TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Elders Eligible for Help with
Medicare Coverage
by Judy Muschamp, Health Director
Do you pay for Part B Medicare coverage? If so, the tribe will reimburse
you for the monthly cost of this coverage. Please send me (one time only) a
copy of your Medicare card and proof of cost to you, and I will send you a
check for every month you maintain coverage.
?
Are you eligible for Part B Medicare coverage, but declined it because it
costs too much? You can sign up in January 2002 and the tribe will reimburse
you. All you have to do is send me a copy of your Medicare card and proof of
payment one time only, and I’ll automatically process it each month.
Tribal Council set aside these funds from the 2000 excess gaming revenue.
Any tribal elder living inside or outside the service area is eligible. The
tribe benefits from reduced Contract Health Service expenditures for services
to eligible elders. Please consider taking advantage of this benefit. Once
acceptable documentation is received, it takes about 10 days to process a check.
If you have any questions, please call me at 541-444-9655 or
1-800-648-0449, ext. 655. Mail your documents to:
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Attn: Judy Muschamp
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380
To the editor:
Elections for Tribal Council are next month, so please contact the Enrollment
Department at 1-800-922-1399 if you are not registered to vote. I have seen many
elections that were lost by just a few votes; your vote really does count and does matter!
I would like to thank Reggie and Lillie Butler for initiating a larger financial
return to tribal members from the casino. Thankfully, the Tribal Council decided
to give tribal members a per capita of $500 plus interest instead of $100 with no
interest. Their decision was made on June 15, 2001, in a vote of eight for and one
against (Resolution #2001-213).
The Siletz Tribe is a self-governance tribe. The most important aspect of
being a self-governance tribe is the opportunity to provide the kind of services
that are needed and wanted by the tribal membership and for financial stability.
The only way to accomplish this is to have tribal membership input and
involvement. I would like to see the General Council structured so that tribal
members vote on matters that affect them. Tribal members are very diverse and
have many great ideas and, of course, many concerns. A fully informed membership
will strengthen our tribe.
Tribal Council members are duty-bound to be responsive to the membership.
We cannot be an effective self-governance tribe without knowing who our tribal
members are. If the membership had more of a voice in our tribe’s direction, as
individual members we would feel better, no matter what the outcome. Although,
I feel the outcome would definitely be good!
I enjoy reading Siletz News and Nesika Illahee, published by the Siletz Tribe.
However, I find reading the resolutions voted on by the Tribal Council much
more informative. The resolutions and corresponding minutes show how a council
member votes and how they feel about issues. The tribe should make copies
available of resolutions, minutes, program and financial reports at the General
Council quarterly meetings, for the previous quarter. This would improve the
quality of communication between the Tribal Council and the membership.
There are many common goals we as tribal members all want, such as
prosperity for the tribe, services delivered to the membership that are respectful,
helpful, and meaningful, and a fair and honest government. We can all help achieve
these goals together by voting and holding our Tribal Council accountable.
I’m running for Tribal Council and hope for your support.
Respectfully,
Lori A. Johnson
Another Year of Wisdom
Happy Birthday!
Chester Butler, 1/3
Delmer Butler, 1/12
laleen Collins, 1/22
Duane Depoe, 1/30
Richard Dodds, 1/18
Emmet Douthit, 1/6
Leroy John, 1/24
Vera Lafferty, 1/7
Clark Martin, 1/26
Diane Robertson, 1/4
Sharon Schneider, 1/10
Rosalie Sepulveda, 1/1
William Service, 1/18
Frances Severson, 1/13
Wilma Strong, 1/17
Darlene Taylor, 1/21
Sherryl Thies, 1/2
George Thompson, 1/19
Ernestine Wooten, 1/7
Elders Council
Meeting
Jan. 12, 2002
Chinook Winds Casino
2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
What is Self-Governance?
by Rosemary Breon Landis
I received a letter from a new tribal
member with a question about what
“SG neg” meant on my time sheet.
Since others may have questions, I will
briefly discuss self-governance
negotiations and self-governance itself.
Self-governance is not a program.
It does not mean that Tribal Council can
do whatever it wants, even if it is wrong
or illegal. Tribal Council has to obey
tribal and federal laws and as citizens
of Oregon, we obey state laws.
The
legislation
for self-
determination passed during the Nixon
presidency. At that time, tribes became
eligible to contract programs from the
federal government for services for their
people instead of having the BIA run
the programs.
In 1994, legislation passed that
permitted tribes to enter into self
governance compacts with the federal
government to administer BIA
programs. The IHS had demonstration
projects and by August 2000, permanent
legislation had been enacted.
Since that time, tribes are
commonly called direct service, Title I,
or self-governance tribes. The
distinctions cover the amount of control
that IHS or BIA has over the programs
and dollars.
Self-governance fall and spring
conferences are a portion of the travel
that I do for the tribe. We are one of the
10 earliest tribes in the nation to enter
into self-governance compacts. We have
compacts with both the BIA and IHS.
We negotiate an annual funding
agreement for our share of the dollars.
Self-governance is designed to provide
tribes with the flexibility to redesign
and reprioritize federal programs
and reallocate federally appropriated
funds to programs that best meet our
tribal priorities.
Self-governance legislation also
makes it clear that self-governance will
in no way terminate a tribe. The federal
government has the responsibility to
protect the trust functions of a tribe
because of treaties, statutes, and
executive orders. Inherent federal
functions are only those duties that the
federal government is responsible to
provide to self-governance tribes.
Through our self-governance compacts,
we are responsible for managing our
affairs for the betterment of our tribe.
The late Joe De La Cruz, former
president of the Quinault Nation, states
it best: “No right is more sacred to a
nation, to a people, than the right to
freely determine its social, economic,
political, and cultural future without
external interference. The fullest
expression of this right occurs when a
nation freely governs itself.”
Before the United States came into
being, each Indian tribe freely governed
itself. After the formation of the U.S.,
the Constitution gives the federal
government the right to deal with foreign
governments, Indian tribes, and states.
Tribes across the nation are
exercising their right to be self-
governing. In fact, approximately
248 of the 556 tribes have entered into
self-governance agreements with the
federal government.
January *2002 * □
Siletz News
□
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