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!”