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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2020)
sNok signflz DECEMBER 15, 2020 9 Culturally significant lands continue to grow with purchase PROPERTY continued from front page N Oregon City Sit e He ro n e Blu illa m et te Riv e r 45 0 M ai n St. Grand Ronde W The property, located at 450 Main St., is at the entrance to the former Blue Heron Paper Mill property and has an office building on the site. The Tribe purchased the 23-acre former Blue Heron Paper Mill site in Oregon City for $15.25 million in August 2019. The smaller property was on the market and the Tribe’s purchase will ensure that it con- trols the site’s future use so that it is complementary to Blue Heron’s development. “The historical and cultural sig- nificance of the area surrounding the Blue Heron site cannot be overstated,” said Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez. “By purchasing this property we are expanding our land base of culturally significant lands within our homelands as well as continuity with the Tribe’s vision.” Tribal Finance Officer Chris Leno said during the Tuesday, Dec. 1, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the supplemental budget notice did not receive any comments from the Tribal mem- bership. The budget was approved in a 6-1 vote with Tribal Council member Jack Giffen Jr. dissenting. Tribal Council approved the pur- chase of the Main Street property during its Oct. 28 meeting. The property will join the Blue Heron site, the former Multnomah Greyhound Park in Wood Village, the office building on Barbur Bou- levard and the home of a future medication-assisted treatment clinic on Southeast 82nd Avenue as properties the Grand Ronde Tribe owns in the three-county Portland Map created by Samuel Briggs III metropolitan area. The first four supplemental bud- gets approved in 2020 all had to do with the COVID-19 Relief Pay- ment Fund and making CARES Act monies available to help Tribal members adversely affected by the nationwide pandemic and the sus- pension of per capita payments in June and September. Tribal Council also continued adding Tribal member names to the Restoration Roll. The 24 names added brings this year’s total to 127. In 2019, Tribal Council added 204 names to the historically im- portant roll. The Restoration Roll was the first roll compiled of Grand Ronde Tribal members after Nov. 22, 1983. How- ever, because the membership had become so dispersed during the 29 years after 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 re- quires 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 Termina- tion Act – and born to a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to be added. In November 2018, Tribal Coun- cil approved a resolution that es- tablished criteria for consistently applying the phrase “entitled to be on the membership 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 24 names now move forward to the Department of the Interior for approval. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved applying to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a $3.5 million Indian Housing Block Grant that would fund design and construction of 20 low-income housing units in five fourplexes. If received, the Tribe would have up to five years to design and build the housing units; • Approved increasing the maxi- mum amount of the Uyxat Pow- wow Grounds arbor expansion project contract with Scholten Construction of Willamina orig- inally approved on Nov. 18 from $1.82 million to $1.95 million to account for building materials that were not included in the original estimate; • And approved a consent and recognition agreement between the Tribe, the Siletz Tribe and 7-Eleven Corp. of Irving, Texas, regarding a convenience store being constructed at Chemawa Station in Keizer. To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos. St. Michael’s offers brunch St. Michael’s Catholic Church offers an open house brunch every Sunday following Mass. The brunch is free to the community. Brunch begins at about 11:30 a.m. following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Mass attendance is not required for brunch attendance. For more information or for kitchen and hall rental, contact Janelle Justen at 503-550-0923. Indian gaming sets record for revenue in 2019 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the 32 years since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted, 2019 marked the industry’s highest ever gross gaming revenue report. Revenues for 2019 totaled $34.6 billion, a 2.5 percent increase over 2018. The figure was calculated from 522 independently audited finan- cial statements submitted to the National Indian Gaming Commission by 245 federally recognized Tribes in 29 states. The Portland area, which includes 57 Native American casinos in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, reported an increase in rev- enue from $3.66 billion in 2018 to $3.8 billion in 2019. “Healthy Tribal economies are important to promoting self-suffi- ciency envisioned in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” said Na- tional Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Sequoyah Simermeyer. “The growth reflected in the 2019 gaming revenue demonstrates the strength of Tribal economies in recent years. The Indian gaming indus- try is a vital component to many Tribal economies across the country.” The reporting period ended before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of Tribal gaming operations across the country. The pandemic’s effect on Indian gaming will be reflected in next year’s gross gaming revenue report. Gross gaming revenue is the total amount of money wagered less any amounts paid out as prizes and before deducting operating expenses.