Siletz news /, June 01, 2002, Page 15, Image 15

NOTICES
First Annual Chemawa Remembrance and Consecration
by Rosemary Breon Landis
Chemawa Indian School held the
first Chemawa Remembrance and
Consecration Ceremony, a special
traditional service for reconciliation and
healing, on May 5. The two-fold
goal was to honor the memories of
the children who passed away while they
were students here and to recognize the
sacred nature of the cemetery.
From my other articles on
Chemawa, you know that our tribe has
a special connection and concern for the
land and the students at Chemawa. Our
tribe was in favor of an ATNI resolution
brought forward by volunteer historian
SueAnn Reddick and John Campbell
asking tribes to support efforts to
preserve the Chemawa Cemetery and
others like it across the nation.
Earlier efforts by Bill Wilson had
resulted in Chemawa Cemetery’s
designation as a historical site on the
National Register. In spite of this, no
money has been available to restore or
make improvements, such as setting up
a memorial with the names of the
students interred there.
I was glad to represent our tribe at
the ceremony. My husband and I also
were representing my family. My great
aunt, Cora Sutherland, age 6, died at
Chemawa in 1892. My grandmother,
Estella Sutherland, and her sister, Mary
Alice Sutherland, also attended
Chemawa with Cora. My grandfather,
Arthur Bensell, met Mama at
Chemawa. They later married and he
brought her home to Siletz. Hopefully,
Bid for Election Director
The Election Board currently is accepting bids for an election director. The
opening date was May 3, 2002, and the closing date is June 30, 2002.
Description of Duties:
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Responsible for the day-to-day conduct and management of tribal
elections under the tribal ordinance and tribal Constitution
Oversee the preparation of ballot packets and verify the mail-out list
Assist tribal members with voter registration, including voter registration
packet mail-out and preparation of ballot packets for newly registered voters
Collect ballots on a daily basis from the Siletz post office
Responsible for daily maintenance of all election records, including poll book
Supervise the election process at the voting polls on Feb. 1, 2003,
including assisting incapacitated tribal members with their ballot,
counting the ballots, and presenting the rejected or defaced ballots
Certify candidates list
Certify election results, post results in a public place, and deliver results
to the Tribal Council chairman
Qualifications:
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Must have experience working with tribal organizations
Must have experience interpreting and understanding tribal ordinances
and constitutions
Must have working knowledge of election procedures
Must have Word/Excel experience
Must be a person or entity that does not include or is not composed of
Siletz Tribal members
Must be honest and fair, avoiding any appearance of impropriety or bias
Indian preference for Siletz Tribal members will not apply, but general
Indian preference will remain in effect
References: Three references must be submitted with your proposal
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Deadline: The Election Board must receive all proposals no later than
4 p.m. on June 30, 2002. Proposals must be mailed to CTSI Election
Board, P.O. Box 490, Siletz, OR 97380.
other tribal members’ connections to
Chemawa will be documented as part
of our history.
SueAnn’s slide presentation
included interesting information
regarding the history of the land. The
children wanted their own school, so
they worked and purchased 177 acres.
Then the “officials” got a law passed
by Congress which let them forcibly
take one-half of the students’ money to
buy 83 more acres. Title to the land was
given in the name of the government.
At one time, the land for the students
was about 400 acres.
Harvey Hood, a Klamath/Modoc
Foursquare Minister, led the closing
ceremony. State Rep. Vic Backland
from Keizer and Steve Kilpatrick,
ordained pastor and head of the
Christian mission organization Youth
With A Mission-Oregon, also were
involved in the Reconciliation
Ceremony. The following words are
quoted from Steve:
Confess, repent, and ask your
forgiveness for the grievous sins of
the church in general and missionaries
in particular.
Confess we dishonored you because
we did not esteem you as the host people
of this land. We did not even attempt to
understand your culture or spiritual
beliefs. Because your language, culture,
customs, and rituals were different, we
wrongly assumed they were wrong. We
arrogantly assumed that you possessed
no redeemable religious practices. Our
pre-judging you was completely
condescending, pridefully judgmental,
and wickedly evil to the core. Please
forgive us!
Confess we often judged you by
your outward appearance and not from
your heart, as God does. Our cultural
bigotry and strong-handed religious
ways robbed you and your children of
important aspects of your rich heritage
as a people. Please forgive us!
Confess that even when many of
your people responded to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, in our condescending
ways we stripped you of your identity
and the unique and beautiful Native
expressions of worshipping Jesus. We
dishonored your language. We
dishonored your music. We dishonored
your customs. We dishonored your
varying styles of expressing devotion
to the one true God, the Great Spirit,
by insisting you follow our traditions.
Please forgive us!
Confess we ignorantly and
insensitively called many of the
redemptive gifts in your culture demonic
or uncivilized. Your ancient ways were
different from ours and we judged them
altogether reprobate. Please forgive us
for our idolatrous devotion to our own
human traditions and subsequent
disregard for your redemptive gifts.
Confess we were self-seeking when
we ignored the dangers of con­
taminating you with our European
diseases in our attempt to convert you.
Confess we were greedy when we
bargained for land and hunting rights so
our missionary families could encroach
on your lands. We showed little regard
for your physical well-being by these
actions. Please forgive us!
Confess our failure to support justice
and affirm your right of stewardship over
the land. We Christian missionaries did
not stand with you when treaties and
covenants were being broken. In fact, in
some cases we stood squarely with the
government’s greedy and murderous
actions. Please forgive us for not obeying
God’s command to us to love, mercy,
do justly, and walk humbly before our
God and before you, his people.
Forgive us as the body of Christ
today for not taking the time to study
your history, to see the^injustices of the
past and present, and for not weeping
over your pain and repenting of our
grievous sins. We recognize our deep
need of your help and leadership in our
midst. Your voice, your native
perspective, is something we can no
longer live without. We want to serve
you as you take your rightful place as
the host people of our nation. We want
to serve you as you play a key role in
the body of Christ worldwide. We need
your leadership among missionaries to
the world and especially the indigenous
peoples of all nations!
I can only urge you to get involved
in the Chemawa Cemetery project.
June 2002
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Siletz News
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