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MAY 1, 2022
13
Kennedy testifies before House regarding Thompson Strip issue
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tribal
Council Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy returned virtually to the
U.S. House of Representatives on
Wednesday, April 27, once again
seeking to correct an error made
in a 1994 piece of legislation that
adversely affected the Grand Ronde
Reservation Act.
The new legislation would allow
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde to address future survey
errors discovered on its original
Reservation with the federal gov-
ernment.
Kennedy testified before the
House Subcommittee for Indige-
nous Peoples seeking to correct the
mistake.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment discovered a survey error
on the Grand Ronde Reservation
that dates back to 1871. The error
was discovered
after passage
of the Grand
Ronde Reser-
vation Act in
1988 that re-
turned 9,811
ac r e s t o t h e
Tribe.
Surveyor
David Thomp-
Cheryle A. Kennedy s o n h a d i n -
correctly
surveyed the eastern boundary of
the Reservation, missing 84 acres
that should have been included.
The land also was excluded from a
1904 sale of unallotted lands within
the Reservation and Grand Ronde
was not compensated for it.
Until the error was discovered,
the Bureau of Land Management
treated the land as Oregon and
California Railroad Grant Lands
and permitted private companies
SSI recipients eligible
for Internet service aid
Any household with an individual receiving Supplemental Security
Income is eligible to receive discounted Internet service through the
Affordable Connectivity Program recently launched by the Federal
Communications Commission.
Social Security does not count Affordable Connectivity Program
assistance as income or a resource for SSI purposes.
The program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward
Internet service for eligible households and $75 per month for house-
holds on qualifying Tribal lands.
Eligible households also can receive a one-time discount of up to
$100 toward purchasing a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from
participating providers.
To enroll in the Connectivity Program, go to www.fcc.gov/asp for
more information.
2022
to harvest timber on the acreage.
After being informed of the sur-
vey error, the Grand Ronde Tribe
determined the parcel, called the
Thompson Strip, was unmanage-
able because of narrow boundaries
and divided ownership interests.
The Tribe agreed to accept a 240-
acre parcel of grant lands adjacent
to the Grand Ronde Reservation in
exchange and surrender its claims
to the Thompson Strip.
However, the Department of the
Interior in 1994 “developed broad
language that relinquished any
future claims of this type within
the state of Oregon” by the Grand
Ronde Tribe.
“In agreeing to this land exchange
in 1994, the intent of the parties
was for Grand Ronde to relinquish
its rights only to the Thompson
Strip,” Kennedy previously testi-
fied. “There was no intention by
BLM or BIA officials involved in
this land swap to extinguish the
Tribe’s land claim rights for the
entire state of Oregon.”
Kennedy said the Tribe discov-
ered the issue while working on a
different amendment to the Reser-
vation Act.
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley re-in-
troduced Senate Bill 559 on March
3, 2021. It would replace the phrase
“state of Oregon” with the phrase
“84 acres known as the Thompson
Strip” in the Grand Ronde Reser-
vation Act.
The re-introduced legislation
passed the Senate on May 26, 2021,
and was referred to the House on
Feb. 7, 2022.
Kennedy testified in support of
a similar bill in February 2020,
but it did not clear both houses
of Congress and get signed by
then-President Donald Trump
before adjournment of the 116th
Congress.
“We want to be proactive about
ensuring the Tribe has the right
to be compensated should another
problem arise,” Kennedy said. “As
we acquire lands, we sometimes
find survey inconsistencies when
title searches are concluded.”
Kennedy added that the legisla-
tion would not be used to facilitate
Indian gaming or affect the treaty
rights of any other Tribe in Ore-
gon.
FISH AND WILDLIFE ORDINANCE
OPEN FOR COMMENT
Tribal Council is considering amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Ordi-
nance. The proposed amendments were given a First Reading at the April
6, 2022, Tribal Council meeting.
The Fish and Wildlife Ordinance has not been updated since 2015. The
proposed amendments reflect updates to the ceremonial hunting and
fishing program, set limits on the number of transfer tags that are available
to Tribal members in order to prevent abuse of the transfer system, provide
for a mentored youth hunting program, impose civil penalties to be as-
sessed in Tribal Court for violations of the ordinance, make other program-
matic changes, and may include other minor and technical changes.
Tribal Council invites comments on the proposed amendments to the
Fish and Wildlife Ordinance. For a copy of the proposed amendments,
please contact the Tribal Attorney’s Office at 503-879-4664. Please send
your comments to the Tribal Attorney’s Office, 9615 Grand Ronde Road,
Grand Ronde, OR, 97347, or by e-mail to legal@grandronde.org.
Comments must be received by May 31, 2022.
Apply for
YOUTH
COUNCIL
MARCELLUS
NORWEST
MEMORIAL
VETERANS
POWWOW
Uyxat Powwow Grounds
9600 Highway 22 (Hebo Road),
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
Friday, July 8
• Royalty Pageant at 11 A.M.
• Coronation at 5 P.M.
Host Drum: Indian Hill
• Grand Entry at 7 P.M.
Saturday, July 9
nd
Emcee: Nick Sixkiller
Arena Director: Anthony Quenelle
• Grand Entry at 1 P.M.
• Grand Entry at 7 P.M.
Sunday, July 10
• Grand Entry at Noon
Vendor Contact:
Special: Mens Traditional 18+
• 1st place: $400 • 2nd place: $300
• 3rd place: $200 • 4th place: $100
Molly Leno, 503-983-6790
Raffle Prizes:
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• Pop Tents • Lawn Chairs • Wagons • Coolers
Thank you for respecting Grand Ronde’s Tribal community and our culture by not
displaying gang affiliation or by bringing alcohol or weapons to this event.
Ad by Samuel Briggs III
Deadline is May 15th
Applications available on
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