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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2000)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the editor: I wanted all your readers to know what a hard-working and dedicated staff member they have working in Contract Health. Her name is Selina Kissinger. She has gone above and beyond what should be expected of her. She has made my life so much easier and done things she did not have to. I hope her boss and co workers all have a chance to read this so they can realize what an asset they have working with them, and to know she makes all their jobs much easier for them. Thank you so much, Selina. Kenya Ransier To the editor: “The Chief Judge shall promulgate rules of pleading, practice, and procedure applicable to any and all proceedings of the Tribal Court, consistent with the provisions of this Constitution and requirements of federal law.” This is from the current Siletz Constitution. It’s a good provision, especially this part... “consistent with the provisions of this Constitution and requirements of federal law.” In other words, the rules and procedures for Tribal Court must comply with Siletz constitutional law and federal law. That will be deleted from the Constitution if those who have advocated for the constitutional changes have their way. The advocates of this are Craig Dorsay, tribal attorney; Delores Pigsley, Tribal Council chairwoman: Gerald Ben, tribal councilman; and an apparent majority of the Tribal Council. This change, in addition to one that will put Tribal Council at the head of the Tribal Court and another to make themselves (Tribal Council) a non-representative body of the general membership, will make a tyranny. The question for me is what can be done to tribal officials such as these, when their work results in the abrogation of nearly each constitutional protection for individual Siletz Tribal members? The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated here. Just the action of proposing to revoke Siletz Constitutional law is comparable to those organizations who lobby the U.S. Congress to revoke and abrogate Indian treaty rights from federal constitutional law. In my opinion, the proposed constitutional changes by Tribal Council and the article written by Dorsay in March are intended to destroy the future of the tribe. The Tribal Council needs to retract these amendments. Cynthia Viles 4 To the editor: The article in the May issue regarding the sad state of our Contract Health Services (CHS) budget should be of major concern to all members. Having been involved in the health care issues of the tribe for many years, I have some comments, questions, and insight I’d like to share with you. First, if your family is solely dependent on contract care and you are being asked to purchase health care insurance elsewhere, you need to know that, according to the tribe’s own CHS user’s guide, Alternative Resources, you do not have to use your own financial resources or sell valuables or property to qualify for alternative resources. Secondly, there is a rule that if you live within a 25-mile radius of an Indian Health Service-funded clinic such as Chemawa, Grand Ronde, or Siletz, you must utilize these facilities for health care services. Now, according to the May newsletter article, if you live within a 40-mile radius of one of these clinics, you will be required to go there for services. Did I miss something? When did staff request a waiver of the 25-mile rule from the Indian Health Service to change it? Why didn’t anyone take responsibility for writing the article in the newsletter? Who is responsible for what has happened to the health care dollars and other program dollars as well? To the editor: What’s up with Chinook Winds Casino? Believe me, that’s the $50 million question. Last year, Chinook Winds Casino grossed over $50 million, but only had a net income of $1.3 million. The casino industry standard for net revenues is about 20 percent of the gross. In this case, the casino net profit should have been at least $10 million. This would have been money for revenue distribution that should have exclusively benefited tribal members. This, of course, is not the case. Considering the fact that the distribution plan is totally at the whim of Tribal Council, they will undoubtedly squander it with the help of the tribe’s administration and casino managers. Tribal Council plans to spend $400,000 for the health of all tribal members out of the last distribution plan, a figure that is almost the same as the amount they plan to spend themselves from government operations. One dollar for the tribe to share and one dollar for them. Seriously, tribal members are being ripped off. When I called the casino to confirm these figures, I was told that the only person who could give me any information was Delores Pigsley. I was unable to reach her. This kind of information is readily available at other casinos, but not Chinook Winds. Secrecy is the name of the game there. Tribal members are shareholders of Is this anonymous article entitled “Important Details About Contract Health Services (CHS)” going to be our “official notice” of a benefits cut? Or is the official notice the one mailed to tribal members postmarked May 16, 2000, entitled “Contract Health Services (CHS) An Urgent Message”? Again, no signature, no date, no clear direction. Apparently, no one is taking responsibility. In my opinion, Sharon Edenfield, administrative manager; Brenda Bremner, general manager; and Delores Pigsley, Tribal Council chairman, are the responsible parties for the tribe’s fiscal management. The buck stops there. According to a recent letter by Brenda Bremner, the shortfalls are broader than just health. According to Naomi Shadwick, long time accounting staff, it is standard practice for the tribe to place health funds into a “general fund” to be spent for purposes other than health, such as STEDCO. Tribal health care dollars invested in Dean Witter have been depleted by approximately $4 million since 1998. Health care for tribal members has been the number one priority of the tribe for many years. Since the inception of the community clinic in Siletz, health care for all members, regardless of residence, has been the goal. What is the goal now? Is it just salaries for the administration and no health care for anyone? Denise Peterson Chinook Winds and are rightfully owed an explanation of what has happened to the hundreds of millions of dollars mismanaged or worse from Chinook Winds. Why hasn’t Delores Pigsley released the annual audited financial reports of the casino? She sure loves to send us “confidential reports” by mail to promote herself or Gordon Dickie, the general manager of Chinook Winds. Where is the accountability to tribal members? Is Gordon Dickie grossly mismanaging Chinook Winds? Apparently, he does whatever he wants with no fear of reprimand from the Tribal Council. Why is this? Not because members of the Tribal Council don’t have serious problems with Mr. Dickie, but because he is protected by Delores Pigsley. At the last General Council meeting, most of the tribal members in attendance had serious concerns about mismanagement at Chinook Winds. As the questioning went on, Delores Pigsley admitted that the casino was a disaster. Gross mismanagement at the casino and the tribal administration has been at the expense of tribal members. The future of the tribe is at great risk. Tribal members should have more say in tribal affairs, but as long as Delores Pigsley is controlling the tribe that will never happen. Lori A. Johnson
