PRESORTED
STANDARD MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT NO. 700
Shimkhin
exhibit opens
4 pg. 13
may 1, 2023
Families having fun
Kotek reiterates
stance on expansion
of Tribal gaming: No!
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
S
announcement that almost 70 percent of current
Tribal members have lower provable blood quan-
tum than what is contained in their conodential
enrollment oles, the problems were inescapable.
Former Tribal Council member Jack Giffen
Jr. said the Tribe was in an <enrollment crisis.=
In addition, Tribal Council announced a poten-
ALEM 3 New Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek
officially notified the chairs of the nine
federally recognized Tribes in the state on
Thursday, April 13, that she does not support
an expansion of gaming and will maintain the
status quo during her term in ofoce.
As orst reported by Smoke Signals before the
November 2022 general election, Kotek reiter-
ated that she will main-
tain the policies of former
governors John Kitzhaber
and Kate Brown regard-
ing Tribal gaming in Or-
egon.
<Throughout my leg-
islative career, during
my campaign for office
and since the start of ad-
ministration, I have been
clear that I do not favor
Oregon Gov.
an expansion of gaming,=
Tina Kotek
Kotek wrote, adding she
will stick with the one gaming facility per Tribe
on Reservation land policy. <This helps all of us
avoid confusion, use of resources, and advocacy
for and against changing my stance in favor of
one gaming facility per Tribe on Reservation
land.=
Kotek9s letter potentially affects the future
of two proposals to expand Tribal gaming in
Oregon.
The Coquille Tribe has applied to the Depart-
ment of the Interior to have land in Medford tak-
en into trust for gaming purposes and the Siletz
Tribe has proposed opening a second casino in
north Salem. The Siletz Tribe already operates
Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City.
Should either of the two proposals be approved
by the Department of the Interior, they would
still need the OK from Oregon9s governor before
they could proceed.
See ENROLLMENT
continued on page 10
See GAMING
continued on page 8
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
One-year-old Reece Ryan plays with a pinwheel before the start of the Children & Family Services
Family Fun Run/Walk held on the Tribal campus on Saturday, April 15. April was Child Abuse
Prevention Month and the pinwheel is a symbol for it. More photos on page 12.
Enrollment endgame? Other
Tribes might hint at solution
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
D
uring the March 22 Tribal Council meet-
ing that lasted almost three hours, Tribal
members asked what the <endgame= is
for the current enrollment quagmire the Grand
Ronde Tribe is experiencing.
Between predictions that the Tribe will not
have qualified members it can enroll under
current membership rules within 50 years to an
Memorial Day event set for May 29
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
A
ttendees at this year9s Me-
morial Day event at the
West Valley Veterans Me-
morial will see one of two things 3
two holes in the ground or two new
blank black granite slabs.
The Tribe received a $33,000
grant from Oregon State Parks to
install the two new granite slabs
that will continue to hold the names
of West Valley residents who have
served in the military.
After almost two decades of add-
ing names to the pillars, two of
the four pillars are running out
of room. The pillars for Navy and
Army veterans are olling up and
in February 2020 Tribal Council
approved seeking s state grant to
add two additional pillars.
According to Smoke Signals9 run-
ning tally, the Army pillar contains
more than 1,140 names while the
Navy pillar has almost 700 names.
The two new pillars should last
awhile since the Air Force and
Marine Corps pillars have substan-
tially fewer names on them.
Tribal Engineering and Planning
Manager Ryan Webb said the orig-
See MEMORIAL DAY
continued on page 5
Installation work has started for two new granite slabs to be added to the
West Valley Veterans Memorial located on the Tribal campus. The Tribe
received a $33,000 grant from Oregon State Parks to install the new slabs
because the pillars for Navy and Army veterans are filling up.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo