Ida Altringer, a descendant of Chief Tumluth, was disenrolled by the Grand Ronde Tribes after she died in 2008. Photo from Grand Ronde We All Belong / Facebook
Leaders of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde of Oregon may have no choice but to accept defeat in a disenrollment case. According to a story posted online by Smoke Signals, the tribe's newspaper, Chairman Reyn Leno said enrollment decisions are out of the tribal council's hands. He believes the tribe's enrollment board will have to stop removal proceedings against the descendants of Chief Tumulth based on the results of a new court ruling. At the same time, Leno reiterated his intent to ask the judges on the Grand Ronde Court of Appeals to come before the council and explain their August 5 decision, Smoke Signals reported. He made similar comments on Facebook after the ruling came down. Chief Tumulth was a signatory to the 1855 Willamette Valley Treaty and was executed by the U.S. Army a year later. His death prevented him from moving to the reservation or joining a base roll. The tribe's enrollment board sought to remove Tumulth's descendants based on those factors. A tribal court judge agreed with the approach in a decision from September 2015. The Grand Ronde Court of Appeals, however, said the tribe waited too long to take action. Disenrollment letters went out in 2013, some 27 years after the first of the chief's descendants joined the tribe. Read More on the Story:
Tribal Appeals Court reverses disenrollments (Smoke Signals 8/9)
Tribal ‘watershed decision’ in Oregon could influence Nooksack case (The Seattle Times 8/9)
Tribal Court Reverses Grand Ronde Disenrollment Decision (Oregon Public Broadcasting 8/8) Grand Ronde Court of Appeals Decision:
In the Matter of: Alexander v. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (August 5, 2016)
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