Tribal Council approves lineal descent constitutional amendment election request

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved sending a constitutional amendment election request to let Tribal voters decide the future of enrollment qualifications during its Wednesday, Aug. 21, meeting.

The approved resolution requests the Bureau of Indian Affairs conduct a constitutional amendment election, which will be sent to the BIA on Monday, Sept. 9, as not to overlap with the Tribal Council election on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The constitutional amendment election will be held sometime in the fall or winter if no changes are made to the drafted language. The election requires advance voter registration and packets will be sent to all eligible voters.

If approved by Tribal voters, the amendment will change enrollment from a 1/16 blood quantum requirement to requiring the applicant possess Grand Ronde Indian blood and be a descendant of a Grand Ronde parent or grandparent, provided that the ancestor was not enrolled in error. Additionally, the 1999 enrollment amendment requirements will be removed, including the requirements to be born to a Tribal member and have a parent enrolled at the time of application.

Additionally, an annual limit of 150 people will be accepted per year. This can be raised to 200 if Tribal Council adopts a resolution to do so. The limit will not apply to minors under 6 months old or those who are the subject of pending juvenile dependency hearings.

Tribal Council member Kathleen George said during a Tuesday, Aug. 20, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the solution to the ongoing enrollment issues is a constitutional amendment.

“Tribal members can decide how they want our Tribal government to move forward and how they want us to enroll new Tribal members,” she said. “I’m encouraging everyone to participate in the constitutional amendment election…and leave it in the hands of Tribal members to decide if we should continue the way we’re doing it today or if we should change that and have a brighter future for more families in our Tribe.”

See a related story in the Sept. 1 edition of Smoke Signals for more information.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a per capita payment date of Sept. 13, 2024, for the time period of June 1-Aug. 31;
• Approved an amendment to the Tribe’s professional services agreement with Points Consulting of Moscow, Idaho, for services related to the 2024 housing study and needs assessment;
• Approved a professional services agreement with MIG Inc. for consulting services for the 2024 Tribal campus master plan;
• Approved the fifth amendment to the funding agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior for the purpose of receiving the Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment funding;
• Approved an application to the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care Birth through Five Literacy Grants for up to $200,000;
• Approved an application to the National Park Service History of Equal Rights Grant Program for funding up to $750,000;
• Approved the Tribal Transportation Program funding agreement between the Tribe and the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs;
• Approved a contingency fee agreement with Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry, LLP law firm of Portland for the recovery of contract support costs on third-party revenue;
• Approved a proposed settlement with Altria Group;
• Approved the first supplemental budget appropriation increase of up to $7 million in funding for the Stratus Village housing project in McMinnville;
• And approved enrolling one minor into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment 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 the Videos tab.