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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2000)
situations. In the past, our leaders, myself included, have maintained a strong stance that adherence to state law is a true violation of our sovereignty. Not so, as positioned by the current Council, because of their animosity towards the individuals involved in the disputes took precedence over their true role of protecting the Siletz Tribe as a sovereign nation. Incidentally, I requested an invoice to determine the legal costs for mounting this battle. To date, my request has not been answered. Economic Development Now, let me address the issues that are currently afflicting Chinook Winds even though you are surely aware of these matters. Recently, a title fight was hosted by Chinook Winds. According to members of the sitting Council, this boxing match was a wash - it cost the Tribe a great amount of resources that were derived from your pocket. At this time, the boxing match is the subject of an investigation to determine if compliance with existing rules and regulations ensued. As you are also aware, I am sure, the overhead at Chinook Winds is staggering. Nonetheless, the sitting Council recently rented a box seat at the Rose Garden (Trailblazer coliseum). This cost you approximately $60,000.00 per month for five years for a grand total of $3,600,000.00 (3.6 MILLION). This agreement is not revocable. According to a consultant for the Tribal Council, the Chairman and Tribal Attorney have utilized the box. Have you been afforded this somewhat costly opportunity? ***** If I am elected to the Tribal Council these are but a few issues that I shall diligently work to address. Rest assured, I am also unwilling to maintain a secretive stance when the Council votes to spend your money or engage in other action that is not executive session in nature. Finally, I am an independent thinker, outspoken, and candid about the issues that affect the Siletz Tribe. I believe in hearty debate of any issue, full disclosure of the issue to the membership, and honest representation of the Council position about the issue and resolution thereof. I am also supportive of membership participation in tribal issues. It is my customary stance to involve many people in discussion of any Tribal Council issue, that is not executive session in nature, to assure comprehensive and well-rounded debate and decision making. The advice, comments, and suggestions of the membership are vital to the overall well-being of the Siletz Tribe. In short, I am willing to be a thorn in the side of the sitting Council to assure that the goals of enhancing our programs and administering changes at Chinook Winds, will materialize, so resources will eventually flow to the people. I thank each of you for your vote. Reginald Butler Sr. My name is Mike Darcy and I am running for Tribal Council. I am the son of Maggie Davis Darcy and Merrick Darcy. My family consisted of three sisters and one brother. My sister Madge Mason and brother Joe Darcy are still living today. Two of my sisters have passed on. I have lived in 5 to be able to see our Termination and our Restoration as a Tribe. I have committed myself to help keep our Tribe from ever having to go through anything that resembles those awful years of Termination again. I have given back 32 years in the field of Education and have served on our Tribal Council for a total of six years and another 10 years on tribal committees. I believe that if we are ever going to be self-sufficient it will have to be from our own hands and not the work of the federal government. The power within our own Tribe is tremendous if we all row in the same direction. Too much of our energy is spent deciding who sits in the front of the canoe. Some of the greatest needs of our Tribe at this time have to do with our Tribal Sovereignty. We need to put a lot of energies into the battle of Fee to Trust legislation so we can go forward on our Salem property, the Lakeside property and make them productive pieces of land. The County and State are trying to impose taxes on our gaming revenues and tribal assets at every turn. In preparing for the new millennium we need an educated workforce. Our need for Foresters, Doctors, Teachers, CPA’s and researchers has just begun. The challenge that only we can accomplish is to educate our people in our own culture at the same time they are being educated in the fields that the tribe has a need for workers. We have not even begun to tap the resources of our elders, as we should. The biggest challenge that our tribe faces currently is providing services for members inside and outside of the 11 - county service area. We have housing, education and medical needs that all of our members are crying for, that we have made some progress on, but it is like the tip of the iceberg. The trees that our Tribe has based our economy on to this point will run out, for a few years, in the not too distant future and we need to be making investments that will tide us over for the lean years to come. It is this kind of leadership that I hope to bring to the table. We have come a long way in the first 20 years since restorationllet’s explode in the next 20 that will make our ancestors proud of us. I would like your vote in this election. I want to thank the Tribe for giving me an opportunity to serve on Council for the past two years. We need to steer our canoe together.
