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— pg. 7
august 1, 2023
Contest Powwow slated for Aug. 18-20
By Dean Rhodes
Publications coordinator
A
fter a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19
pandemic, the Tribe’s biggest powwow at-
tracted 290 registered dancers and eight
drum groups in 2022.
Now the 38-year-old August Contest Powwow
is pretty much back to normal as the memories
and protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic era are
fading into bad memories.
Smoke Signals file photo
Tribal member Auburn Logan participates in a
grand entry at the 2022 Grand Ronde Contest
Powwow at Uyxat Powwow Grounds last August.
Powwow weekend will kick off with the Grand
Ronde Royalty Pageant at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug.
18, at the Tribal Governance Center. The 2023-
24 Royalty Court officially will be crowned later
in the day at 5 p.m. at Uyxat Powwow Grounds.
More than $22,000 in prize money will be
danced for and prizes range from $100 for a
consolation prize to $1,000 for first place.
Specials will include the Saturday Night Best
Dressed Drum Group with a top prize of $800, a
Prairie Chicken/Round Bustle committee special
See POWWOW
continued on page 11
Tribe holds hybrid
Candidates Forum
By Dean Rhodes
Publications coordinator
F
or the fourth consecutive
year, the Tribe held the annu-
al Tribal Council Candidates
Forum using the Zoom teleconfer-
encing program with candidates
attending in the Governance Cen-
ter and most other Tribal members
participating remotely.
Starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday,
July 26, challengers Veronica Mon-
tano, Chris Bailey and Matthew
Haller joined Tribal Council incum-
bents Lisa Leno, Michael Langley
and Chris Mercier in Tribal Council
Chambers for a 92-minute forum
that attracted approximately 36
online viewers and 20 in-person
attendees.
Acting General Manager Chris
Leno handled moderator duties and
watched the clock to ensure candi-
dates did not go over their allotted
time. Tribal Council Chief of Staff
Stacia Hernandez monitored online
attendees for any questions.
After three-minute opening state-
ments, each candidate had two
minutes to answer submitted ques-
tions from the membership. In a
slight departure from previous
forums, only three candidates an-
swered a question before moving
on to the next question that three
other candidates answered.
Questions covered a wide range of
topics, including increasing rental
assistance for Tribal members in
college, protecting the minor’s trust
accounts, how to make the Tribe
more welcoming to visitors and
employees, defining self-sufficiency
and discussing views on transpar-
ency in Tribal government.
Following the questions, each
candidate was allotted 90 seconds
See FORUM
continued on page 9
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Council Administrative Assistant Shannon Ham-Texeira plugs her Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric vehicle into a
ChargePoint charging station on Thursday, July 20. The solar-powered charging station was recently installed
in the Tribal Governance Center parking lot for Tribal employee use.
Tribal campus is charging up
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Tribe recently began offering another perk
to employees with its first solar-powered
electric vehicle charging station, located at
the southern end of the Tribal Governance Center
parking lot.
“This is a benefit the Tribe is providing to em-
ployees and to help reduce air pollution,” Tribal En-
gineering and Planning Manager Ryan Webb said.
“This charging station is completely self-contained,
doesn’t require any utility hookups and creates re-
newable energy.”
See CHARGING
continued on page 7