Myth #1: “We don’t know what Grand Ronde blood is. We should leave it alone until we come up with a standard definition.”
Answer: Grand Ronde blood is what is running through your veins right now.
Myth #2: “We’ll have hundreds, maybe 1000 new members.”
Answer: Tribal Council has established that we will have approximately 298 new members. Two thirds of these people are 1/16th, and their offspring will not be eligible.
Myth #3: “Everyone had a chance to enroll before 1999. It’s not our fault they didn’t.”
Answer: Many of the people whose children and grandchildren are affected enrolled long before 1999.…many before a casino was even mentioned.
Myth #4: “Everyone should have an ancestor on the Restoration Roll anyway.”
Answer: The Restoration Roll was based on the BIA Termination Roll that was incomplete.
Myth #5: “Lots of new members will threaten our benefits.”
Answer: All the endowments are fully funded except Health. There will be a temporary dip in per capita for one year.
Myth #6: “Tribal members decided this issue in 1999.”
Answer: Many people voted on misinformation. Many people regret that they voted for the 1999 amendment. They did not realize that it would affect their own families.
Myth #7: “We’ll be bringing in more people with other Indian blood (roll-jumpers).”
Answer: No new blood can come in. Anyone who applies MUST HAVE A PARENT ON THE ROLL.
Contact Families for Enrollment at: 541/206-3477; grenrollment@gmail.com or go to our
Blog at: http://www.grenrollment.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Letter for the SMOKE SIGNALS
November 2007
Dear Tribal Members,
Enrollment has been and will continue to be a hot topic in not only our Tribe, but all Indian Country. I personally believe that regardless of how the upcoming Constitutional election fares, whether members vote for the changes or for our membership requirements to remain the same, the issue will probably not die out, ever. In our lives I would say it is very likely that we will see other proposed amendments to our Constitution regarding enrollment requirements. What those will be exactly I can’t really say, but I promise you they will come.
Frankly, I am fine with that. Much like immigration issues in our country, developing laws and policies to control population growth is naturally to be expected. You can’t govern a nation when its population is expanding at a rate that is impossible to manage. I think that is what our Tribal Council had in mind back in 1999 when they put forth the Constitutional amendment for the General Membership to vote on.
I don’t think they intended many of the side-effects that have since plagued some of our Tribal families, particularly those with split siblings–one who can enroll and one who cannot. Or people who have plenty of Indian blood but cannot enroll because their parents aren’t on the Restoration roll. Or those 35 children whose parents were sent letters in 2005 informing them of “errors” in their enrollment files, meaning the status they enjoyed as Tribal members would be revoked.
The proposed amendments to our Constitution will fix many of these problems. It may not fix every enrollment problem, realistically some probably can’t be fixed. But it will help heal the damage that has been done to some of our Tribal families. I know this because one of those families is my own.
I am asking you as a fellow Tribal member to please register and vote “yes” on the proposed Constitutional amendments coming up in February. You will be doing something very good, very humane, and very generous. It is the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
Dee Edwards
Dear Tribal Members,
Enrollment has been and will continue to be a hot topic in not only our Tribe, but all Indian Country. I personally believe that regardless of how the upcoming Constitutional election fares, whether members vote for the changes or for our membership requirements to remain the same, the issue will probably not die out, ever. In our lives I would say it is very likely that we will see other proposed amendments to our Constitution regarding enrollment requirements. What those will be exactly I can’t really say, but I promise you they will come.
Frankly, I am fine with that. Much like immigration issues in our country, developing laws and policies to control population growth is naturally to be expected. You can’t govern a nation when its population is expanding at a rate that is impossible to manage. I think that is what our Tribal Council had in mind back in 1999 when they put forth the Constitutional amendment for the General Membership to vote on.
I don’t think they intended many of the side-effects that have since plagued some of our Tribal families, particularly those with split siblings–one who can enroll and one who cannot. Or people who have plenty of Indian blood but cannot enroll because their parents aren’t on the Restoration roll. Or those 35 children whose parents were sent letters in 2005 informing them of “errors” in their enrollment files, meaning the status they enjoyed as Tribal members would be revoked.
The proposed amendments to our Constitution will fix many of these problems. It may not fix every enrollment problem, realistically some probably can’t be fixed. But it will help heal the damage that has been done to some of our Tribal families. I know this because one of those families is my own.
I am asking you as a fellow Tribal member to please register and vote “yes” on the proposed Constitutional amendments coming up in February. You will be doing something very good, very humane, and very generous. It is the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
Dee Edwards
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
UPDATES -- NEW DATES
By now, all tribal members should have received a letter and a post card from Tribal Council setting the new date for the Enrollment Amendment Election.
Election Day is Feb. 8, 2008. Registration packets will be mailed on Dec. 10, 2007.
Members must register by Jan. 11, 2008.
Ballots will be mailed on Jan. 22, 2008.
