Facebook Live event features information on upcoming constitutional amendment election

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

The Tribe held a Facebook Live event on Wednesday, Sept. 25, to provide more information to Tribal members about the upcoming lineal descent constitutional amendment election.

Lineal descent will once again be put to a vote on Monday, Dec. 9. The Tribe’s Election Board will be meeting with the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the first week of October. BIA administers the election as per the Tribal Constitution.

Approximately 100 people logged on to the virtual event.

“The process for a constitutional amendment has been going on for quite a while,” Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy said. “I want to thank those who participated in the many meetings for the amendment language. Every time we had a meeting or a survey, that language was refined…it took a lot of time but it was the most important thing we could have undertaken. Being a Tribe is a unique quality…we’re a nation of people, made up of our members.”

The election requires advance voter registration and packets will be sent to all eligible voters after BIA meets with the Election Board. 

If approved, 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.

The Tribe decided to keep the definition of “Indian blood,” as an enrollment requirement after it became aware of a few Tribal members who are enrolled and do not have any Grand Ronde blood. They were adopted by Tribal members and enrolled as biological children, which occurred prior to DNA requirements. This provision will ensure their descendants will not be enrolled.

Kennedy urged everyone to look at the special edition of the Tilixam Wawa, which is dedicated to the upcoming election and was mailed to adult Tribal members in mid-September.

“I urge you to read it thoroughly,” she said. “This is an exciting time and everyone should thoroughly look at the information.”

Since 1999, the membership has voted on eight enrollment- related constitutional amendments.

In August 2019, the Tribe published a special issue of the Tilixam Wawa to provide information to the membership regarding enrollment related issues. Since then, there have been community meetings, Tribal member workshops, surveys, and outside entities have researched and provided a report on the Tribe’s enrollment history.

Following the most recent round of meetings and workshops, the Tribe’s 2023 advisory vote was 65.328% of Tribal members in favor of moving forward with a lineal descent constitutional amendment.

Attending the Facebook Live event were Kennedy, Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier and Tribal Council members Tonya Gleason-Shepek, Brenda Tuomi and Kathleen George, with Tribal Communications Director Sara Thompson fielding questions asked on Facebook.

All attendees were encouraged to visit the Tribe’s website, www.grandronde.org, to learn more about the upcoming election. It includes the amendment language, presentation information, a frequently asked questions section and a survey link.

The Tribe started holding monthly Facebook Live events after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to safely keep Tribal members informed about the Tribe and its activities. They are now held on a more irregular schedule and deal with a variety of issues.