Tribal Council approves amendment to include four more buildings in DOI funding agreement

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved adding four more buildings to its multi-year funding agreement with the Department of Interior during its Wednesday, Sept. 30, meeting.

The buildings include Chachalu Tribal Museum & Cultural Center, the Natural Resources Department, Tribal Governance Center and Portland office.

The amendment includes what are known as Section 105(L) leases, which requires the Department of Interior to compensate Tribes for the operational costs of Tribal facilities used to deliver federal programs. Unlike a traditional lease, it acts as a cost-based reimbursement method, where Tribes can be compensated for expenses including rent, depreciation, principal and interest on loans, operations, maintenance and repairs, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs website.

The four leases in the amendment are for the 2025-34 agreement.

“That first multi-year agreement was very successful and allowed us to spend more time seeking additional funding to ensure that we are maximizing our funding and spending less time on the bureaucratic process every year,” Tribal Economic and Lands Director Jan Looking Wolf Reibach said during a Tuesday, Sept. 29, Legislative Action Committee meeting. .

Since the 105(L) leases extend into the time period covered by the funding agreement, an amendment that incorporates the leases is a requirement for those to be funded. Reibach said that total revenue for 2026 is $5.6 million and that the amendment approval will bring in an additional $5.6 million.

“It’s important to know that the money goes into the Tribe to help bring the many benefits, programs and services to our Tribal members,” he said. “It goes in to help our budget. In a lot of ways, it relieves our dependency on gaming funding.”

In other news, council:

• Approved a first reading of proposed amendments to the Enrollment Ordinance, which would establish an administrative review process. For more information, see the related story.  
• Approved Jan Looking Wolf Reibach to proceed with agriculture permit agreements with area farmers;
• Approved a five-year environmental services cleanup agreement for Portland Harbor;
• Approved the Tribal Housing Department’s submission to the 2027 Indian Housing Plan, which describes all eligible programs that will be operating during 2027;
• Approved an application to the Department of Justice for its Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation grant for up to $700,000. If approved, it will be used for equipment for the Tribal Police Department and for the Youth Empowerment & Prevention Program’s work with at-risk Tribal youth.
• Approved payment of $30,000 in annual dues to the National Congress of American Indians and designated Tribal Council member Lisa Leno as the delegate and all remaining council members as alternates;
• And approved enrolling one infant and one non-infant into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

In other news, council set the agenda for its Sunday, Oct. 4, General Council meeting. It will be held in Tribal Council Chambers and via Zoom and will feature a financial report from Robert W. Baird & Co. in executive session.

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