TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Siletz Community Court Progresses
Greetings! As this article goes to
press, we are beginning the draft Family
Welfare Code community meetings.
In addition to the meetings, please
feel free to give comments any way you
can to any project staff member: Diane
Henkels, Trish Carey, or Ju lee Welch
in person, by telephone at
1-800-922-1399, ext. 212, or
e-mail
dianeh@ctsi.nsn.us
or
trishc@ctsi.nsn.us.
In the meantime, we are working on
the Siletz Community Court, a dispute
resolution component to Siletz Tribal
Court, and have provided some
information below. Feel free to contact
us if you would like to know more!
Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) -
Siletz Community
Court
juvenile cases, neighborhood property
lines, etc.
Would a decision by the Siletz
Community Court be binding on
the parties?
Yes, provided that the parties agreed
to binding resolution in advance.
What happens if the process
doesn’t resolve the dispute?
The parties could decide before the
final decision that they would rather
resolve their dispute through another
means and stop the Community
Court process.
Who would decide if a case would
go to the Siletz Community Court?
The presiding judge of the Siletz
Tribal Court could decide if the Siletz
Community Court could hear the case,
and both parties would have to consent
in order to bring the case to this court.
Who is in charge of the Siletz
Community Court?
Art Fisher, a Siletz Tribal Court
judge, is the Community Court judge.
He is a Siletz Tribal member and lives
in California.
Who would pay for the Siletz
Community Court?
Depending on the case, the parties
could agree to split the costs, the judge
could decide how the costs should be
shared, or the parties could agree on
another way to pay the costs.
Why isn’t the Siletz Community
Court in operation?
Tribal law must be enacted to allow
the Siletz Community Court to actually
operate. It’s like the Siletz Tribal Court
Rules and Procedures permits the Siletz
Tribal Court and the Court of Appeals
to hear cases, except an ordinance for
the Siletz Community Court will be
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Siletz News
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simpler. The TCCD project is working
on a short ordinance for the Siletz
Community Court and will hold public
meetings in April or May.
If you were resolving a dispute
between two tribal members, what
information do you think the judge
would need to make a good decision ?
The next article will include FAQ
on the Family Welfare Code, gathered
at the community meetings conducted
in March.
The new pond at the Llukee Illahee
Hatchery has been completed. In
by Arthur E. Fisher, Associate Judge,
Siletz Tribal Court, and Diane Henkels
What is the Siletz Community
Court?
The Tribal Council created the Siletz
Community Court in 1999. The court’s
purpose is to resolve disputes in an
informal manner with the consent of the
parties, using a mediated approach. The
court’s goal is to offer a means for tribal
members to resolve disputes in an
informal manner without prolonged and
costly litigation. The court provides a
community-based resource aimed at
restoring the balance in the community
rather than punishing a party.
What kinds of cases would the
Siletz Community Court hear?
Right now, Tribal Court Rules and
Procedures say that the Siletz Community
Court may hear cases involving
garnishments, tribal housing evictions,
homeowner and tenant disputes, private
civil disputes between persons or entities
not requesting money damages, disputes
regarding money claims of less than
$2,500, and minor crimes.
The Siletz Community Court,
however, may hear any types of cases
that are identified in the statute. These
may include misdemeanors, juvenile
diversion (alcohol abuse), and other
Siletz Tribal
Court and
Code
Development
early February, the pond was
stocked with 42,000 coho salmon
smolts. They started heading for the
ocean in early March and will
continue this trek through June.
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
A long time ago, before time even,
seven girls and a boy were playing in
the forest, now the Ochoco National
Forest. While they were playing,
something started happening to the boy.
He started growing hair, he started
growing teeth and claws. He had turned
into a great bear.
Now, the girls were afraid of him.
They began to run and the bear started
chasing them. They came to a flat rock
maybe three feet high and they jumped
on the rock.
The bear jumped for the rock but
April 2001
didn’t quite make it. He slid down,
leaving claw marks as he slid. The bear
made a run for it and jumped, but the
rock had grown. Again, he didn’t quite
make it and did the same thing sliding
down the side. This kept on for some
time, maybe a thousand years. Finally
the rock became so high that the bear
just gave up.
Now the girls were on top of the
rock safe from the bear, but with no
food or water. There was no way down
as the rock was shear all the way to
the ground.
The Great Spirit took mercy on the
girls and decided to take them to the
star world. So tonight, when you are
outside on a clear night when the stars
are shining, look for the Big Dipper.
Seven stars make up the Big Dipper,
this is the seven little girls.
Now between Prineville and Bums
(I think) along the highway there’s a rock
about 300 feet tall and maybe a 100 feet
or more across where the girls were.
This is called Steins Pillar. It shows the
marks where bear slid down trying to get
to the girls.