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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2000)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS ICW Videos Shown in June The Indian Child Welfare Program extends an invitation to the employees of the Siletz Tribe and any interested community members to view our video presentations. Viewers will be encouraged to offer feedback on the content of the videos as they relate to community needs. Bring a lunch, a desire to look inside yourself, and a willingness to share your thoughts on our community. Videos will be shown in the lunchroom of the administration building in Siletz. There is great wisdom in the statement, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” June 8 Protecting Our Children, It’s Up to Us (Community development) Noon-12:30 June 15 Bitter Earth (Community sexual abuse reporting) Noon-1:15 June 22 Mind of a Child (Teaching culture, community) Noon-1:15 June 29 To Find Our Way (Cultural values, sacredness of family) Noon-12:30 Water, coni from page 9 are called smolts, the same name used for Each night as baby eels were caught, a small notch was put in their tails for marking purposes. The marked eels were then released above the trap the following day. A ratio of marked to unmarked eels caught in the trap provided an estimate of the total number of eels leaving the stream. To age fish, we used a technique that measures the amount of growth that occurs in a small bone (statolith) similar to that found in the human ear. As in humans, this bone is used for balance. This technique allowed us to measure how old the baby eels were at the time of capture. Sex ratios were determined by looking at the gonads (ovaries and testes). Baby eels have the ability to change from male to female and vice versa right up to the point they migrate to the ocean. It’s been shown that in populations where numbers have dropped significantly, the eels shift sexes to create more females than males so more eggs are produced during spawning to help make up for reduced numbers overall. migrating baby salmon. Salmon smolts leave our streams during the spring. We found that eel smolts leave our rivers during a short period each fall (November). The male to female ratio we observed was one to one. Lastly, we estimated that the stream we worked on (Tenmile Creek) produced around 2,000 to 3,000 eel smolts each year. Significance of Findings The age structure of the eel smolt population was interesting because most of our salmon and steelhead spend very little time rearing in our streams before they migrate to the ocean. Salmon migrate through our estuaries during spring and summer when our bays are richest in food sources. Eel smolt/migration was interesting because our work with estuaries shows there are relatively few prey available at that time of year. This is a relatively hostile time of year to migrate out of the river and into the ocean. Findings What we discovered was that most baby eels spend four to six years or longer in the river before they go to the ocean to prey on other fish. These migrating baby eels 10 Lastly, the number of eels we found in Tenmile Creek suggests that, similar to salmon, eels have a very low ocean survival rate. Most die before they return as adults to their home stream. HIP Program Continues Services by Howard Roy In an effort to increase customer service, we are accepting applications from outside the service area. In some cases, we may be able to refer clients to other tribes and organizations when we are unable to provide housing services from our office. We currently are reviewing draft policies for the NAHASDA homeowner’s and renter’s rehabilitation programs. We will continue to process the applications we have received with the required documentation and verification process. We also are accepting new applications. Be sure to send your income verification information to Tammy Wagner at PO Box 549, Siletz, OR 97380. Please feel free to call us anytime. We need contractors for general, excavating, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work to be done for Siletz Tribal members. We need responsible contractors for rehabilitation projects and septic, drainfield, well and water system installations. You must be licensed, insured and bonded with the Construction Contractor’s Board. We also have a 10 percent preference policy for 51 percent property licensed Indian-owned contractors. The Indian Heath Service supplies water and sewer disposal systems in the 11-county service area. In some cases, however, we have provided service in other Oregon counties with the help of other Oregon tribes and IHS. if IHS has denied you and you meet our guidelines, we may be able to fix a water pump or septic repair with NAHASDA funds if you meet the income guidelines. Any Siletz tribal member is eligible. You must obtain an IHS application from an area office or the HIP office in Siletz. Fill it out, sign it, and send it to the HIP office in Siletz. Septic systems that are spilling onto the ground present a health hazard and should be reported to the HIP Program immediately for site evaluation from the Siletz Tribe and/or Indian Health Service. We are starting our first outreach projects with NAHASDA funds this year and are looking forward to servicing the many clients who have in the past been without service. We are located in the SIHA building at 555 Tolowa Court, Siletz, Ore. “Service is the lifeblood of. our organization. Everything flows from it and is nourished by it. Customer service is not a department. It’s an attitude. Remember it is our pleasure to serve you!”
