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AUGUST 1, 2023
Smoke Signals
Thompson strip fix
clears Senate hurdle
By Dean Rhodes
Publications coordinator
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The
Grand Ronde Tribe’s continuing
effort to fix an error made in a
1994 piece of legislation that ad-
versely affected the Grand Ronde
Reservation Act cleared a hurdle
on Thursday, July 20, when the
Senate Committee on Indian Af-
fairs passed Senate Bill 910 out of
committee.
The legislation, introduced by
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley in the
Senate and new Oregon Rep. An-
drea Salinas in the House of Rep-
resentatives in March, would allow
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde to address any future survey
errors discovered on its original
Reservation with the federal gov-
ernment.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment discovered a surveying error
on the Grand Ronde Reservation
that dates back to 1871. The error
was discovered after passage of the
Grand Ronde Reservation Act in
1988 that returned 9,811 acres to
the Tribe.
Surveyor David Thompson incor-
rectly surveyed the eastern bound-
ary of the Reservation, missing 84
acres that should have been in-
cluded. 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,
BLM treated the land as Oregon
and California Railroad Grant
Lands and permitted private com-
panies 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 relinquish 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 was for Grand
Ronde to relinquish its rights only
to the Thompson Strip. There was
no intention by BLM or BIA offi-
cials to extinguish the Tribe’s land
claim rights for the entire state of
Oregon.
Tribal Council Secretary Michael
Langley testified before the House
of Representatives’ Subcommittee
on Insular and Indian Affairs on
Wednesday, June 7.
Both the House resolution and
Senate bill would replace the phrase
“state of Oregon” with the phrase
“84 acres known as the Thompson
Strip” in the Grand Ronde Reser-
vation Act. It also would prohibit
any property obtained by the Grand
Ronde Tribe as part of a land claim
settlement from being used for
gaming activities.
The Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs advanced similar legislation
in July 2020 and it was approved
by the entire Senate. However, it
was not passed by the House of
Representatives and the bill died
at the end of the 117th Congress.
The Grand Ronde Tribe has been
lobbying for the fix since at least
December 2019.
GAMING ORDINANCE
OPEN FOR COMMENT
Tribal Council is considering amendments to the Gaming Ordinance.
The proposed amendments were given a First Reading at the June 28,
2023, Tribal Council meeting.
The proposed amendments reflect recent amendments to the Tribal/
State Gaming Compact and: (1) Amend definitions of High Security
and Primary Management Official Gaming Licenses; (2) Revise license
application and background investigation requirements to better reflect
information currently necessary for safe operation of the Gaming Facility;
and (3) Other minor and technical changes.
Tribal Council invites comment on the proposed amendments to the
Gaming Ordinance. For a copy of the proposed amendments, 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 Sept. 1, 2023.
Linn County hosting
Cultural Encampments
Tribal Elder and Linn County Cultural Encampment Director Dietrich
Peters is hosting Cultural Encampments again this summer.
Upcoming encampments will be held Aug. 25-27 at Cascadia County
Park in Cascadia.
The three-day encampments open with a morning prayer on Friday,
a meet and greet, storytelling and flute music, and an evening prayer.
On Saturday, craft classes and Native American traditional dancing are
taught. Sunday includes more dancing and then a thank you feast in the
afternoon.
For more information, contact Peters at petersdeitz@gmail.com or visit
the Linn County Parks web page.
Tribal nonemergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemergency
text line at 541-921-2927.
“If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to con-
tact my officer via text through this line,” said Grand Ronde Tribal
Police Chief Jake McKnight. “When one of my officers receives the
text, they will call you back when they have time.”
McKnight said that emergency situations still require calling 911.
For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474.
CTGR- Portland Office &
GRHWC
Veteran Fishing
Trips
a ɫush lamastin event
Thursday, Aug. 3
5-Hour Fishing Charter
@ Depoe Bay
CTGR TRIBAL MEMBER/DESCENDANT
VETERANS ONLY
Sign-Up: Call Patricia Henry, 503-879-1399
Great Circle Recovery
Resource Fair
Join us on
Wednesday, Aug. 9 — 10 a.m.— 2 p.m.
Grand Ronde Tribal Programs:
Community Resources:
477 Employment and Training
Siletz
Vocational Rehabilitation
Painted Horse
Warriors of Hope (Domestic Violence)
Bridges to Change
TERO (Tribal Employment Rights Office)
Acupuncture
Location: Great Circle Recovery back parking lot:
3580 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, OR 97266
Questions contact us at CTGR-
Portland office: 503-879-1881.