Tribal Council amends Marriage Ordinance

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved amendments to the Tribe’s Marriage Ordinance on an emergency basis during its Wednesday, Oct. 12, meeting that drops the requirement that the license be recorded with a county of record or with the state.

Tribal Senior Staff Attorney Holly Partridge said during the Tuesday, Oct. 11, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the Tribe has been unable to file marriage licenses and certificates with either a county recorder or the state.

Partridge said the problem has been occurring since the ordinance was adopted in October 2015, but has not been addressed until now because of a succession of Tribal Court administrators and the issue not rising to a level of importance until now.

Despite the problem, marriage licenses issued by the Tribal Court are presumed valid. Tribal Court has issued 74 marriage licenses since 2016, but not all of the marriages have been held in Tribal Court, said Judicial Operations Supervisor Julie Boekhoff.

By approving the amendments on an emergency basis, they will go into effect while the amendments are sent out for Tribal member comment and then return to Tribal Council for final adoption.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved the purchase of the 7.45-acre Larsen 2 property at 24716 Grand Ronde Road. The property is adjacent to Ed Larsen’s former property northwest of Grand Ronde and Hebo roads that the Tribe bought in June 2020. Tribal Council approved a $555,000 supplemental budget increase in June to acquire the property;
• Approved the enrollment of four infants into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance;
• Adopted the Tribe’s 2023 Indian Housing Plan that will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by Oct. 15. The plan exceeds $10 million and includes possible allocations of $2 million to buy and renovate an apartment complex in the Tribe’s six-county service area for Tribal member use and $40,000 for a homeless needs assessment survey;
• Approved applying for a $1,300 grant from the Oregon Wildlife Foundation to determine the presence of Western pond turtles in 33 previously taken water samples collected near Grand Ronde in the Yamhill River watershed;
• Approved the Grand Ronde Health and Wellness Center applying for a $226,346 Special Diabetes Program for Indians grant from the Indian Health Service and also approved a resolution supporting the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board adding Community Health Aid Program certification board operations. The program is a system of allied health professionals who work with supervising dentists, doctors and mental health professionals to expand access to care and has proven successful in remote parts of Alaska;
• Approved a $350,000 capital contribution to Redmond-based Shasta Administrative Services using the Tribe’s line of credit. For more information, see the separate Shasta story at www.smokesignals.org;
• And approved a five-year, almost $726,000 Tribal Navigator contract with the Oregon Department of Human Services that will fund an employee who will help access state resources for Tribal Elders and Tribal members with disabilities. Tribal member Chris Martin has been hired to fill the position.

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