RE: CTGR Dis-Enrollment: RED ALERT!!!! Jade Unger 11:58 PM (56 minutes ago) from: Jade Unger to: Tina Lara , marvinflagg@yahoo , fisher.tammy@gmail , chad.leno@yahoo , tthacker@spiritone , dustinandsarahross@yahoo , [email protected] , Perri McDaniels , deliasanchez2@yahoo , Alexis Contreras , Bee Foster , [email protected] , winksoderberg@gmail , joe.martineau@yahoo , alice@oregon , jmmpdx@gmail , Greg Archuleta , [email protected] , darlingla@msn , nocali@rocketmail , shaupt44@aol , gabbymotheral@live , grayson.96@gmail , daradumbo@yahoo , nativ_mex@yahoo , jacinthastan@yahoo , chrischinuk@yahoo , kimmie_k7@yahoo , marebear32@gmail , [email protected] , mirindaunger@gmail , Carmella (mella86_rojas@hotmail , xxslimkimxx@gmail , deanndickinson@ymail , Pearl Rife , Leslie Riggs , Barbara Gibbons , Khani Schultz , Tiffany Mercier , Amber Mercier , Kathy Cole , Kalene Contreras , Stacey RunningBird , Amber Amouak , Dana Leno , Bobby Mercier , Shannon Stanton , Lisa Leno , Nicole Estrada , Matthew Mosley , Travis Stewart , Tresa Mercier , Kristi Petite , Brian Krehbiel , Ali Holsclaw , prattlea@gmail , Kathleen George , Luhui Whitebear , April Campbell , Annette Ingram ( , Carol Haskins ( , Colleen Payne ( , Kenny Foster ( , Jon George , Leo Llanenza ( , Dianne Smith , Mario Martinez ( , jenny sanchez ( , Debby LARSEN ( , Tracy Moreland ( , Monty Herron ( , Greg Archuleta , Greg Leno , Bonnie Mercier , Bryan Langley , Carmen Mercier , Cheryle Kennedy , Chris Mercier , Connie Holmes , Crystal Szczepanski , Daniel Ham , Dave Fullerton , Don Altringer , Donna Hills , Halona Butler , Janel Lara , John Harp , Joshua Clift , Juanita Whitebear , Kelly Herber , kyoni_8721@hotmail , kyonikoakaij@hotmail , Lenny Logan , Lisa Archuleta , Luhui Whitebear , Matthew Zimbrick , Mechele Dorsey , Michele Volz , Mike Mathena , Misty Thorsgard , Molly Matthews , Noreen Bolton , Reina Nelson , Ron Hudson , Sam Henny , Shannon Simi , Siobhan Taylor , Tauni McCammon , Toni Mercier , Trinity Minahan , Valeria Atanacio , zoeyholsclaw@yahoo , [email protected] , willieg1953@gmail , [email protected] , [email protected] , gwill2196@hotmail , [email protected] , marktexeira@aol , apiaaron@gmail , [email protected] , Debi Anderson , Erin Bernando , Eric Bernando , Michele Anderson , Yarrow Unger , Pam Leidelmeyer , kaneleidelmeyer101@gmail , mia.prickett@gmail , Jennifer Weiss , maxpierre260@yahoo , Ron Anderson , lilinjun2000@yahoo , pwhiteaz@gmail , parungo68@outlook , Marilyn Portwood , NINA , Lee Huffman , [email protected] , Vallerie Alexander , Lise Alexander , ckalexlees.99@gmail , [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected] , Terri Lichtenthaler , [email protected] , jwiley@wileyventures , chadrwiley@gmail , don_wilkinson@msn , [email protected] , conner727@gmail , [email protected] , itaki0000@gmail , Russell Wilkinson , matthewwilkinson@rocketmail , kathielevine22@yahoo , nicomilevine@yahoo , yifangimports@gmail date: Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 11:58 PM subject: RE: CTGR Dis-Enrollment: RED ALERT!!!! mailed-by: hotmail : Important mainly because it was sent directly to you. Everyone, I want to let you all know that the my entire blood line in Grand Ronde, including myself, have received notices that the enrollment committee recommends we be dis-enrolled. To the best of my knowledge, this includes 79 people. There will be more from other families, this we can be sure of. I encourage you to read all of what I have written here. It is very important that all of you understand this, and that you share this information with as many Tribal members as possible. This impacts the Tribe deeply, and for many reasons. You may not have even considered them yet. This may impact up to 20% of the population of our Tribe. Dont assume it wont be you. These dis-enrollment letters are going out, family by family. We have learned this because my family is up first. There is a strong indication it is done this way to keep things quite, and to keep the general membership from becoming alarmed. Those that hold these statistics refuse to divulge the full extent of how may members will be effected. They keep telling everyone not to worry, and that it will be OK. Once the ball gets rolling, there will be less and less of us to stand up and speak out against it. I believe we can and must stop it. It will take everyones involvement. Please read on, and take time to consider getting involved with this in as big a way as you possibly can. To read my e-mail and the article I reference below should take about a half an hour. I know we are all busy, but please take this time and really consider the issue. Not for me, or even for the other 78 members of my family who have received these wrongful letters, but for all of us, OUR Tribe. I believe that if the membership does nothing to stop this, it will proceed unchecked and many more will be dis-enrolled. This is no joke. BE HEARD: Contact the Enrollment Office. Call and write Tribal Council. Go to the council meetings. The next one is Wednesday, October 23rd. After that there is one Saturday, November 3rd. Spread the word to as many Tribal Members as you can. Show up and support the (Wahlalla) Cascade Band of Chinook and those that have, and are yet to receive letters of their pending banishment. Please! You may know that some have already been dis-enrolled for dual enrollment. Some cases happened twenty and thirty years ago for only several days. In some of those cases the people had dis-enrolled from another Tribe, and then immediately enrolled with CTGR. Because CTGR was so eager to gain membership, and the other Tribe may have taken a few days longer to make the dis-enrollment official; it was found that the enrollment committee and Tribal Council of today had grounds to kick these people out of our Tribe. They did so, and have already removed people from the roles for this reason. Through the first round of dis-enrollments, our Council has already shown that they are willing to take the unreasonable path. They could have easily been reasonable about a few day overlap in paperwork, decades ago. A majority chose to kick people out any way, on a technicality. The shame of this is already a terrible and woeful thing to bare, and has already hurt people very deeply. Now I bring you to the next wave of dis-enrollment. A short description of my familys situation: My familys specific case includes 79 people. One of them is in her 90s and is one of the few eldest people enrolled in CTGR. We all are descendants of Chief Tumulth (the name has different spellings depending on the source). The enrollment committee does not dispute this, nor our blood quantum. Cheif Tumulth was one of the signers of the Treaty of 1855 called TREATY OF THE KALAPUYA, ETC., 1855 and is also referenced as The Treaty of the Willamette. Tumulth was the Chief of the Wahlalla Band of Tumwater Indians, also called the Cascade Band of Chinook Indians. This is as described in our own Grand Ronde publications titled The Ceded Lands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and The Traditional Peoples of the Lower Columbia River. These publications are used by, among others, the Grand Ronde Public Affairs department at every opportunity to reaffirm the Tribes Ceded Lands and our claim to territory at the Columbia Gorge. There are plenty of other publications, studies, books, interviews and films describing why this specific band of Indians, and the land that they ceded to the US Government, are so important to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The Tribal Council, the attorney Rob Green, countless publications and claims by the Tribes representation all over Indian Country are out there saying this to the world with a loud voice, every chance they get. It is the main reason the PR campaign was waged to stop the Warm Springs casino project that was proposed in the Gorge several years back (which I personally found to be a misuse of Tribal funds). The Treaty my ancestor signed is the reason our Tribe was even able to stand up and say no to the proposed project. The Tribe is actively seeking a place at the table for the Columbia River Gorge Commission, created by the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act (1986). Our Tribal leaders are directing resources to that goal in an ongoing campaign. The claim the Tribe is making, and seeking action by Congress for, is that CTGR should be part of the Commission because of the Treaty and the descendants. They proclaim we have people from the area who are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which is my family. Our Tribe should be given a seat at the Gorge Commission and we should be making claims of territory and rights along the Columbia Gorge. Do you think the people we are lobbying will honor the claims of territory in the region, when they know the descendants have been banished? What do you suppose Warm Springs and other Tribes will think of this hypocrisy? Cascade Chinook (Wahlalla) were a key group of Indians along the Columbia River. Chief Tumulth was unjustly hanged by Phil Sheridan. This is a well documented part of history. He never made it to the reservation to be on the original role because he was murdered at the river. Even so, the previous enrollment committees, Tribal Councils reviews, and approval processes have all recognized us as legitimate descendants who are rightfully a part of the CTGR Community of Oregon. They say that CTGR has a claim to the Columbia Gorge, without question, because of the treaty that my ancestor signed and which ceded those lands. The treaty was one of those which created the Grand Ronde Tribe. Of course that was along with the other 5 treaties of that time from 1853 to 1855. Under the old enrollment ordinances you could count all of your Indian blood, and the committee had the authority to determine which levels of documentation and proof of ancestry were acceptable for enrollment. Previous enrollment committees and Tribal Councils determined 79 times (more actually) that our family does belong as members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and that we are descendants. They found so many times that the Treaty I mentioned before, and our family tree, were qualification enough to include us. When the Constitution was amended in 1999 it stopped this recognition of Grand Ronde blood, and made it much more difficult if not impossible for some people with Grand Ronde blood to enroll. The amendment split families, and has even caused some of our young ones to be dis-enrolled in the past years. My family make up one of the 27 Bands and Tribes of Indians that are the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. If we are dis-enrolled, then there are only 26. How can it be just to remove an entire band from our roles? It is not! Present Day: Now the Committee and the Council claim they have the right to go back and correct yesterdays enrollments with an outside auditing firm and re-interpret our enrollment eligibility. If