CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Chairman Delores Pigsley
Appropriations Hearings
Of great importance to the Siletz Tribe
and to tribes across the country were the
appropriations hearings that Bonnie and I
attended in March in Washington, D.C.,
because they relate to the National
Academy of Public Administrations Report
on the BIA and administration.
Kevin Gover, assistant secretary,
testified before the Interior and related
committees on appropriations. He
addressed two major areas of concern: the
need for additional funding to meet critical
needs of Indian tribes and secondly, the
results of the NAPA study. This is the
independent non-partisan organization
chartered by Congress to help federal, state,
To the editor:
The Secretary of State’s Office,
Archives Division, is planning an exhibit
called “They Sacrificed For Our Survival:
The Indian Boarding School Experience.” We
just firmed up the dates, which will be April
12 through May 10, 2000, at the State
Archives Building.
The exhibit traces the boarding
school experiences of Indian pupils at
various boarding schools, including
Chemawa Indian School. As you may know,
federal Indian policy in the late 1800s and
early 1900s sought to “kill the Indian and
save the man” by using boarding schools to
acculturate Indian children to “American”
ways of thinking and living. Many Indian
children (including my grandmother and all
her brothers and sisters!) were sent to such
schools at a very young age, often to
schools that were very far from home.
I would like to get the word out to
folks on your list who might be interested in
and local governments improve their
management systems.
In its evaluation of the BIA, NAPA found
that without additional personnel and major
management reforms, the BIA will be unable
to fully meet its responsibilities to
Indian tribes.
Gover testified that although NAPA
found serious problems with the BIA, it also
found some hopeful signs of improvement.
Implementing
NAPA’s
many
recommendations will require a considerable
amount of work. In response to NAPA’s
review, Gover recommended establishing
an Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Policy Management and Budget.
Gover said that, with NAPA’s help, the
BIA’s management and administrative
systems are being reviewed and plans
developed for improving them. The BIA’s
information technology, for example, is
underdeveloped compared to other federal
agencies and this need will be addressed.
One factor that has contributed to the
BIA’s management problems, according to
Gover’s testimony, is the “geographic
distance between BIA’s Washington
headquarters and its administrative
operations located in Albuquerque.” It is
interesting to note that several years ago,
these officials were moved out of
Washington in order to decentralize the BIA
to get management closer to the tribes. It
was argued that this would facilitate
administrative operations. Now, however, it’s
been determined that it’s better to centralize.
These are issues that are grappled with
at the Washington, D.C., level and as we can
seeing the exhibit, to put these dates on their
calendars and plan to stop by during the
exhibit. Also, we are hoping to have some
speakers and maybe a “panel” discussion
to kick off the opening of the exhibit. I would
be interested in hearing from anyone in the
area who lived through the boarding school
experience (or whose relatives did) who
might want to be part of the panel to discuss
the impact of the policy. Also, any
suggestions are welcome!
Thanks in advance for your help in
spreading the word about this. If you need
more information, please let me know.
Best regards,
Suzanne Townsend
Deputy Secretary of State
136 State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310
503-986-1523
Fax:503-986-1616
see,
sometimes
conflicting solutions.
in
result
Housing Program
Funding for the Housing Improvement
Program has been drastically cut for this
year. The BIA recognizes the problems
involved in allocating funds from its meager
housing budget and is determined to
increase funding for the following
budget year.
Community Input on
Comprehensive Plan
On the home front, we have concluded
a round of community meetings on the tribe’s
Comprehensive Plan at each of our four area
offices. The purpose was to get additional
ideas from community members on the
Comprehensive Plan’s 17 provisions that
define our objectives and activities.
In this connection, copies of surveys
were distributed to tribal members to get
their input on updating the Comprehensive
Plan. One question in the survey asks how
gaming revenues, available for tribal
purposes, should be distributed.
The deadline for returning the
completed questionnaires is March 31,
2000.1 urge all tribal members to complete
and return the questionnaires. This is another
opportunity for our members to express their
views on important tribal issues.
Economic Planning and
Law Enforcement
I’m proud of the fact that as a
government entity, the Siletz Tribe is slowly
but surely developing its law enforcement
system to complement the already viable
judicial system. Recruitment will begin soon
to add two new police officers to the one the
tribe currently has on board. Tribal Council
recently approved funding for these
new positions.
We also have recently signed
agreements with the city of Toledo for
dispatch services. This will facilitate
communications, especially in cases of
emergencies. We also have negotiated with
Lincoln County to use its jail facilities. An
agreement with the city of Siletz to extend
police services to Siletz is also in the works.
Regarding economic development, we
have been without a specialist for this
purpose for some time. The position is
essential if we are to maximize our
economic potential. Our Tribal Council
recently approved the position of economic
development coordinator to operate out of
the Planning Department.
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