Information sessions will be held in Grand Ronde, Portland and Eugene.
Marilyn Portwood
Election Day is Feb. 8, 2008. Registration packets will be mailed on Dec. 10, 2007.
Members must register by Jan. 11, 2008.
Ballots will be mailed on Jan. 22, 2008.
Information sessions will be held in Grand Ronde, Portland and Eugene.
Marilyn Portwood
Family Bonds
Dear Families,
On June 23, 2007 my dad, Darrell Adams a Grand Ronde member, died of cancer. One of the most important wishes he wanted for his children was for us to have our heritage. His three children have been denied enrollment because of the flawed enrollment policy. The emphasis for denying our enrollment seems to be put on how the enrollment will affect the multi-million-dollar budget. For our us, the emphasis is placed on our heritage. I visited my dad's grave the other day and by his headstone a hawk feather was placed in the soil. I don't know who placed it there (no one else seems to know where it came from either). However, I believe the feather was placed as a reminder to fight for what my dad wanted so much for his children, their heritage. My dad's spirit is all around us. We can feel it most when we breath in the fresh air and smell the timber that he loved so much. My dad had pride in being a member of the Grand Ronde Tribe and he wanted us to feel the same pride. So for us, the children of a Grand Ronde member, it isn't about money. It is about our heritage and the bond we share so strongly with our dad.
Teri Adams-Wassmuth
On June 23, 2007 my dad, Darrell Adams a Grand Ronde member, died of cancer. One of the most important wishes he wanted for his children was for us to have our heritage. His three children have been denied enrollment because of the flawed enrollment policy. The emphasis for denying our enrollment seems to be put on how the enrollment will affect the multi-million-dollar budget. For our us, the emphasis is placed on our heritage. I visited my dad's grave the other day and by his headstone a hawk feather was placed in the soil. I don't know who placed it there (no one else seems to know where it came from either). However, I believe the feather was placed as a reminder to fight for what my dad wanted so much for his children, their heritage. My dad's spirit is all around us. We can feel it most when we breath in the fresh air and smell the timber that he loved so much. My dad had pride in being a member of the Grand Ronde Tribe and he wanted us to feel the same pride. So for us, the children of a Grand Ronde member, it isn't about money. It is about our heritage and the bond we share so strongly with our dad.
Teri Adams-Wassmuth
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Starting Over...
FYI
The BIA conducted "Grand Ronde Constitutional Election" will be starting all over again - this time with three Amendments. New Voter Packets with new Registration forms will eventually be mailed out by the BIA to all known Grand Ronde General Council Members, once the new election date and timeline is set. The above information and more was obtained during a phone conversation on Thursday afternoon, September 27, 2007, with Ron Kortlever, Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) - Siletz Agency in Siletz, Oregon, concerning the Grand Ronde Constitutional Election.
The interesting thing is that the majority of our General Council Membership does not even know that the BIA conducted "Grand Ronde Constitutional Election" scheduled for October 31, 2007 was discontinued by our Tribal Council through an approved Resolution on September 14, 2007. The recorded message at the special 800 number for questions about that election is still saying the election will be held on October 31, 2007. I think it is "past time" that someone change the recorded message.
As the saying goes - Stay tuned!Leroy Good
The BIA conducted "Grand Ronde Constitutional Election" will be starting all over again - this time with three Amendments. New Voter Packets with new Registration forms will eventually be mailed out by the BIA to all known Grand Ronde General Council Members, once the new election date and timeline is set. The above information and more was obtained during a phone conversation on Thursday afternoon, September 27, 2007, with Ron Kortlever, Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) - Siletz Agency in Siletz, Oregon, concerning the Grand Ronde Constitutional Election.
The interesting thing is that the majority of our General Council Membership does not even know that the BIA conducted "Grand Ronde Constitutional Election" scheduled for October 31, 2007 was discontinued by our Tribal Council through an approved Resolution on September 14, 2007. The recorded message at the special 800 number for questions about that election is still saying the election will be held on October 31, 2007. I think it is "past time" that someone change the recorded message.
As the saying goes - Stay tuned!Leroy Good
Friday, September 21, 2007
SEND IN YOUR REGISTRATION!!!
Grand Ronde members should register to vote on the BIA election immediately!
Be ready to vote in case the timeline of the election stands as it is now. It could be possible that the only thing that changed is the number of amendments from 2 to 3. We do not know yet, but register to vote immediately.
Be ready to vote in case the timeline of the election stands as it is now. It could be possible that the only thing that changed is the number of amendments from 2 to 3. We do not know yet, but register to vote immediately.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Ad Hoc Committee Focal Point Page
..."the Committee came to an understanding early on and decided that our obligation and focus was to find a way to fairly give all Grand Ronde descendants the opportunity to recapture their cultural ties with their ancestors and Tribe and to bring together the split families we've seen as a result of the 1999 enrollment ordinance amendment."
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