they are re-interpreting my enrollment this way, what do you think theyll do to other members enrollment files? Will they all be amended to exclude any blood that was not from the original or restoration roles. You used to be able to count all Indian blood, are they going to go back and re-interpret that too? They say that this is legal because the firm is contracted with the Tribe and that makes them agents of the Tribe. They also say that because Tribal Council authorized this, it is OK. They do it all the time for things like finance, so as long as the Council authorizes it, it is OK. That is what they tell us. We all should be shocked and alarmed and ready to fight this, based on this information alone. The Tribal Council and the Enrollment Office and Committee have gone too far and taken too many liberties with our enrollment papers, the rules and ordinances they are supposed to follow, and even the Tribes Constitution. To even question someones enrollment should be considered a very serious offense which simply does not happen. In fact, in most other Tribes, it is that way. Those Tribes will all look at us in disgust when they learn what is going on. It is not only an affront to our own sovereignty as Indian people, but to theirs. All as we make a big celebration of how we have been restored for 30 years. Let us all stand up and speak out to make sure this does not happen for Grand Ronde, for all of us. The enrollment office is not being helpful as the statutes and ethics ordinances require them to be. They are not allowing us access to documents, and they are not allowing us to have any copies of our own enrollment files. They are helping and providing full file copies to some Tribal Members, while denying others access to the same services and levels of support. They were giving them out upon request, and then we think the Tribal attorneys advised them not to provide any more documents because they stopped. The office has also been advised not to answer any questions or provide any information via e-mail (they told us that). They will only talk on the phone to a limited extent. Other than that, we are told you have to go in person. We can only view our records and take notes. It is strange because they have allowed an outside consulting firm to have copies, all they want, so why cant we? We are members, they are not. Now we are told we have to get a subpoena from Tribal Court and spend $80 to start a legal proceeding to be able to have copies of our own files. Other members have been allowed to have full copies of everything in their file with no questions asked. An outside consulting firm from New Mexico has been hired to inspect, review and provide recommendations on our enrollment files. They say that they are not breaking the law by doing this because if a company goes into contract with the Tribe, it makes them agents of the Tribe and therefore that makes it OK for them to access, and assess, our enrollment files. Neither the enrollment ordinance nor the Constitution grant the Tribal Council or the Enrollment Committee these powers to create agents of our own Tribe who are not members. These people have no business looking at our files or determining the ancestral history of our people. No one should be trying to go back and reinterpret the enrollment eligibility requirements of the past, but that is what they are doing. According to the enrollment ordinance, showing enrollment documents to those who are not authorized is an offense that can have people removed from the Enrollment Committee, and from Tribal Council. Heres something you all need to understand: At the 10/09/2013 Tribal Council meeting it was divulged that they are purposefully keeping the total number of affected individuals secret until after it is done. They are doing this because the indication was that they didnt want it to overwhelm the community, and alarm those that may or may not get a dis-enrollment letter. That shows you they want to keep this quiet and not to have a united membership stand up against this injustice. You can watch for yourself. They also dont want you to know the depth of how many letters are going out. We have heard from a good source that it is around 700 for this type of case. Then they will move on to Blood Quantum and on down the list. There are 12 categories and the total number could be 1000 people or more when it is all said and done. That would make it the largest dis-enrollment in history of any Tribe, and set a dangerous precedent. Im sure you can see how the calculation could be made that ratcheting the roll numbers down through a controlled burn will be much better for those that want to remove us. As each family group is decimated and then no longer has a voice in the Tribe, the damage and the complaints will be less visible to those that remain. There will be fewer and fewer people to stand up against the process. There are council members that are against dis-enrollment, but it looks like a majority are for it. Just as they were in favor of removing those who have been dis-enrolled for being dually enrolled. I really believe there is a group who want this to go quietly, and that would dis-enroll as many people as they possibly can. Look at what has happened so far. Look at what is at hand now, as they try to say my family doesnt belong. Please read this article from Indian Country Today: it talks about the Nooksack Tribes ongoing dis-enrollment struggle. There are other Tribes facing this right now too. It is a