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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2025)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID SALEM, OR PERMIT NO. 178 Spirit Week Jam photos — pg. 7 DECEMBER 1, 2025 Tribal members find satisfaction in legal work Rejoicing at 42 By Nicole Montesano Smoke Signals staff writer T ribal member and Tribal Senior Staff Attorney Brooks Wakeland wasn’t aiming for a career in law; he started out studying to be a forensic psycholo- gist. Tribal member and Tribal Se- nior Staff Attorney Holly Partridge has wanted to be a lawyer for as long as she can remember. Neither of them expected to be able to join the Tribe’s legal offices immediately, but today, they said, they share a nearly ideal job: Rep- resenting their Tribe while doing the work they love. Tribal Honors Attorney Jonathan Tasa completes the trio of Grand Ronde Tribal members working in the Tribe’s legal department but declined an offer to participate in the article. Partridge said she initially thought she wanted to be a crim- inal defense attorney but revised that idea after interning with the district attorney’s office in Georgia as a student. “I changed my mind quick,” she said. “It was not for me.” Partridge grew up in Astoria, with little connection to the Tribe, apart from attending powwows and other events. After marrying her husband, Kelsey, in 1999, she put off going to college for several years while raising their three youngest children. In 2005, Partridge finally began chasing her long-standing dream, enrolling at Tacoma Com- munity College. See LEGAL continued on page 8 Photo by Michelle Alaimo Head woman Tribal member Molly Leno and head man Tribal member Chad Leno participate in the noon grand entry of the Tribe’s 42nd Restoration Celebration Powwow at Spirit Mountain Casino’s Event Center Saturday, Nov. 22. See story and more photos on pages 10-11. Discount Tire, Marriott coming to Chemawa Station By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals editor T Photo by Michelle Alaimo A 92-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott hotel is currently under construction at Chemawa Station in Keizer. The hotel is expected to open in mid-2026. The Tribe co-owns the 14- acre Chemawa Station with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. wo new tenants are coming to the Tribe’s co-owned Chemawa Station development in Keizer: Discount Tire and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. The four-story, 92-room hotel is currently under construction and is being developed by Damon Kluck and Scott Knox. The two are real estate developers from Bend. Both the hotel and the tire store will be on the south- ern end of the property. The northern end is currently leased to Chick-fil-A and 7-Eleven. The Tribe co-owns the 14-acre Chemawa Station with the Siletz Tribe. The develop- ment is located between Chemawa Road Northeast and the Keizer water tower. The hotel is expected to open in mid-2026 and the tire store potentially by late 2026. The new leases were discussed during a recent Legislative Action Committee meeting. “We’re moving forward to the next phase of leasing out our properties and are really excited about that,” Tribal Council mem- ber and Chemawa Station Board member Lisa Leno said. “We also have some really exciting potential leases that we can’t share now but hopefully within the next month.” Chemawa Station Co-Executive Officer and Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia See CHEMAWA STATION continued on page 5
