ODFW Commission accepts petition to amend or repeal Grand Ronde MOA

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

THE DALLES – After a nearly five-hour long meeting, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 to accept a petition filed by four Tribes requesting to amend or repeal the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s memorandum of agreement with the state to hunt, fish and gather in expanded areas beyond its reservation.

“This was a painful set back,” Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy said. “Opening the door to rulemaking threatens not just our rights, but our dignity. The agreement was never about competition with other Tribes; it was about our identity, legacy and the continuity of our culture. But we will not be silent. We are being singled out because we would not compromise on who we are as a people. We remain committed to fighting for our Tribe and defending our legacy and sovereignty.”

The commission met at The Dalles Civic Auditorium Friday, July 11, and heard from attorneys for the Warm Springs and Yakama Tribes, as well as Tribal government officials from the Warm Springs and Yakama Tribes. Other Tribes who filed petitions to amend the agreement are the Umatilla and Nez Perce.

Grand Ronde’s presentation included testimony from Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy, Vice Chair Chris Mercier, Secretary Jon. A. George, Fish & Wildlife Program Manager Kelly Dirksen, Natural Resources Department Manager Colby Drake, Cultural Policy Analyst Greg Archuleta, Tribal Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier, Tribal Ceremonial Fisher Jade Unger and Tribal Elder and past Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno.

Grand Ronde's current MOA will remain in effect until the commission decides whether to repeal or amend it. There is no specific timeline for the process. By law, MOAs are reviewed by both parties every five years regardless. 

“Accepting the petition does not nullify any of the MOA’s current provisions,” ODFW Commissioner Bob Spelbrink said. “It just says, ‘Let’s continue to move forward to a proposal that all parties accept. There’s no intention of pursuing any major changes to the current MOA that will reduce any Tribal opportunities…I don’t see anything here that would reduce that opportunity you’ve had the last couple of years. I appreciate all of the input here today.”

The MOA signed between the Tribe and ODFW on Aug. 4, 2023, expanded the cultural hunting, fishing and gathering area from the 1,300-square-mile Trask Unit to more than 11,000 square miles. The agreement is limited to subsistence and ceremonial harvest. The Tribe is not allowed to implement any commercial harvest opportunities.

Four other western Oregon Tribes; the Coquille Tribe, Siletz Tribe, Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw Tribes, and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe all have similar MOAs with the state. None of these have been considered for amendments or repeals after the agreements were approved by the commission.  

“This is not a proud moment in Oregon history – and instead marks the profound dysfunction in the state-Tribal government-to-government relationship,” Cow Creek Tribal Board of Directors Chairman Carla Keene said in an email. “It is unconscionable that four commissioners chose to undermine an agreement between the state of Oregon and the Grand Ronde Tribal government, prioritizing the voices of non-Oregon tribes over an Oregon Tribe. A volunteer commission without an understanding of Tribal homeland integrity or Oregon Tribal history, and who does not engage in Tribal consultation, should not have the authority to determine the parameters of an Oregon Tribe’s sovereign rights…I don’t know where we go from here. This decision is a violation of trust and a blatant disrespect for the rights of one Oregon Tribe, which sends a message to all Oregon Tribes. The question now is how – and if – we can recover and repair, or if we are reliving a history of false promises and words once again.”

Petition to amend MOA

In May 2024, Warm Springs filed a petition with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, requesting that the agency repeal or amend the historic memorandum of agreement. 

Warm Springs stated the reasons for its request were because the MOA “creates conflict” with the terms of the Warm Springs Tribe’s 1855 treaty and also due to what it asserted was a “legal error” in the decision-making process, as two of the commissioners who voted in favor of the MOA were allegedly acting during expired terms of office.

After Warm Springs filed its petition, the Yakama, Nez Perce and Umatilla all filed petitions to repeal or amend the state’s agreement with Grand Ronde.

All of the petitioners cited the “legal error” of the two commissioners with expired terms voting on the agreement, as well as the alleged violation of treaty rights, although the legal error portion of the petition was not addressed by the petitioners during the meeting.

“Under Oregon law, the maximum length of a commissioner’s term is four years, but commissioners are authorized to hold their office until their successor is elected and qualified. Action by a commission with holdover members is not invalid,” an ODFW staff memo stated.

The ODFW Commission initially had 90 days from when it received the petition to either accept or deny it. However, it expanded that time by nearly a year in order to allow for the petitioning Tribes to meet with Grand Ronde to discuss the MOA. After three meetings, the Tribes were unable to reach an agreement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.