stark outlook of what will happen to CTGR if this is allowed to take place. The rest of Indian Country and the region will know about it and the entire Tribe will suffer because of it, if it is allowed to happen. Pay attention to the comments at the end of the article. They really speak to a true native sensibility for this issue. No one should be banished unless there is a just cause. This has wide implications beyond those that may be dis-enrolled. Cut and past the link... indiancountrytodaymedianetwork/2013/04/11/nooksack-indian-tribe-disenrollment-fight-148742 Please get involved with this issue: The more I learn and observe about what is going on, the more I believe that this entire process goes against the Tribes constitution and the enrollment ordinance. These are the very fiber of the Tribes being. If you read these two documents there is no where that is says they have the authority to do what they are doing. They are dishonoring our entire Tribe and our way of life. In turn they are dishonoring all Tribes as Sovereign Nations. Everyone in Indian Country will know if this carries forward. If they are going to try and dis-enroll my family, given all of the background and documented history we have, how can you think they are not going to try to get rid of everyone they possibly can? Once they get done with my family, they will move on to the next, and on and on. This whole process appears to be contrived and preplanned. They want to get rid of as many people as they can and walk around talking about how it has to be done, for their children and their grandchildren. What about the rest of the Tribe? Every member should be considered a precious resource who is honored and looked after by those who are elected to do so. This does not have to be done, and they are breaking the rules and the trust that they have been honored with as our Council in order to say that they can do it. These people are trying to steal the Native identity from my entire family. They have already stolen it from others and they will try to do it to many more Tribal members if they are allowed. We can stop this and help those that have already been dis-enrolled. They can and should be re-enrolled, but that can happen only if: Council approves it, if the people who are still fighting it win in court, or if we the people amend the constitution. BE HEARD: Contact the Enrollment Office. Call and write Tribal Council. Go to the council meetings. The next one is Wednesday, October 23rd. After that there is one Saturday, November 3rd. Spread the word to as many Tribal Members as you can. Show up and support the (Wahlalla) Cascade Band of Chinook and those that have, and are yet to receive letters of their pending banishment. Please! I have attempted to keep this message directed towards members of the CTGR only, while getting the word out to as many members as possible. If there is an indication that the committee and the Tribal Council are willing to dis-enroll my family, it will become very public. Nobody wants that, although the motivations vary. I certainly dont want it to happen, but there are plenty more people than myself who will be effected by this if it isnt stopped. I hope we can stop this so that NONE of you will receive such a wicked and hurtful letter saying you dont belong, when clearly you do. Please help us and help the entire Tribe stop this self termination. Lets not have the 30th Anniversary of our Tribes restoration coincide with such a shameful wave of mass banishment. May you all be blessed. All my love and respect, nyka tilixam (my people). Sincerely, Jade Jade Unger #2999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: [email protected] To: marvinflagg@yahoo; fisher.tammy@gmail; chad.leno@yahoo; tthacker@spiritone; dustinandsarahross@yahoo; [email protected]; ctgrwi@hotmail; deliasanchez2@yahoo; lexuscontreras@yahoo; fosterbee_610@yahoo; [email protected]; winksoderberg@gmail; joe.martineau@yahoo; alice@oregon; jadeasour@hotmail; jmmpdx@gmail; gregarchuleta@frontier; [email protected]; darlingla@msn; nocali@rocketmail; shaupt44@aol; gabbymotheral@live; grayson.96@gmail; daradumbo@yahoo; nativ_mex@yahoo; jacinthastan@yahoo; chrischinuk@yahoo; kimmie_k7@yahoo; marebear32@gmail; [email protected]; mirindaunger@gmail; mella86_rojas@hotmail; xxslimkimxx@gmail; deanndickinson@ymail; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; prattlea@gmail; Kathleen.George@thecommunityfund Subject: RE: A few events- shawash-ili?i Kanim Tilixam Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 22:27:36 +0000 Sorry, just wanted to remind you all of this Saturday we will be singing at the Portland yacht club. On October 23 we will be singing for the ICWA conference at the plankhouse. Thanks Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Cristina Lara Date: 09/18/2013 2:57 PM (GMT-08:00) To: marvinflagg@yahoo,fisher.tammy@gmail,chad.leno@yahoo,tthacker@spiritone,dustinandsarahross@yahoo,[email protected],ctgrwi@hotmail,deliasanchez2@yahoo,Alexis Contreras ,fosterbee_610@yahoo,[email protected],winksoderberg@gmail,joe.martineau@yahoo,alice@oregon,jadeasour@hotmail,jmmpdx@gmail,gregarchuleta@frontier,[email protected],darlingla@msn,nocali@rocketmail,shaupt44@aol,gabbymotheral@live,grayson.96@gmail,daradumbo@yahoo,nativ_mex@yahoo,jacinthastan@yahoo,chrischinuk@yahoo,kimmie_k7@yahoo,marebear32@gmail,[email protected],mirindaunger@gmail,Carmella (mella86_rojas@hotmail ,xxslimkimxx@gmail,deanndickinson@ymail,Pearl Rife ,Leslie Riggs ,Barbara Gibbons ,Khani Schultz ,Tiffany Mercier ,Amber Mercier ,Kathy Cole ,Kalene Contreras ,Stacey RunningBird ,Amber Amouak ,Dana Leno ,Bobby Mercier ,Shannon Stanton ,Lisa Leno ,Nicole Estrada ,Matthew Mosley ,Travis Stewart ,Tresa Mercier ,Kristi Petite ,Brian Krehbiel ,Ali Holsclaw ,prattlea@gmail,Kathleen George Subject: A few events- shawash-ili?i Kanim Tilixam Hello everyone! I hope the rest of summer has treated you well. I hope all your kids had a great start back to school as well. On October 12, Saturday, we have been asked to sing and dance for this event. It will be at the Portland Yacht Club. They would like us to sing at 5:20 for about an hour. Please be there at 4:30pm. Dinner will be after we are done. Youth prevention will be taking youth, attached is the permission form. ALSO, On October 23, Children and Family Services is hosting the ICWA Conference. They have asked us to do a full protocol at the plankhouse. There will be dinner at 5:15 then we will start at 6pm. PLEASE, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE IT LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN GIVE THEM A NUMBER SO EVERYONE GETS FED! One more thing, we have been asked to sing on September 27 at 5pm. The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board has asked us to sing and dance at the 8yh Annual Dancing in the Square Pow Wow. Please be there at 4pm. Youth Prevention will be taking youth, attached is the permission form. Hope all is well with you :D Hay Masi, Tina Jade Unger 11:58 PM (56 minutes ago) Everyone, I want to let you all know that the my entire blood line in Grand Ronde, including myself, have received notices that the enrollment committee recommends we be dis-enrolled. To the best of my knowledge, this includes 79 people. There will be more from other families, this we can be sure of. I encourage you to read all of what I have written here. It is very important that all of you understand this, and that you share this information with as many Tribal members as possible. This impacts the Tribe deeply, and for many reasons. You may not have even considered them yet. This may impact up to 20% of the population of our Tribe. Dont assume it wont be you. These dis-enrollment letters are going out, family by family. We have learned this because my family is up first. There is a strong indication it is done this way to keep things quite, and to keep the general membership from becoming alarmed. Those that hold these statistics refuse to divulge the full extent of how may members will be effected. They keep telling everyone not to worry, and that it will be OK. Once the ball gets rolling, there will be less and less of us to stand up and speak out against it. I believe we can and must stop it. It will take everyones involvement. Please read on, and take time to consider getting involved with this in as big a way as you possibly can. To read my e-mail and the article I reference below should take about a half an hour. I know we are all busy, but please take this time and really consider the issue. Not for me, or even for the other 78 members of my family who have received these wrongful letters, but for all of us, OUR Tribe. I believe that if the membership does nothing to stop this, it will proceed unchecked and many more will be dis-enrolled. This is no joke. BE HEARD: Contact the Enrollment Office. Call and write Tribal Council. Go to the council meetings. The next one is Wednesday, October 23rd. After that there is one Saturday, November 3rd. Spread the word to as many Tribal Members as you can. Show up and support the (Wahlalla) Cascade Band of Chinook and those that have, and are yet to receive letters of their pending banishment. Please! You may know that some have already been dis-enrolled for dual enrollment. Some cases happened twenty and thirty years ago for only several days. In some of those cases the people had dis-enrolled from another Tribe, and then immediately enrolled with CTGR. Because CTGR was so eager to gain membership, and the other Tribe may have taken a few days longer to make the dis-enrollment official; it was found that the enrollment committee and Tribal Council of today had grounds to kick these people out of our Tribe. They did so, and have already removed people from the roles for this reason. Through the first round of dis-enrollments, our Council has already shown that they are willing to take the unreasonable path. They could have easily been reasonable about a few day overlap in paperwork, decades ago. A majority chose to kick people out any way, on a technicality. The shame of this is already a terrible and woeful thing to bare, and has already hurt people very deeply. Now I bring you to the next wave of dis-enrollment. A short description of my familys situation: My familys specific case includes 79 people. One of them is in her 90s and is one of the few eldest people enrolled in CTGR. We all are descendants of Chief Tumulth (the name has different spellings depending on the source). The enrollment committee does not dispute this, nor our blood quantum. Cheif Tumulth was one of the signers of the Treaty of 1855 called TREATY OF THE KALAPUYA, ETC., 1855 and is also referenced as The Treaty of the Willamette. Tumulth was the Chief of the Wahlalla Band of Tumwater Indians, also called the Cascade Band of Chinook Indians. This is as described in our own Grand Ronde publications titled The Ceded Lands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and The Traditional Peoples of the Lower Columbia