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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