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.