Tribal Council announces new app launch, approves ag permits

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

With just a week passing in between meetings, Tribal Council had a fairly light agenda Wednesday, Sept. 10, with only a few action items.

The shorter one-week period between meetings occurred because Tribal Council traditionally holds a meeting after new members are sworn into office.

Earlier in the day, incumbent Kathleen George, past Tribal Council member Toby McClary and first-time challenger Pete Wakeland were sworn in for new three-year terms after taking the top three spots in the Saturday, Sept. 6 election. Denise Harvey, who served 12 years on Tribal Council, officially became a former Tribal Council member.

During the Tribal Council meeting, Vice Chair Chris Mercier announced that the Tribal member app, CTGR alta (chinuk for CTGR now), was available in Google Play and the Apple Store.  

“Through this app, Tribal members will have access to a secure and user-friendly platform that will allow Grand Ronde Tribal members to stay informed and up to speed on things that are happening in Grand Ronde,” he said. “With CTGR alta, Tribal members can stay up to date with all Tribal events, tune in to meetings and receive reminders for upcoming meetings, activities and events. The app provides secure messaging capabilities which will allow members to receive secure information often reserved for executive session directly on their device. The app allows Tribal members to select what topics they are interested in and allows them to enable push notifications to make sure they’re receiving timely updates about important events, news, announcements, and reminders.”

Mercier added that staff is working with developer Sembit to expand the app’s capabilities and is looking forward to launching future phases.

For more information on the app, visit www.grandronde.org/alta/.  

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved reappointing Trevor Aaron to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees, with a term ending Sept. 30, 2027;
• Approved annual agricultural permits for hay, crop and pastures, which are expected to generate approximately $31,000 for the Tribe during the 2025-26 season;
• And approved enrolling one infant into the Tribe because they meet the requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

To watch the entire meeting, visit www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab.