Eight nominated for 2025 Tribal Council elections

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Eight Tribal members were nominated during the 2025 Tribal Council nominations held in the Tribal Governance Center on Sunday, June 29.

Tribal Council incumbents Denise Harvey and Kathleen George; and Tribal members Pamala Warren-Chase, Toby McClary, Peter Grout, Valeria Atanacio, Lisa Archuleta and Pete Wakeland are each seeking one of the three up-for-election seats on Tribal Council.

Warren-Chase, 58, was nominated by Tribal Elder Linda Warren. Warren-Chase is employed as the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Administrative Assistant. She was previously nominated for Tribal Council last year and in the early 2000s. She serves on the Elder Board, Culture Committee and the Tribal Member Review boards.

McClary, 47, was nominated by Tribal Elder Mike Colton. He won a seat on Tribal Council in 2009 and served two consecutive terms. He is employed as the Tribe’s Procurement Department Supervisor.

Grout, 50, was nominated by his daughter, Isabelle Grout. He is employed as a surveillance technician at Spirit Mountain Casino and is the son of former Tribal Council member Val Grout, who walked on in 2018. He was previously nominated for council in 2018 but ultimately withdrew from the race. He also ran for council in 2019 and 2020.

Atanacio, 35, was nominated by her cousin, Alexis Contreras. She currently serves on the Tribe’s Education Committee and previously worked for the Tribe as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator. She is employed as a Principal Consultant for her business, Native Mama Scholars, LLC. She was nominated for council last year for the first time.

Archuleta, 62, was nominated by her brother, Tribal Elder Greg Archuleta. She serves as the Tribal Services Representative in the Tribe’s Portland office and is a first-time candidate for council.

Wakeland, 62, was nominated by his son, Torey Wakeland. He previously served as the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department director and as deputy director under the Tribal General Manager. He is also a past Hatfield Fellow.

Harvey, 63, was nominated by fellow Tribal Council member and Vice Chair Chris Mercier. She is seeking her fifth consecutive three-year term. She was first elected to Tribal Council in 2013 after five unsuccessful campaigns. She came in third in the 2022 election.

George, 53, was nominated by Tribal Elder Lisa Watson and will be seeking her fourth consecutive term on Tribal Council. She served as director of Spirit Mountain Community Fund beginning in 2011 and finished first in the 2016 Tribal Council election. She came in second in the 2022 election.

The third incumbent, Brenda Tuomi, 65, is not seeking reelection. She is currently serving her second term on council and was first elected in 2015. 

This year marks the 12^th consecutive year of single-digit candidates running for Tribal Council. The last time 10 or more candidates threw their proverbial hats in the ring was in 2013.

Tribal Council candidates will have a 600-word statement published in the July Tilixam Wawa that will be mailed to voters before ballots are mailed out. Tribal Council candidate statements are due to Smoke Signals by 5 p.m. Monday, July 7. These can be emailed to katherine.warren-steffensmier@grandronde.org or brought to the Publications Department on a flash drive. Hand-written statements will not be accepted and the Publications Department will not edit statements. These will run “as is.” The 600-word limit is firm and any letters that go beyond that will be cut off after 600 words are reached.

In addition, Smoke Signals will continue its practice of interviewing all of the candidates and placing their podcast interviews on spreaker.com.

The Tribal Council Candidates Forum will be held at 5:30 p.m.  Wednesday, July 16, in Tribal Council Chambers. All candidates must attend in person but Tribal members can join in person or via Zoom. Register for the Zoom session on the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Facebook page.

This year’s election will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, with elected council members being sworn into office on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Ballots are sent to the Tribal member's address on file with Member Services. If you have recently moved or not updated your address in some time, please contact Member Services at 503-879-2116 to confirm the address on file. The Election Board cannot change addresses.