Tribal Council approves establishment of Elder Board, bylaws

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved the establishment of an Elder Board and its bylaws at its Wednesday, April 16, meeting.

Tribal Council member Denise Harvey cast a “no” vote.

The board will replace the Elders Committee, which has been on pause since mid-December 2024 so that council and staff could develop ordinance amendments and revised bylaws and policies.

The pause was instituted after some Tribal Elders and staff reported concerns with the committee, and Tribal Council determined a break was needed for it and the committee to review policies.

“It’s the same makeup as the board before,” Tribal Senior Staff Attorney Daneen Aubertin Keller said at a Tuesday, April 15, Legislative Action Committee meeting. “The difference is that the board will be appointed by Tribal Council and it won’t have a provision for election and nominations. That’s the primary change.”

Tribal Council member Lisa Leno added that some council members and Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez had a very “robust” meeting with the prior Elder Committee regarding the changes.

“We spent three hours going through this and they provided a lot of comments,” she said. “Those have all been included in this draft so I appreciate them looking through it and giving their feedback and thoughts.”

Additionally, council approved a resolution amending the General Committee and Special Event Board Ordinance on an emergency basis to rename it the Tribal Committee and Board Ordinance, define “Elder” and provide provisions related to an Elder Board, update meetings and compensation, update the code of conduct and add provision for Tribal Council liaisons.

Harvey also cast a dissenting vote on that resolution.

Also relating to boards and committees, Tribal Council approved several appointments and reappointments.

These included: Reappointing Guy Schultz and Jade Unger to the Ceremonial Hunting Board with terms ending March 31, 2027; appointing Molly Leno and Sam Riding In with terms ending March 31, 2027, appointing Kaylene Barry with a term ending March 31, 2026, and reappointing Pamala Warren-Chase with a term ending on March 31, 2027, to the Culture Committee; appointing Shannon Simi with a term ending March 31, 2027, and reappointing Daniel Stroebel and Tammy Shaw with terms ending March 31, 2027, to the Election Board; appointing Kelly Nelson with a term ending March 31, 2027, and reappointing Debi Anderson, Donna Johnson and Jackie Manyhides with terms ending March 31, 2027, to the Enrollment Committee; reappointing Shannon Simi, Dana Ainam, Anthony Quenelle and Chad Leno to the Powwow Special Events Board with terms ending March 31, 2027; reappointing Russell Wilkinson with a term ending March 31st, 2028, and appointing Lori Sterling with a term ending March 31, 2027, to the TERO Commission; reappointing Richard VanAtta, Lisa Schmid, Levi Liebelt and Jesse Robertson Jr. with terms ending March 31, 2027, and appointing Ramona Quenelle with a term ending March 31, 2027, to the Veterans Special Event Board; reappointing Reyn Leno and Wesley Shaw with terms ending March 31, 2027, and appointing Fabian Quenelle with a term ending March 31, 2027, to the Fish & Wildlife Committee; appointing Valeria Atanacio, Peter Grout, Tyla LaGoy, Tiffany Keppinger and Chris Mansayon to the Education Committee with terms ending March 31, 2027; and reappointing Alan Ham and Charlene Westley to the Health Committee with terms ending March 31, 2027.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a contract with Cascadia Consulting Group Inc. for up to $100,000 for completion of a Climate Adaptation Plan;
• Approved the donations of two manufactured homes in Grand Meadows;
• Approved a grant application to U.S Department of Energy for the Tribal Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program for funding up to $843,310;
• Approved an early work amendment to the contract documents with Perlo Construction of Tualatin for modernization of the second floor of Great Circle Recovery in Salem;
• And approved the enrollment of three infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

In other news, the agenda was set for the Sunday, May 4, General Council meeting. The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. via Zoom and in Tribal Council Chambers, and the program report will be the Grand Ronde Food Bank, iskam mǝkʰmǝk-haws.

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