Tribal Council adds another 25 names to Restoration Roll

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

The Grand Ronde Tribe’s effort to ensure that all Tribal members who should have been on the Restoration Roll are eventually placed on the historically important list continued as Tribal Council approved adding 25 more names to it during the Wednesday, Oct. 28, meeting.

The addition of 25 more names brings the total for this year to 103 additions to the Restoration Roll. In 2019, Tribal Council added 204 Tribal members to the roll.

The Restoration Roll was the first roll compiled of Grand Ronde Tribal members after Nov. 22, 1983. However, because the membership had become so dispersed during the 29 years after 1954’s Termination, all those who should have been included could not be identified at the time or were unaware that they should have had their names on the roll.

The current process, which requires Tribal members apply for addition to the Restoration Roll, allows a Tribal member who was living on Aug. 13, 1954 – date of congressional approval of the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act -- and born to a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to be added.

In November 2018, Tribal Council approved a resolution that established criteria for consistently applying the phrase “entitled to be on the membership roll of the Tribe on Aug. 13, 1954” as meaning that the person was entitled to be on the roll if that person was alive on that date and born to a Tribal member.

The 25 names now move forward to the Department of the Interior for approval.

Tribal Council also approved the agenda for the virtual Sunday, Nov. 1, General Council meeting. Finance Officer Chris Leno will present the draft 2021 Tribal budget in executive session over the Zoom teleconferencing application.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved re-applying for a $1.36 million grant that will help fund the Tribe’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs by paying for operations and staff training and technical assistance. Tribal Early Education Program Manager Angie Blackwell said during the Tuesday, Oct. 27, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the annual funding should remain the same or increase during the five-year life of the grant;
• Re-appointed Oregon legislators Arnie Roblan and Karin Power to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees with terms expiring in September 2022;
• Approved a perpetual 10-foot-wide easement at the Tribe’s Blue Heron property in Oregon City to Portland General Electric so that the company can supply power to the administration/office building. Tribal Council also approved applying for an $800,000 Brownfield Multipurpose grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that would fund environmental site assessment and cleanup at the property;
• Sent Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance amendments out for a first reading, which will allow Tribal members 30 days to comment on the proposals. The amendments restrict a commissioner’s access to records if the commissioner also bids on a project, grants limited administrative supervision of the TERO director to the Tribal Council chief of staff and/or general manager, and requires that TERO workers on construction projects be allowed to work the same hours as non-TERO workers;
• Approved applying for a $4,558 CARES Act grant through the State Library of Oregon that would help fund purchase of computer equipment;
• Re-appointed Tribal member April Campbell and appointed Tribal member Lisa Watson to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors with terms expiring in September 2023;
• Approved acquisition of property on Main Street in Oregon City. No additional information regarding the property purchase was provided during the meeting or in the Tribal Council packet. Tribal Council discussed the purchase with Tribal Lands Manager Jan Reibach in executive session during the Tuesday, Oct. 27, Legislative Action Committee hearing;
• Approved a contract with Perlo Construction of Tualatin to perform improvements to the Tribe’s new property in Portland that will become a medication-assisted treatment center to help people battling opioid addiction. The Tribe purchased the 20,000-square-foot lot on Southeast 82^nd Avenue in July. Perlo is also charged with improvements to the Tribe’s planned clinic in Salem;
• And approved the enrollment of two infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on Government and then Videos.