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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2023)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 Spring Carnival photos 4 pg. 9 april 15, 2023 Scrambling for treats Enrollment pause ends before it begins By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer T Photo by Michelle Alaimo Frankie Hostler, 2, is handed an egg by her cousin and Tribal member Aleah Patterson as Frankie collects eggs during the Tribal Housing Department Easter Egg Hunt held on Saturday, April 8. Children in four age categories hunted for about 2,000 stuffed plastic eggs. See more photos on page 12. General Council briefed on fentanyl dangers and awareness efforts By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer E UGENE 4 Health Services Executive Director Kelly Rowe briefed Tribal members on the dangers of fentanyl and efforts the Tribe is undertaking to combat the deadly drug during a Sunday, April 2, General Council hybrid meeting held via the Zoom video conferencing ap- plication and in the Lane Community College Longhouse. <The fentanyl crisis that is going on is truly in every community, it isn9t just in Grand Ronde,= Rowe said. <It is only one of the opioids out there that is impacting families, loved ones and friends. It9s everywhere. It9s a horrible thing.= According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It9s a major con- See GENERAL COUNCIL continued on page 10 ribal Council has decided to forgo a planned yearlong pause on enroll- ments set to begin this month. The announcement was made exactly two weeks after a planned pause was announced at the end of the March 22 Tribal Council meeting. The pause would have affected any enroll- ment actions containing a blood quantum component until April 28, 2024, including original applications, blood quantum cor- rection applications and Restoration Roll corrections 3 essentially anything that had to do with enrollment. <Since then, we have had some great conversations with Tribal members and amongst ourselves as a council,= Tribal Council Secretary Michael Langley said during the Wednesday, April 5, Tribal Council meeting. <We9re grateful to everyone who came forward and shared their voice, their stories and their vision for the future of our Tribe. <Tribal Council has taken what we have heard and developed a path forward for im- mediate action. First, Tribal Council will not be moving forward with a pause on enroll- ment. Second, Tribal Council has directed staff to move the enrollment applications that are currently waiting to be processed forward, with the legal blood quantum cur- rently on ole.= Tribal Communications Director Sara Thompson said that new enrollment appli- cations also will continue to be accepted. See ENROLLMENT continued on page 6 Meeting continues to address enrollment issue By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist T Photo by Michelle Alaimo The dangers of fentanyl and efforts the Tribe is taking to combat the deadly drug were discussed during the General Council meeting, held at the Lane Community College Longhouse in Eugene on Sunday, April 2. Signs warning about the drug are displayed around the Tribal campus and Grand Ronde community. he Tribe added another meeting on Tuesday, April 4, to the long line of meetings held the last several years to address Grand Ronde enrollment concerns. Tribal Council Chambers were trans- formed into a new seating arrangement, bringing Tribal Council members and approximately 40 people together in an in- formal circle. Another 130 people joined the hybrid meeting over Zoom. Tribal Council members in attendance in- cluded Secretary Michael Langley, Michael Cherry, Jon A. George, Kathleen George, Lisa Leno and Brenda Tuomi. A PowerPoint was presented by Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez and Tribal Senior Staff Attorney Holly Partridge. See MEETING continued on page 6