River. These publications are used by, among others, the Grand Ronde Public Affairs department at every opportunity to reaffirm the Tribes Ceded Lands and our claim to territory at the Columbia Gorge. There are plenty of other publications, studies, books, interviews and films describing why this specific band of Indians, and the land that they ceded to the US Government, are so important to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The Tribal Council, the attorney Rob Green, countless publications and claims by the Tribes representation all over Indian Country are out there saying this to the world with a loud voice, every chance they get. It is the main reason the PR campaign was waged to stop the Warm Springs casino project that was proposed in the Gorge several years back (which I personally found to be a misuse of Tribal funds). The Treaty my ancestor signed is the reason our Tribe was even able to stand up and say no to the proposed project. The Tribe is actively seeking a place at the table for the Columbia River Gorge Commission, created by the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act (1986). Our Tribal leaders are directing resources to that goal in an ongoing campaign. The claim the Tribe is making, and seeking action by Congress for, is that CTGR should be part of the Commission because of the Treaty and the descendants. They proclaim we have people from the area who are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which is my family. Our Tribe should be given a seat at the Gorge Commission and we should be making claims of territory and rights along the Columbia Gorge. Do you think the people we are lobbying will honor the claims of territory in the region, when they know the descendants have been banished? What do you suppose Warm Springs and other Tribes will think of this hypocrisy? Cascade Chinook (Wahlalla) were a key group of Indians along the Columbia River. Chief Tumulth was unjustly hanged by Phil Sheridan. This is a well documented part of history. He never made it to the reservation to be on the original role because he was murdered at the river. Even so, the previous enrollment committees, Tribal Councils reviews, and approval processes have all recognized us as legitimate descendants who are rightfully a part of the CTGR Community of Oregon. They say that CTGR has a claim to the Columbia Gorge, without question, because of the treaty that my ancestor signed and which ceded those lands. The treaty was one of those which created the Grand Ronde Tribe. Of course that was along with the other 5 treaties of that time from 1853 to 1855. Under the old enrollment ordinances you could count all of your Indian blood, and the committee had the authority to determine which levels of documentation and proof of ancestry were acceptable for enrollment. Previous enrollment committees and Tribal Councils determined 79 times (more actually) that our family does belong as members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and that we are descendants. They found so many times that the Treaty I mentioned before, and our family tree, were qualification enough to include us. When the Constitution was amended in 1999 it stopped this recognition of Grand Ronde blood, and made it much more difficult if not impossible for some people with Grand Ronde blood to enroll. The amendment split families, and has even caused some of our young ones to be dis-enrolled in the past years. My family make up one of the 27 Bands and Tribes of Indians that are the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. If we are dis-enrolled, then there are only 26. How can it be just to remove an entire band from our roles? It is not! Present Day: Now the Committee and the Council claim they have the right to go back and correct yesterdays enrollments with an outside auditing firm and re-interpret our enrollment eligibility. If they are re-interpreting my enrollment this way, what do you think theyll do to other members enrollment files? Will they all be amended to exclude any blood that was not from the original or restoration roles. You used to be able to count all Indian blood, are they going to go back and re-interpret that too? They say that this is legal because the firm is contracted with the Tribe and that makes them agents of the Tribe. They also say that because Tribal Council authorized this, it is OK. They do it all the time for things like finance, so as long as the Council authorizes it, it is OK. That is what they tell us. We all should be shocked and alarmed and ready to fight this, based on this information alone. The Tribal Council and the Enrollment Office and Committee have gone too far and taken too many liberties with our enrollment papers, the rules and ordinances they are supposed to follow, and even the Tribes Constitution. To even question someones enrollment should be considered a very serious offense which simply does not happen. In fact, in most other Tribes, it is that way. Those Tribes will all look at us in disgust when they learn what is going on. It is not only an affront to our own sovereignty as Indian people, but to theirs. All as we make a big celebration of how we have been restored for 30 years. Let us all stand up and speak out to make sure this does not happen for Grand Ronde, for all of us. The enrollment office is not being helpful as the statutes and ethics ordinances require them to be. They are not allowing us access to documents, and they are not allowing us to have