TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Siletz Tribal
Court and
Code
Development
TCCD Project News
by Diane Henkels
Law Enforcement Training
In August, CTSI hosted a workshop on
concurrent jurisdiction for Lincoln County
law enforcement professionals. The training
took place in the Tribal Council chambers.
The purpose of the training was to help
local law enforcement understand how the
tribe and the state exercise concurrent
jurisdiction on Siletz Tribal land. The state
may enforce state law on the reservation
because of Public taw 280. This federal law
was passed in 1953 during the termination
era. It gave certain states, including Oregon,
the authority and responsibility of enforcing
state law on Indian reservations with a few
exceptions, such as Warm Springs.
About 35 people attended the training,
including police officers from the Oregon
State Police (10); Lincoln County Sheriff’s
Office (2); support staff from the Toledo
Police Department; two from LinCom
dispatching service; Bernice Barnett,
incoming district attorney; Rob Bovett,
Lincoln County counsel; Karen Gerttula,
Lincoln County commissioner; Linda Gast,
Legal Aid attorney; Nancy Lanvik, Newport
Circuit Court clerk; Alan Petersen and Mike
Hart, Juvenile Department; Dave Cogswell,
Services for Children and Families; and
Leonard Williamson, Department of Public
Safety Standards and Training (police
academy in Monmouth).
Tribal Council Vice-Chairman Bonnie
Petersen represented Tribal Council. CTSI
staff included Tina Retasket, Norman
Counts, Judge Calvin Gantenbein, Dianne
McLeod, Becky Goulet, Robert Kentta,
and myself.
Materials distributed included a small
green booklet, “A Guide to Concurrent
Jurisdiction on Siletz Tribal Land.” This
booklet was referred to throughout the
Rennard Strickland reminds workshop participants that we all want the same thing:
better law enforcement and increased protection of our citizens.
training and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s
Office requested 25 more.
Bonnie Petersen opened the training by
welcoming participants and referring to the
revival of the tribe’s traditional dances. She
also mentioned the beginning of the law
enforcement funding efforts when she wrote
the first COPS grant.
Tina Retasket then introduced
participants to Siletz Tribal history, especially
the evolution of CTSI law enforcement and
the current ANA Tribal Court project.
A key speaker at the training was
Rennard Strickland, dean of the University
of Oregon School of Law. Strickland, a legal
historian of Osage and Cherokee heritage,
discussed sovereignty, P.L. 280, concurrent
jurisdiction, Indian Child Welfare, sovereign
immunity, and related topics. He reminded
everyone that we all want the same outcome:
better law enforcement and increased
protection of our citizens.
Jack Lawson, Native American
coordinator for the Oregon Youth Authority,
explained that Executive Order 96-30
requires Oregon agencies to establish
government-to-government relations with
Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian
tribes. He identified the members of the
public safety cluster group charged with
implementing the executive order in law
enforcement.
John O’Brien, Lincoln County sheriff,
then spoke on the history of the sheriff’s
office with the tribe since Restoration in
1977. During his 20+ years in Lincoln
County, Sheriff O'Brien has seen CTSI
grow out of its A-frame building to its
current state.
Robert Kentta, the tribe’s cultural
resources director, explained CTSI’s treaty
history. He also talked about cultural
resources and the process of handling
problems related to them.
I, as TCCD project attorney, spoke
briefly about the map showing the
reservation in Lincoln County.
Norm Counts, tribal police chief, then
took the floor and clarified how concurrent
jurisdiction is implemented on the ground.
Thanks to the recent intergovernmental
agreement between the tribe and the city of
Siletz on law enforcement and pursuant to
Public Law 280, Siletz Tribal police now
enforce tribal law and state law on tribal
lands, and state law on non-tribal lands
within the city limits.
Judge Calvin Gantenbein spoke for a
few minutes about Tribal Court, including the
court’s administrative staff and the trial court
and appellate judges. He then conducted a
tour of Tribal Court.
Breaks during the training and a light
meal in the lunchroom gave people an
opportunity to look around the building, and
the Tribal Court tour showed everyone where
Tribal justice services are based. As one of
our tribal elders said, the training was 150
years late, but, added another tribal member,
“It was a good start.”
Other News
The project is working on revising the
criminal procedures ordinance and will seek
input from interested parties before drafting
the revisions.
Finally, we welcome the project’s new
law clerk, Kara Hegwood. She graduated
from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School
of Law and is based at the Portland office,
working out of Portland-area law
libraries. Welcome!
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