Letters to the Editor -- Oct. 1, 2015

Dear Cheryle Kennedy:

I have to admit I became a little emotional watching your members escort the first Orange Line train over a bridge named by the Grand Ronde. At that moment, the name Tilikum had such a deep meaning.

Your speech was simply beautiful. You spoke from your heart and captured the spirit of the day. I could have happily spent the entire day with your members at the camp listening to the stories, sampling the salmon and watching the dancing. That experience was such a gift to the whole community.

The people of the Grand Ronde made opening day and the entire light rail line special and different from all the other light rail lines. For that, I, our board and our entire region are grateful to you and your members.

Neil McFarlane

TriMet general manager

Dear Tribal members:

This letter is in support of a swimming pool for the Grand Ronde area.

My number one reason for wanting a pool is that having a swimming pool in the area would be highly beneficial to Tribal members with health concerns such as fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, muscular sclerosis, tendonitis, scoliosis, bursitis, arthritis, brain injuries, improved blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, lower blood pressure, etc.

If hydrotherapy was offered, individuals with those and other ailments would benefit from the utilization of the pool. Instead of referring to other areas which offer hydro/physical therapy, doctors could refer to our facility. For the sake of insurance purposes, one would think it would save the Tribe money.

I also believe that a pool would be beneficial for the following reasons:

Socialization of our youth. I cannot say how many times within this past summer I have heard parents, grandparents, neighbors and friends, etc., talk about their kids (or others) sitting in front of the TV or playing videos instead of getting outside and doing something active. Believe it or not, kids like to swim!

Points to consider:

1.    There are 1,021 Tribal members residing in the Grand Ronde, Willamina and Sheridan area.
2.    Open it up to the surrounding community. I’m sure many folks would rather not drive for an hour or so for therapy or leisure.
3.    The nearest towns to offer a swimming pool are McMinnville (26 miles) and Dallas (23 miles). For folks who live in the Grand Ronde/Willamina areas, it takes an average of half an hour to drive to these towns and half an hour drive home. Sheridan, not so much as they are closer but that doesn’t mean the drive is any easier for them at certain points of the day. My point is, it takes an hour or so of travel to use the swimming pools in those areas.

For argument sake let’s use this scenario: Say a parent works and lives in Grand Ronde and their child takes (or wants to have swimming lessons) or is (or wants to be) on a swim team. This parent gets off work at 5 p.m., goes home, collects child (now it’s close to 5:30) and drives to Dallas/McMinnville (now 6 or so), child attends swim team/lesson, showers off (7:15), parent and child arrive home (7:45 or so). For the child, they have yet to sit down to dinner or get homework completed; for the parent … well you get my point.

Location is everything: Many Tribal members live in areas where they have a pool at their disposal should they care to utilize it. If doctors send them for hydro/physical/occupational therapy, it’s a piece of cake for them as they live in areas that have a pool and licensed therapists.

Tribal members who live in rural areas are not so fortunate. In our area, if one is an Elder there is a big chance they don’t drive or if they do it’s very little. If a Tribal member does not own reliable transportation or does not own a vehicle, their ability to get to town is considerably diminished.

Population: Whether people like it or not, Grand Ronde is growing in population. It’s time to start thinking about the infrastructure (not only businesses, but recreational activities also) and what it has to offer people who want to reside in this town.

Youth activities: Regarding activities for youth, we have Tribal programs that offer activities throughout the year, but they’re not every weekend, weekday or even monthly nor are they physical activities. And it’s only certain ages that can attend most of these activities.

Let’s face it, Grand Ronde has a lot of kids (not counting community children, we have 187 Tribal member youth who live in Grand Ronde) and we need to realize we have got to start offering them physical activities just like other towns/cities offer.

Grand Ronde is the home of our Tribe, so I ask as others have before me, when is our Tribe going to start investing in it by building more businesses and physical recreational activities for the membership? With that being said, why not start with a pool?

Respectfully,

Tammy C. Garrison

Roll #1669

Dear Tribal members:

I am writing in response to Angie Blackwell's letter in the Sept. 15, 2015, issue of Smoke Signals.

Angie Blackwell is correct that I do not live in the Grand Ronde, Ore., area. However, Angie is not correct in thinking that I do not have a way of knowing what Tribal issues the Tribal members in Grand Ronde are talking about. There are various means of communication that are available if a person wants to utilize them and that is what I have done over the years to try and stay in touch with what is going on in the Tribe.

Angie Blackwell is correct that enrollment is one of the Tribal issues that I have strong feelings about. I have stated on various occasions that I believe if a person is found not to meet the constitutional membership requirements at the time they were enrolled they should be disenrolled as is set forth in the Tribe's Constitution. I would think most Tribal members feel the same way.

I am a LaChance descendant and therefore probably related to over half of our Tribal membership. There is also a strong possibility that I am a descendant of Frank Norwest, who I think is one of Angie Blackwell's ancestors. If that is the case, I would be related by blood to Angie Blackwell and even more of our Tribal membership. Regardless of all of that, I consider my family to be my late mother, my three sisters and their children and my four children. All the members of my family have been enrolled for many years.

For those who do not know, a few years ago the Tribal Council approved a change to the Enrollment Ordinance that will allow a person to be added to the Restoration Roll based on certain criteria. Something like that could help quite a few Tribal members who do not have an ancestor on the Restoration Roll. A person would have to contact the Member Services Department to find out more about that.

In regards to what was revealed at the July 29, 2015, Tribal Council meeting, two days after that meeting I requested and received a copy of the handouts that were given out at the beginning of the meeting. In the handouts was a copy of an authorization to proceed that was signed by six members of the Tribal Council who were Jack Giffen Jr., Toby McClary, Jon A. George, Tonya Gleason, Cheryle A. Kennedy and Ed Pearsall. In looking at the ATP, I do not see where “several items are bundled together” as Angie Blackwell wrote. Instead I see the words, “Remove the requirement that an applicant for membership have a parent who is or was a member of the Tribe at the time of the applicant's birth and, if living, at the time of application.” I don't see how that wording could be considered to be any kind of a bundle.

In closing, I want to say that I stand by my statement in the Aug. 15, 2015, issue of Smoke Signals that there wasn’t any talk of “gerrymandering” after the disenrollment of 34 children and adults on Dec. 3, 2008. I will also add there wasn't any talk of “gerrymandering” after the disenrollment of various Tribal members during the Tribal Council meeting in August 2013 that lasted for about two days. It is only recently that Angie Blackwell and some others have come up with the term “gerrymandering” for their own political reasons.

Leroy Good

Roll #892