General Council briefed on Ceded Lands Plan

The land ceded by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in seven treaties signed in the 1850s totals more than 13 million acres.

The ceded lands encompass most of western Oregon, as well as part of southwestern Washington and northern California.

More than 160 years after signing those ratified treaties, the Grand Ronde Tribe continues seeking to maintain a connection to the land that has existed since time immemorial.

"It was part of the plan of Termination to rip us apart. It was part of the plan of Termination to cause a dysfunction within the Tribal communities. It was part of the plan of Termination to disconnect us from our actual aboriginal homelands," Tribal Land and Culture Department Manager Jan Looking Wolf Reibach said.

"Since then, the Tribe has been working very strongly to connect both internally all of our people and connect with our external communities and maintain that connection within our aboriginal homelands and our ceded lands. It's part of our circle of culture."

In 2007, the Tribe created the Ceded Lands Program, which in March 2013 became part of the new Land & Culture Department. For almost a year, Ceded Lands Manager Michael Karnosh has been working with his departmental colleagues, as well as employees in other Tribal departments, such as Legal and Public Affairs, to craft a Ceded Lands Plan for the Tribe.

At the Jan. 5 General Council meeting, Karnosh, Reibach and Tribal Planner Rick George gave the membership a brief overview of the plan and sought additional input from Tribal members.

In 2013, the Tribe re-acquired two conservation properties worth almost $4 million in its ceded lands - Rattlesnake Butte near Junction City north of Eugene and the Chahalpam site on the North Santiam River southeast of Salem. The Tribe used Bonneville Power Administration funds to purchase the properties. BPA funds also will pay for the Tribe's continued conservation work at the sites.

"The vision of the Ceded Lands Plan is to build on these successes and create ways for the Tribe to protect and recover its ceded lands," Reibach said.

The Ceded Lands Plan will be released in three versions: an executive summary for the general public, a consultation document that is still "public safe" that can be distributed to other agencies and a full plan more than 200 pages long that will contain sensitive cultural information that is for internal use only.

Karnosh said staff members are still seeking input on the Ceded Lands Plan, which gives people a basic understanding of what "ceded lands" are to the Tribe and how Tribal ancestors were forced off their lands under duress.

"It goes treaty by treaty," Karnosh said, with maps detailing each area.

George said the Ceded Lands Plan is a direct result of the 2010 Tribal Strategic Plan, which seeks to "assert Grand Ronde rights in its ceded lands and educate the public about these lands."

By creating the document, George said, the Tribe can improve its relationships with city, county and state governments "to build awareness of the treaty Tribe status and work together." It also will result in improved exercise of Tribal sovereignty, he said.

"There's a huge opportunity to educate, to articulate the interests and culture of the Tribe, and to build partnerships with cities, ranch owners, small town leadership, federal agencies, the Governor's Office to talk about how to bring them into helping you protect your interests in the ceded lands," George said.

Karnosh said Tribal members had until Jan. 10 to provide input on the draft by either filling out a comment form at the General Council meeting or sending a comment via e-mail to CededLandsComments@grandronde.org. Commentators needed to include their name, roll number and a way to contact them.

Reibach thanked Tribal Council, the General Manager's Office, Land and Culture employees, the Tribal Attorney's Office, George, the Public Affairs and Natural Resources departments, as well as Tribal members and Elders for their help in crafting the Ceded Lands Plan.

"Even though it is away from our local community and reservation, we're maintaining our connection because they are our lands," Reibach said.

In other action during the General Council meeting, Linda Brandon, Richard Ray, Louise Coulson and Leonette Galligher were elected to four open seats on the Elders Committee.

Tribal Elders Dorothy Leno and Linda LaChance and Eric Bernando won the $50 door prizes and Tonya Gleason-Shepek won the $100 door prize.

The general membership in attendance also voted overwhelmingly to adopt a five-minute time limit for speakers at General Council meetings.

Tribal Council member Jon A. George, Bernando and Reibach provided the cultural drumming and singing at the start of the meeting.

The next General Council meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in the Tribal Community Center.