“There shall be a Tribal Council which shall have the power to exercise all legislative authority, except that vested in the General Council, and all executive authority of the Tribe, including the right to delegate authorities as the Tribal Council deems appropriate.”
Article III, Section 1. Powers.
Tribal Constitution
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council was created by the Tribal Constitution to be the primary governing and legislative body of the Tribe. The Council consists of nine standing members, each of which is designated to serve three-year terms. Three Council seats are up for re-election every year. Qualifications for Council members, as defined by the Tribal Constitution, are simply that a person be an enrolled member of the Tribe and be at least 18 years of age. Elections officially take place during the 45 days prior to the September General Council meeting, when ballots are mailed to Tribal members with a verified signature on file with the Tribal Election Board. There are no restrictions on the number of terms a Council member can serve.
Many of the guidelines for how Tribal Council functions are set forth in the Tribal Council Ordinance. However, in April of 2006 the Council adopted by resolution new Tribal Council Operating Procedures, which act as guidelines in many of the day-to-day operations, particularly meetings.
The duties and expectations of Council members exist in a wide range, from attending all meetings, to serving as liaisons to advisory committees, to one of the most important of the position, upholding Tribal laws and the Tribal Constitution. As a rule of thumb Council members are expected to behave in an ethical manner and act as positive community role models. They are also expected to avoid conflicts of interest and matters involving immediate family, as well as veering away from employee and personnel issues.
The Council body features three different Officer positions, the Tribal Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. The duties of the Chair are very broad, including not only as being the lead figurehead for the Tribe, but also the representative in inter-governmental dealings. The Chair also presides over all official Council meetings when present, and is responsible for approving Council meeting agendas. The Council Vice-Chair acts largely in a supportive role to the Chair, and is often called on to assume the same duties when the Chair is absent. The Secretary, as well, plays a supporting role to the other officers, and is also charged chiefly with record-keeping duties, especially of Tribal Council proceedings and decisions, like meeting minutes. The Secretary also reviews records for accuracy.
The decisions that face Council are myriad. What is important to note however is that their authority, as defined by the Constitution and Tribal Council Ordinance, is supposed to be in the arena of legislation and policy. The role they play is different from that of administrators and managers, and thus Council is not expected to be involved in many of the day-to-day operations of the Tribe. Thus a lot of decisions that come before Council pertain to policy.
Council on a weekly basis allots hours to be devoted to the meetings in which they receive updates for the Executive Management Team, make decisions or discuss and deliberate towards decisions. Decisions that require a formal public resolution are decided on in what is called Legislative Action Committee Meetings. Decisions affirmed by a majority vote in L.A.C. are carried forth to the twice monthly Wednesday night meetings for a final public vote.
Decisions not requiring a public vote, often times policy issues, are debated in afternoon meetings called “work sessions”. Work sessions generally fall on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and historically have been open to the public, unless Executive Session is called and approved by motion.
With the exception of the summer months, every first Sunday Council presides over General Council Meetings, which unlike Wednesday meetings are meant to be meetings for the General Council, which consists of every adult Tribal member.
A good deal of Council time is also devoted to various scenarios of protocol, such as attending major social events, government-to-government meetings, and speaking at various functions. Council members are almost always considered to be on the job, including evenings and weekends.