Cheryle A. Kennedy

Term Start: 9/2009

Term End: 9/2012

Cheryle Ann (Allen) Kennedy was born April 3, 1948, six years before the 1954 Termination of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. She comes from a family of weavers, beaders, carvers, gatherers, fishermen and hunters.

She is currently serving her fourth consecutive three-year term on Tribal Council after serving for two years on Tribal Council in the mid-1980s. She is the second-longest serving Tribal chairperson in post-Restoration Grand Ronde history.
Mrs. Kennedy also holds the distinction of having Roll No. 1 out of the more than 5,100 members of the Grand Ronde Tribe.

Her other political activities include having served as a member of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; current commissioner on the state Commission on Indian Services, which is appointed by the state Legislature; current member of the Oregon Health Improvement Plan Board; former commissioner of the Rural Health Council of Oregon; former commissioner of the Oregon’s Women Commission; member of the National Congress of American Indians; delegate to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board; former steering committee member of Oregon’s Rural Health Education Centers; and currently active in Tribal Health, Culture and Royalty committees.

Before being elected to Tribal Council, Mrs. Kennedy worked for 30 years as a health administrator with Tribes, including serving as the Grand Ronde Tribe’s health director for almost 15 years. She also served as executive director of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.

During her health care career, she received the Health Administrator of the Year Award from the Indian Health Service’s Department of Public Health and Outstanding Leader in Health Care Award from the state Department of Health, and was recognized for her contributions to elevating the health status of Indian peoples by the National Indian Health Board.

In November 2009, Mrs. Kennedy was honored by the Seattle-based Potlatch Fund with the Fran James Cultural Preservation Award, which is given annually to a Northwest Tribal leader for their work in helping to restore and promote Native cultural traditions within Tribal and Native communities.

Her other interests include sports, having served as a coach for women’s and co-ed softball and girls/women’s basketball. She also is a believer in art and loves Tribal culture.

“I want it to be revitalized to the fullest extent,” she said.

Mrs. Kennedy, who graduated from college, encourages Tribal members to further their education.

“I believe in dreaming big, developing new ideas and bringing the future to us,” she said. “My dream for our Tribe is to have healthy, happy, strong members.”

She lives in Dallas, Ore., with her husband, Vernon Kennedy (Burns Paiute), and grandson, Kaleb.