6
NOVEMBER 15, 2023
SMOKE SIGNALS
General Council briefed
on 2024 draft budget
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
Finance Officer Chris Leno
briefed Tribal members on the
draft budget for calendar year 2024
during the Sunday, Nov. 5, General
Council meeting held in a hybrid
format at the Governance Center
and on Zoom.
The draft budget portion of the
meeting was held in executive ses-
sion, which limits how much Smoke
Signals can report on the details.
Leno9s draft budget presentation
ran approximately 45 minutes and
he oelded 12 questions and com-
ments regarding next year9s Tribal
spending plan.
Tribal members interested in ob-
taining the slides of Leno9s presen-
tation should contact Tribal Council
Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez at
stacia.martin@grandronde.org or
call 503-879-2304.
The November Tilixam Wawa
also features a detailed look at the
2024 draft budget and adult Tribal
members have until 5 p.m. Monday,
Dec. 4, to submit written comments.
The onal 2024 budget will be ad-
opted on or before Dec. 31. Written
comments can be submitted to 9615
Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde,
OR, 97347; or emailed to chris.leno@
grandronde.org.
In other action, Tribal Coun-
cil Vice Chair Chris Mercier an-
nounced that the next General
Council meeting will be held at 11
a.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, with a report
to be determined. The meeting will
again be in a hybrid format.
Kathie Levine, Ashley Tuomi,
Ron Tuomi, Catrina Palachuk and
Veronica Gaston won the $50 door
prizes.
Lyliana Rideout, Andrea Knight
and Darlene Aaron won the $100
door prizes.
Ron Tuomi and Gaston donated
their winnings to the Grand Ronde
Food Bank.
The non-executive session portion
of the meeting can be viewed by
visiting the Tribal government9s
website at www.grandronde.org
and clicking on the Government tab
and then Videos. n
Tribal trick-or-treating
"We don't have to do it
all alone. We were
never meant to."
-Brene Brown
Photo by Danielle Harrison
Spirit Mountain Community Fund Program Coordinator Angela
Schlappie, dressed as a squirrel, hands out candy to eager trick-
or-treaters on Monday, Oct. 30, at the Tribal Governance Center.
Approximately 75 youth participated in the annual event, which also
included stops at the Tribal gym, Community Center, Youth Education,
Elder Activity Center, Adult Foster Care, Housing, Tribal Police, Human
Resources, Health & Wellness and Procurement. It was sponsored by the
Tribe9s Youth Enrichment Program.
Mental Health Texts
!
On Fridays you will receive a message
about mental health, a social
emotional tip or a simple quote or
message of encouragement.
Text JOIN to
(971) 318-3459
Reservation Act amendment to fix
Thompson strip error approved
in House of Representatives vote
By Dean Rhodes
Publications coordinator
WASHINGTON, D.C. 3 An
amendment to the Grand Ronde
Reservation Act that would fix
a mistake incorporated into the
act in 1994 was approved by the
U.S. House of Representatives on
Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The amendment now heads to
the Senate for consideration.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment discovered a survey error
on the Grand Ronde Reservation
that dated 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
had incorrectly surveyed the
eastern boundary of the Reser-
vation, leaving 84 acres unsur-
veyed. The land also was excluded
from a 1904 sale of unallotted
lands within the Reservation and
Grand Ronde was not compensat-
ed for it.
Until the error was discovered,
BLM treated the land as Oregon
and California Railroad Grant
Lands and permitted private
companies to harvest timber on
the acreage.
After being informed of the
survey error, the Grand Ronde
Tribe determined the parcel,
called the Thompson Strip, was
unmanageable because of narrow
boundaries and divided owner-
ship interests. The Tribe agreed
to accept a 240-acre parcel of
grant lands adjacent to the Grand
Ronde Reservation in exchange
and surrender 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.
House Resolution 1722 replac-
es the phrase <state of Oregon=
with the phrase <84 acres known
as the Thompson Strip= in the
Grand Ronde Reservation 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.
Oregon Rep. Andrea Salinas
introduced legislation to ox the
mistake on March 22. Her bill
was co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff
Merkley and Ron Wyden, and
Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl
Blumenauer, Val Hoyle and Lori
Chavez-DeRemer.
<Today is a monumental day,=
Grand Ronde Tribal Chairwoman
Cheryle A. Kennedy said. <We are
grateful that the U.S. House of
Representatives has helped pass
legislation for the Grand Ronde
Tribe that will help right this
historic wrong. Words cannot ex-
press what this means to us and
the gratitude that we have for
Sen. Merkley and Rep. Salinas,
who championed this legislation
from the beginning.=
The bill, if signed into law,
would allow the Grand Ronde
Tribe to pursue future oxes with-
in the state if other errors are
found.
In the House, the bill was re-
ferred to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources, which passed it
out of committee to the full House
in September.
A companion bill also was in-
troduced in the Senate in March
by Merkley and heard by the
Committee on Indian Affairs in
July.
The Committee on Indian Af-
fairs 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 Con-
gress. n
Kotek issues Native American
Heritage proclamation
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek issued a proclamation in honor of Native
American Heritage Month in November.
The proclamation reads: <The state of Oregon recognizes the
rich and diverse heritage of Native American communities who
have called this land home since time immemorial; and Oregon is
home to many Native peoples including the members of Oregon9s
nine federally recognized Tribes: Burns Paiute Tribe, Confederat-
ed Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Coquille
Indian Tribe, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians,
Confederated Tribes of (the) Grand Ronde Community, Klamath
Tribes, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs; and Oregon9s nine federally recognized Tribes are
sovereign nations whose inherent rights are not only grounded in
legal obligation, but represent a moral imperative that requires
acknowledging the rights of Native American Tribes to self-govern
and make independent decisions about the lands, laws, resources
and cultural preservation; and Oregon reaforms our commitment
to support Tribal sovereignty and promote respect for the people
who orst called our great state home.=
The proclamation was signed and dated on Tuesday, Nov. 7. n