Tribal Council makes numerous board and committee appointments

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council made its annual appointments and re-appointments of Tribal members to special event boards and committees during the Wednesday, April 6, meeting.

The myriad appointments and re-appointments included:

• Re-appointed Albert Miller and appointed Steve Bobb Sr. to the Veterans Special Event Board with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Jerry George, Jonathan R. George, Khani Schultz and Mel Holmes to the Timber Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Angey Rideout and Stephanie Craig to the Powwow Special Event Board with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Bernadine Shriver, Darlene Aaron and Faye Smith and appointed Joanna Brisbois and Lise Alexander to the Health Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Appointed Bryan Langley, Andrew Freeman and Jade Unger and re-appointed Harold Lyon and Angey Rideout to the Fish and Wildlife Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Tiny Gibbons and Tracie Meyer to the Enrollment Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Deanna Johnston to the Election Board with a term expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Shelby Maerz and Tammy Cook and appointed Tyla Lagoy to the Education Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Appointed Leah Villa and Lorena Rivera to the Culture Committee with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Marline Groshong and appointed Andrew Freeman to the Ceremonial Hunting Board with terms expiring in March 2024;
• Re-appointed Russell Wilkinson, Perri McDaniel, Tracie Meyer and Simone Auger to the Tribal Employment Rights Office Commission with terms expiring in March 2025;
• And re-appointed Mia Prickett and Angela Sears to the Editorial Board with terms expiring in March 2025.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Sent amendments to the Fish & Wildlife Ordinance, which has not been updated since 2015, out for a first reading. The proposed amendments would reflect updates to the ceremonial hunting and fishing programs, limit the number of transfer tags Tribal members can carry at one time and restrict the use of drones for hunting and fishing, among other amendments. The first reading will give Tribal members 30 days to comment before they return to Tribal Council for final adoption;
• Approved applying to Spirit Mountain Community Fund for a $100,000 Oregon Tribal Grant that would fund design and construction of a salmon pit and gathering area as part of the Tribe’s public health building project, which will be funded by an Indian Community Development Block Grant and American Rescue Plan Act monies;
• Approved accepting a maximum $100,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education to pay partial wages for Tribal staff who will run the new early childhood language nest once the new Language Education Building is constructed;
• Appointed Tribal Council member Michael Cherry to succeed Tribal Council member Kathleen George on the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees. Both Cherry and George are former directors of the Community Fund;
• Approved a service line agreement with Portland General Electric to provide electricity to the new men’s transitional housing site on the west side of Grand Ronde Road;
• Approved an opioid settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson and three drug distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen of Pennsylvania, Cardinal Health of Ohio and McKesson of Texas. On Feb. 1, the companies reached a $590 million settlement with Native American Tribes. All federally recognized Tribes can participate in the settlement even if they did not file lawsuits over opioids;
• And approved the enrollment of two infants into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements outlined in the Tribal Enrollment Ordinance and Constitution.

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