any copies of our own enrollment files. They are helping and providing full file copies to some Tribal Members, while denying others access to the same services and levels of support. They were giving them out upon request, and then we think the Tribal attorneys advised them not to provide any more documents because they stopped. The office has also been advised not to answer any questions or provide any information via e-mail (they told us that). They will only talk on the phone to a limited extent. Other than that, we are told you have to go in person. We can only view our records and take notes. It is strange because they have allowed an outside consulting firm to have copies, all they want, so why cant we? We are members, they are not. Now we are told we have to get a subpoena from Tribal Court and spend $80 to start a legal proceeding to be able to have copies of our own files. Other members have been allowed to have full copies of everything in their file with no questions asked. An outside consulting firm from New Mexico has been hired to inspect, review and provide recommendations on our enrollment files. They say that they are not breaking the law by doing this because if a company goes into contract with the Tribe, it makes them agents of the Tribe and therefore that makes it OK for them to access, and assess, our enrollment files. Neither the enrollment ordinance nor the Constitution grant the Tribal Council or the Enrollment Committee these powers to create agents of our own Tribe who are not members. These people have no business looking at our files or determining the ancestral history of our people. No one should be trying to go back and reinterpret the enrollment eligibility requirements of the past, but that is what they are doing. According to the enrollment ordinance, showing enrollment documents to those who are not authorized is an offense that can have people removed from the Enrollment Committee, and from Tribal Council. Heres something you all need to understand: At the 10/09/2013 Tribal Council meeting it was divulged that they are purposefully keeping the total number of affected individuals secret until after it is done. They are doing this because the indication was that they didnt want it to overwhelm the community, and alarm those that may or may not get a dis-enrollment letter. That shows you they want to keep this quiet and not to have a united membership stand up against this injustice. You can watch for yourself. They also dont want you to know the depth of how many letters are going out. We have heard from a good source that it is around 700 for this type of case. Then they will move on to Blood Quantum and on down the list. There are 12 categories and the total number could be 1000 people or more when it is all said and done. That would make it the largest dis-enrollment in history of any Tribe, and set a dangerous precedent. Im sure you can see how the calculation could be made that ratcheting the roll numbers down through a controlled burn will be much better for those that want to remove us. As each family group is decimated and then no longer has a voice in the Tribe, the damage and the complaints will be less visible to those that remain. There will be fewer and fewer people to stand up against the process. There are council members that are against dis-enrollment, but it looks like a majority are for it. Just as they were in favor of removing those who have been dis-enrolled for being dually enrolled. I really believe there is a group who want this to go quietly, and that would dis-enroll as many people as they possibly can. Look at what has happened so far. Look at what is at hand now, as they try to say my family doesnt belong. Please read this article from Indian Country Today: it talks about the Nooksack Tribes ongoing dis-enrollment struggle. There are other Tribes facing this right now too. It is a stark outlook of what will happen to CTGR if this is allowed to take place. The rest of Indian Country and the region will know about it and the entire Tribe will suffer because of it, if it is allowed to happen. Pay attention to the comments at the end of the article. They really speak to a true native sensibility for this issue. No one should be banished unless there is a just cause. This has wide implications beyond those that may be dis-enrolled. Cut and past the link... indiancountrytodaymedianetwork/2013/04/11/nooksack-indian-tribe-disenrollment-fight-148742 Please get involved with this issue: The more I learn and observe about what is going on, the more I believe that this entire process goes against the Tribes constitution and the enrollment ordinance. These are the very fiber of the Tribes being. If you read these two documents there is no where that is says they have the authority to do what they are doing. They are dishonoring our entire Tribe and our way of life. In turn they are dishonoring all Tribes as Sovereign Nations. Everyone in Indian Country will know if this carries forward. If they are going to try and dis-enroll my family, given all of the background and documented history we have, how can you think they are not going to try to get rid of everyone they possibly can? Once they get done with my family, they will move on to the next, and on and on. This whole process appears to be contrived and preplanned. They want to get rid of as many people as they can and walk around talking about how it has to be done, for their children and their grandchildren. What about the rest of