Tribal Council approves grant application for Tribal youth educational needs

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved a grant application to the Oregon Department of Education to address the most pressing educational needs for Tribal youth during its Wednesday, Nov. 19, meeting.

During a Tuesday, Nov. 18, Legislative Action Committee meeting,  Tribal Grants Program Manager Wendy Sparks said that the three-year Community Partnerships Grant would be up to $265,000 and if awarded, would be used to provide funding for an existing full-time position and cover meal costs for family coaching and attendance recognition nights.

Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez also announced that the emergency food assistance program for Tribal member individuals and households who were affected by the delay of SNAP benefits ended Monday, Nov. 17. It began Friday, Nov. 7, to help families affected by the government shutdown and subsequent delay of benefits.

“I do want to let folks know that we are meeting with staff to debrief on how that program went and we did hear from a lot of members that there are additional needs in the community,” she said. “We’ll be meeting to discuss any other options we can bring forward to present to council for consideration because we do know food insecurity is a real thing in our community, so we’ll keep everyone posted.”   

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved appointing Claudia Leno to the Elder Board with a term ending March 31, 2027;
• Approved the next general welfare and supplemental general welfare assistance payment date for Friday, Dec. 12, and set quarterly payment dates on the second Friday of March, June, September and December of 2026 for future payments;
• And approved enrolling three infants and 28 non-infants 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.