Government shutdown not affecting Grand Ronde yet

The federal government shutdown that began on Dec. 22 has had a negative effect on Native American Tribes across the country.

Navajo Nation members have been trapped in their homes because of unplowed roads while police officers for the Bois Forte Reservation in Minnesota have worked without pay.

Similar scenarios are playing out across Indian County.

But the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is not feeling the pinch due to having other income sources. Federal money only accounts for 17 percent of the overall Tribal budget.

“So far there has been no effect on Grand Ronde,” General Manager David Fullerton said. “We’re in good shape and drawn down a majority of our (federal) funds already. We don’t have any major issues with the government shutdown. … We’re in good shape with this shutdown moving forward.”

Federal funding is used for Bureau of Indian Affairs contracts, Indian Health Service and Head Start programs, Finance Officer Chris Leno said. He said that many of the programs with federal funding also have Tribal funding to supplement operations, so if the federal money is delayed, Tribal dollars can be used first.

Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez noted that the Grand Ronde Tribe runs its budget on a calendar year, which begins Jan. 1, while the federal government uses the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

“We won’t see any immediate impacts,” she said. “We are monitoring it closely and unless it goes on for more than a few weeks (longer), we won’t need to worry about anything.”

“The Tribe is able to fund many of our services,” said Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy during the Sunday, Jan. 6, General Council meeting.

Nationwide, the Bureau of Indian Affairs currently has 2,455 furloughed employees, approximately one-third of its labor force.

Additionally, 54 percent of funding for the Indian Health Service, which offers health care to more than 2 million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives, and is normally distributed through Tribal governments, has been halted during the shutdown.      

Although Grand Ronde has yet to feel the effects, what could become an issue if the shutdown continues is the date of the Tribe’s constitutional amendment election. The election is currently scheduled for Feb. 25, when the membership will vote on whether nonTribal siblings who have brothers and sisters enrolled in the Tribe and have the same parents, and who meet the membership requirements under the Tribal Constitution before Sept. 14, 1999, should be allowed to enroll to resolve the split-sibling issue affecting some Tribal families.

If non-essential federal employees remain on furlough for an extended period of time, then the BIA-run election would have to be moved to a different date.

Regional effects

Even eastern Oregon Tribes such as the Umatilla, which was never terminated and has more of a traditional trust relationship with the U.S. government, only receive 23 percent of its funding from the federal government.

This means despite the fact that regional BIA offices have been shuttered since Dec. 21, Tribal operations are continuing to run smoothly.

“We do retroactive budgeting only with monies accounted for in the previous year,” Communications Director Chuck Sams said. “We will be fine for up to 90 days until we need to look at using other funds.”

During the last economic downtown, when national unemployment rates peaked at 10 percent in October 2009, Sams said no employees were laid off, in large part due to retroactive budgeting.

“We are very fortunate to be able to do that,” he said.