the Tribe? Every member should be considered a precious resource who is honored and looked after by those who are elected to do so. This does not have to be done, and they are breaking the rules and the trust that they have been honored with as our Council in order to say that they can do it. These people are trying to steal the Native identity from my entire family. They have already stolen it from others and they will try to do it to many more Tribal members if they are allowed. We can stop this and help those that have already been dis-enrolled. They can and should be re-enrolled, but that can happen only if: Council approves it, if the people who are still fighting it win in court, or if we the people amend the constitution. BE HEARD: Contact the Enrollment Office. Call and write Tribal Council. Go to the council meetings. The next one is Wednesday, October 23rd. After that there is one Saturday, November 3rd. Spread the word to as many Tribal Members as you can. Show up and support the (Wahlalla) Cascade Band of Chinook and those that have, and are yet to receive letters of their pending banishment. Please! I have attempted to keep this message directed towards members of the CTGR only, while getting the word out to as many members as possible. If there is an indication that the committee and the Tribal Council are willing to dis-enroll my family, it will become very public. Nobody wants that, although the motivations vary. I certainly dont want it to happen, but there are plenty more people than myself who will be effected by this if it isnt stopped. I hope we can stop this so that NONE of you will receive such a wicked and hurtful letter saying you dont belong, when clearly you do. Please help us and help the entire Tribe stop this self termination. Lets not have the 30th Anniversary of our Tribes restoration coincide with such a shameful wave of mass banishment. May you all be blessed. All my love and respect, nyka tilixam (my people). Sincerely, Jade Jade Unger #2999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: [email protected] To: marvinflagg@yahoo; fisher.tammy@gmail; chad.leno@yahoo; tthacker@spiritone; dustinandsarahross@yahoo; [email protected]; ctgrwi@hotmail; deliasanchez2@yahoo; lexuscontreras@yahoo; fosterbee_610@yahoo; [email protected]; winksoderberg@gmail; joe.martineau@yahoo; alice@oregon; jadeasour@hotmail; jmmpdx@gmail; gregarchuleta@frontier; [email protected]; darlingla@msn; nocali@rocketmail; shaupt44@aol; gabbymotheral@live; grayson.96@gmail; daradumbo@yahoo; nativ_mex@yahoo; jacinthastan@yahoo; chrischinuk@yahoo; kimmie_k7@yahoo; marebear32@gmail; [email protected]; mirindaunger@gmail; mella86_rojas@hotmail; xxslimkimxx@gmail; deanndickinson@ymail; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; prattlea@gmail; Kathleen.George@thecommunityfund Subject: RE: A few events- shawash-ili?i Kanim Tilixam Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2013 22:27:36 +0000 Sorry, just wanted to remind you all of this Saturday we will be singing at the Portland yacht club. On October 23 we will be singing for the ICWA conference at the plankhouse. Thanks Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Cristina Lara Date: 09/18/2013 2:57 PM (GMT-08:00) To: marvinflagg@yahoo,fisher.tammy@gmail,chad.leno@yahoo,tthacker@spiritone,dustinandsarahross@yahoo,[email protected],ctgrwi@hotmail,deliasanchez2@yahoo,Alexis Contreras ,fosterbee_610@yahoo,[email protected],winksoderberg@gmail,joe.martineau@yahoo,alice@oregon,jadeasour@hotmail,jmmpdx@gmail,gregarchuleta@frontier,[email protected],darlingla@msn,nocali@rocketmail,shaupt44@aol,gabbymotheral@live,grayson.96@gmail,daradumbo@yahoo,nativ_mex@yahoo,jacinthastan@yahoo,chrischinuk@yahoo,kimmie_k7@yahoo,marebear32@gmail,[email protected],mirindaunger@gmail,Carmella (mella86_rojas@hotmail ,xxslimkimxx@gmail,deanndickinson@ymail,Pearl Rife ,Leslie Riggs ,Barbara Gibbons ,Khani Schultz ,Tiffany Mercier ,Amber Mercier ,Kathy Cole ,Kalene Contreras ,Stacey RunningBird ,Amber Amouak ,Dana Leno ,Bobby Mercier ,Shannon Stanton ,Lisa Leno ,Nicole Estrada ,Matthew Mosley ,Travis Stewart ,Tresa Mercier ,Kristi Petite ,Brian Krehbiel ,Ali Holsclaw ,prattlea@gmail,Kathleen George Subject: A few events- shawash-ili?i Kanim Tilixam Hello everyone! I hope the rest of summer has treated you well. I hope all your kids had a great start back to school as well. On October 12, Saturday, we have been asked to sing and dance for this event. It will be at the Portland Yacht Club. They would like us to sing at 5:20 for about an hour. Please be there at 4:30pm. Dinner will be after we are done. Youth prevention will be taking youth, attached is the permission form. ALSO, On October 23, Children and Family Services is hosting the ICWA Conference. They have asked us to do a full protocol at the plankhouse. There will be dinner at 5:15 then we will start at 6pm. PLEASE, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE IT LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN GIVE THEM A NUMBER SO EVERYONE GETS FED! One more thing, we have been asked to sing on September 27 at 5pm. The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board has asked us to sing and dance at the 8yh Annual Dancing in the Square Pow Wow. Please be there at 4pm. Youth Prevention will be taking youth, attached is the permission form. Hope all is well with you :D Hay Masi, Tina
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 08:09:50 +0000
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