Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2021)
sNok signflz SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 Casino gift store seeking Tribal member artwork The gift store at Spirit Mountain Casino is seeking Native Amer- ican and contemporary art from Grand Ronde Tribal members as the store refocuses. However, there is one catch. Tribal artists must first contact the Tribal Employment Rights Of- fice to become vendors and be defined as an Indian-owned business. “Becoming an IOB vendor is the first step in the process,” said Human Recourses Director Camille Mercier. “Once they are a qual- ified vendor, their pieces will need to meet a predetermined list of standards in order to have any items in the gift store.” Mercier said the target date is mid-October for the gift store to start accepting consignment items from Tribal artists. “It’s been long overdue to have our own Tribal member artwork featured,” she added. To contact the Tribe’s TERO office about being listed as an Indi- an-owned business, call TERO Director Harris Reibach at 503-879- 1455 or send an e-mail to tero@grandronde.org. Health & Wellness Center hours The Health & Wellness Center is pleased to add additional access for patients during holiday weeks on Thursday mornings. The clinic will be scheduling patients at 8 a.m. every Thursday preceding or following a holiday closure. Urgent care also will be available during this time. Vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmissions COVID continued from front page COVID-19 cases being monitored by the Health & Wellness Center and there are 35 active cases as of Wednesday, Aug. 25. The uptick in COVID-19 cases na- tionwide has been attributed to the Delta variant, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said is far more contagious than the original strain, and that some vaccinated people can get Delta in a breakthrough infection and may be contagious. However, vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmissions, and virtually all hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated. All Tribal members and those who live in their households, oth- er Native Americans and their household members, and Tribal employees and their household members 12 and older can schedule a vaccination through the Health & Wellness Center by calling 503- 879-1900. Seeking Veterans (men and women) from all eras (wartime and/or peacetime). (Especially WWII, Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan) (war or peacetime) Are you a military Veteran? (All Veterans Welcome! Tribal or non-Tribal and in the local area) Q: Has it been a while since you applied for benefits or had your benefits reviewed? A: New legislation could have been passed since the last time you applied for benefits which means potential new avenues of eligibility for you! Q: Do you have a current service-connected disability, but are interested in applying for an increase or additional disabilities? A: Contact me to schedule an intake appointment as soon as we can to start the process. Q: Have you thought about applying, but think you might not qualify? A: Contact me and let’s try anyway. You might qualify for additional compensation. Q: Do you know a Veteran who has not applied for their military benefits, but should try? A: Refer them to me or give them my contact information (blue box below). Are you a spouse of a military Veteran? 5 Tribal Council OKs two-year moratorium on disenrollments By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council approved a two- year moratorium on disenrolling Tribal members during its Wednes- day, Aug. 25, meeting. Tribal Council sent a proposed amendment to the Enrollment Or- dinance that would have created a one-year moratorium concerning loss of membership in the Tribe out for a first reading during its June 2 meeting. Staff Attorney Holly Partridge said during the Tuesday, Aug. 24, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the proposal received six sets of comments. After re- viewing the comments on Aug. 12, Tribal Council instructed the Tribal Attorney’s Office to extend the pro- posed moratorium by a year. During the June 1 Legislative Action Committee meeting, Tribal Council member Kathleen George said the proposal is the result of the enrollment hearings held by the Tribe. In October 2019, Tribal Council hired Carefree, Ariz., attorney Robert Lyttle to research Tribal enrollment issues and conduct public meetings. The first meeting was held virtually on May 26 and attracted approximately 130 Tribal members and lasted almost three hours. The next meetings were held June 10, 17 and 24. Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy said that the purpose of the four enrollment meetings was to gain input from members and work toward an ad- visory vote that at least two-thirds of the membership might support. The Tribal Constitution requires any proposed amendments be approved by 66.7 percent of those voting. Tribal Council members Jack Giffen Jr. and Steve Bobb Sr. voted against the amendment because they fear it is kicking the can of Tribal enrollment issues too far down the road. “Making member- ship wait two years is unaccept- able,” Giffen said. Other Tribal Council members said they see the two-year morato- rium as giving the Tribe time to find an enrollment proposal that will be accepted by a two-thirds majority of the membership and is only a two- year moratorium on taking action regarding disenrollments. The disenrollment moratorium will not protect a Tribal member who is found to be dually enrolled in another Tribe, which is in violation of the Tribal Constitution. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved the addition of 25 more Tribal members to the Resto- ration Roll, bringing the total for 2021 to 140. The Tribe added 204 names to the historically import- ant roll in 2019 and another 127 in 2020; • Approved an increase in blood quantum for 18 Tribal members because of “clear and convincing evidence” presented to the Tribe’s enrollment staff; • Approved a $612,000 professional services agreement with Scholten Construction Inc. of Willamina to provide design and construction services for the Tribal member- ship for the construction of new homes on the 86.5-acre Rink 2 property in Grand Ronde. Also included in the Aug. 25 Tribal Council packet was an approved authorization to proceed for staff to offer 75-year leases to home- owners to avoid having to seek approval for each lease from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; • Approved the Tribe’s annual grant application to the Low In- come Home Energy Assistance Program that is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Planning & Grants Manager Kim Rogers said that the program helped 189 Tribal members in 2020 with home heating costs and weather- ization projects; • Approved an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for American Rescue Plan funding that would al- locate $1.384 million toward design and construction of a public health vaccination building and $341,000 toward purchasing an ambulance with a mobile radio, power gurney and other equipment; • Approved applying to the U.S. Department of Commerce for a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grant. The almost $2 million grant would, if received, construct two or three new cell towers in the Grand Ronde area to improve Wi-Fi connectivity and install a fiber optic network in Tribal res- idences to replace the aging DSL lines currently being used; • And approved 2022 harvest li- censes that will bring the Tribe almost $50,000 in income, accord- ing to Tribal Lands Manager Jan Michael Reibach. To view the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos. Do you want to help your Veteran spouse apply for and/or increase their benefits? Have you heard there might be burial benefits or spousal benefits but aren’t sure? Contact me, the CTGR TVSO to find out more about the available benefits that could help you and/or your family. Do you have questions about Veteran benefits for you or the family? GRAND RONDE HOUSING DEPARTMENT 28450 Tyee Road – Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 – 503-879-2401 – Fax 503-879-5973 Do you worry about what to do if something happens to your Veteran spouse? Have you wondered how you might make ends meet if something happened? ATTENTION ALL HOUSING TENANTS AND GUEST PLEASE SLOW DOWN IN ELDER HOUSING Also, please make sure and maintain low levels of music in the Elder community.
