oregon that are not represented here. For example, the Nez Perce Tribe, federally recognized in Ida- ho, has bought back thousands of acres of traditional homeland in Wallowa County.” Overall, Oregon is 76 percent white with more diversity in urban areas than in rural portions of the state. “Oregon By the Numbers 2020” is available for free while supplies last to Oregon residents through The Ford Family Foundation’s Select Books program at www.tfff. org/OBTN. n Afterhours health line Tribal members can contact the Afterhours Health Line for questions about health care concerns they may have when the clinic is not open. You can reach the Afterhours Health Line by calling 503-879-2002 and follow the prompts. The Afterhours Health Line will coordinate care and communicate with Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center providers. n Public Notice October 8 th , 2020 The Grand Ronde Tribal PD has in its physical possession the unclaimed personal property. The items listed below have been unclaimed for more than 60 days. If you have any ownership interest in any of the unclaimed property, you must file a claim with the Grand Ronde Tribal PD within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, or you will lose your interest in that property. 1) 2) 3) 4) 19-0312- 26in Mountain Bike 19-0661- Pink bicycle bayside w/Misc. items 20-0048- Eastport backpack w/misc. personal belongings 20-0323- East West Camo Backpack, Kenneth Cole Backpack, Plastic Bag w/Misc. Clothes 5) 20-0365- Green backpack multi-pocket, hygiene products, artwork and pencils, damaged cell phone, 2 rusted machetes Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department 9655 Grand Ronde Rd. Grand Ronde, OR. 97347 503-879-1821 Tribal Council votes to add 25 members to Restoration Roll By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Grand Ronde Tribe’s effort to ensure that all Tribal mem- bers who should have been on the Restoration Roll are even- tually placed on the historical- ly important list continued as Tribal Council approved adding 25 more names to it during the Wednesday, Oct. 28, meeting. The addition of 25 more names brings the total for this year to 103 additions to the Restoration Roll. In 2019, Tribal Council added 204 Tribal members to the roll. The Restoration Roll was the first roll compiled of Grand Ronde Tribal members after Nov. 22, 1983. However, because the membership had become so dispersed during the 29 years af- ter 1954’s Termination, all those who should have been included could not be identified at the time or were unaware that they should have had their names on the roll. The current process, which requires Tribal members apply for addition to the Restoration Roll, allows a Tribal member who was living on Aug. 13, 1954 – date of congressional approval of the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act – and born to a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to be added. In November 2018, Tribal Council approved a resolution that established criteria for con- sistently applying the phrase “entitled to be on the member- ship roll of the Tribe on Aug. 13, 1954” as meaning that the person was entitled to be on the roll if that person was alive on that date and born to a Tribal member. The 25 names now move for- ward to the Department of the Interior for approval. Tribal Council also approved the agenda for the virtual Sun- day, Nov. 1, General Council meeting. Finance Officer Chris Leno will present the draft 2021 Tribal budget in executive ses- sion over the Zoom teleconfer- encing application. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved re-applying for a $1.36 million grant that will help fund the Tribe’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs by paying for oper- ations and staff training and technical assistance. Trib- al Early Education Program Manager Angie Blackwell said during the Tuesday, Oct. 27, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the annual fund- ing should remain the same or increase during the five-year life of the grant; • Re-appointed Oregon legisla- tors Arnie Roblan and Karin Power to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees with terms expiring in September 2022; • Approved a perpetual 10-foot- wide easement at the Tribe’s Blue Heron property in Ore- gon City to Portland General Electric so that the company can supply power to the admin- istration/office building. Tribal Council also approved applying for an $800,000 Brownfield Multipurpose grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that would fund envi- ronmental site assessment and cleanup at the property; • Sent Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance amend- ments out for a first read- ing, which will allow Tribal members 30 days to com- ment on the proposals. The amendments restrict a com- missioner’s access to records if the commissioner also bids on a project, grants limited administrative supervision of the TERO director to the Tribal Council chief of staff and/or general manager, and requires that TERO workers on construction projects be al- lowed to work the same hours as non-TERO workers; • Approved applying for a $4,558 CARES Act grant through the State Library of Oregon that would help fund purchase of computer equipment; • Re-appointed Tribal member April Campbell and appointed Tribal member Lisa Watson to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors with terms expiring in September 2023; • Approved acquisition of prop- erty on Main Street in Oregon City. No additional informa- tion regarding the property purchase was provided during the meeting or in the Tribal Council packet. Tribal Council discussed the purchase with Tribal Lands Manager Jan Reibach in executive session during the Tuesday, Oct. 27, Legislative Action Committee hearing; • Approved a contract with Per- lo Construction of Tualatin to perform improvements to the Tribe’s new property in Portland that will become a medication-assisted treatment center to help people battling opioid addiction. The Tribe purchased the 20,000-square- foot lot on Southeast 82nd Avenue in July. Perlo is also charged with improvements to the Tribe’s planned clinic in Salem; • And approved the enrollment of two infants into the Tribe because they meet the require- ments outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance. To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on Government and then Videos. n