CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
It was in September, 25 years
ago, that we were told that our
Restoration Act would be passed by the
U.S. Congress.
1 was on the Tribal Council then
(the youngest, I might add) inspired by
other council members who had the
vision to fight so long with such
persistence and fortitude for our tribe
to be restored. I was proud to be part of
that council.
It was at our Restoration
Celebration two months later in a
building at the county fairgrounds that
Tribal Chairman Art Bensell announced
that he had just received a phone call
from President Jimmy Carter that the
Restoration Act had been signed - it
was now law! Very few tribal members
in attendance were aware that the
president would call on that very day
so Chairman Bensell could make
the announcement at that very time
and place.
The place erupted with cheers!
There was joy you can’t imagine!
It had snowed that day, the first time
in November in many years. I
remember the building was freezing
cold. The fire marshal showed up and
said he would have to shut the place
down if we used the heaters that were
brought in to help heat the place. We
complied - but nothing could chill our
spirits. In fact, our spirits kept us warm
throughout that frigid day and evening.
I remember that many thoughts
flooded my mind on that day - of my
brother, Joe, who led the initial
restoration effort, and of Janie, his wife,
who financed most of what Joe did on
behalf of the tribe, including lobbying
trips to Washington, D.C. I wondered
then what my dad would have thought
about restoration and knew that he, too,
would have been filled with pride.
I will never forget the pow-wow. It
was freezing, but we had a wonderful
meal, danced all evening long, and had
some great pictures taken for the local
newspaper. Our elders, many of whom
are no longer with us today, joined in
the dances.
I also thought about the important
implications restoration had for our
people. During all those years that we
were “terminated” (hard to believe now,
but it’s true), I, like other Siletz Indians,
was not eligible for services because we
were not considered “Indians” and did not
have Indian preference for employment
or eligibility for educational or other
programs. Restoration changed all that!
That evening, many BIA workers
reminded me that our job had just
begun. We needed to develop, among
other things, a tribal budget and an
official roll with the assistance of
BIA officials.
On Nov. 16, we will celebrate our
25"' Restoration Anniversary. Guest
speakers will be long-time friends and
tribal advocates - former Gov. Victor
Atiyeh and Warm Springs General
Manager Rudy Clements. Former
council members will be honored for
their service over the past 25 years and
for those who served to make
restoration possible.
To the editor:
I would like to ask the youth to take
some time and read this letter with an
open mind and ears.
At this time, I’m in the Oregon
State Correctional Institution for
committing a robbery on Dec. 31,2001.
I’m currently serving a 36-month
sentence for this crime. I’ve been in four
different prisons in the past nine
months. None of these places is a “nice”
place to stay.
When I was on the streets, I was so
lost in the drugs, alcohol, and
materialism. I was at times an angry,
sad, and deceiving person who didn’t
care who I hurt, even my own family.
Some say marijuana, or weed, calms
you down or helps take the edge off.
Why is there that edge in your day that
you have to smoke weed?
There are a lot of things that we
hide from everyone else and ourselves.
If we just dealt with some of our
problems, we wouldn’t have that edge
there. Do you steal, borrow from, or
deceive your loved ones for money to
get it? If you do, then your addiction
has become a habit that will only grow
and cause more problems in your life.
I’m trying to make this as short as
possible, so please bear with me.
Alcohol is worse than marijuana, I
think, but that does not make weed
good. Alcohol was my worst enemy on
the streets. I’ve been on probation since
I was 12 years old and that’s more than
1/3 of my life! I would say that 80
percent of the time I got into trouble
was because of alcohol.
I still can’t tell you how much
alcohol has done to my life, to family
relations, to my friends also. Alcohol
is so readily available, i.e., home,
streets, or your friends. You don’t have
to be drinking yourself to get in trouble.
People around you can get you into
trouble by their own decisions.
Alcohol impairs your ability to
make easy decisions. I’m asking if you
can please take time to look at your life
so you won’t have to end up in prison.
Take time to evaluate your decisions so
you don’t hurt yourself or the ones you
love. I often get mail/pictures from
home and feel so sad at what I did and
wish I could be free again.
I feel that I now have some tools to
stay away from crime, drugs, and
alcohol. I have 19 months until I get
out, so there’s a lot I can still learn and
the possibilities are endless. So please
take the time to give your actions
some thought.
Thanks for taking the time to read
this. I just want the best for our tribal
members and youth.
Sincerely,
Chris VanDaam
Chairman Delores Pigsley
We’ll be reminded that during the
years that we were “terminated.” we had
no federally recognized government.
All of our land, except the cemetery,
had been lost. It’s hard to imagine now,
but the General Council didn’t even
have a place of our own to meet.
We have come a long way since
then. It took the hard work of many
Siletz people to secure restoration and
what we have achieved since then - our
health clinic and programs; our
educational, housing and employment
programs; and our gaming enterprise,
among others.
Our tribal government institutions,
including our Constitution, have served
us well for the past 25 years. We have
had our internal tribal controversies.
We’ve not only endured, but have
grown stronger as a tribe because of the
basic tribal institutions that helped us
cope with those controversies.
In a real sense, restoration wasn’t
only a congressional act - it’s a
continuing tribal process of renewal and
growth. For one thing, it’s a process of
helping our younger generation be
sensitive to, and knowledgeable about,
our Siletz culture.
This is exemplified by Robert
Kentta’s remarkable historical research
and Cheryl and Bud Lane’s efforts to
bring our traditional dancing back home
and promote our native basket weaving
and language. Bud, Robert, and
Snoball, among others, were largely
responsible for the construction of the
Siletz Dance House and of involving
our tribal youth in Siletz Feather Dancing.
I had an opportunity recently to
attend the Basket Weavers Annual
Gathering in Omak, Wash. Bud
displayed many of his beautiful baskets
and was a featured basket weaver. The
Siletz Tribe is being considered to host
the next annual Basket Weaver’s
Gathering at Chinook Winds.
In summary, Nov. 16 will be a
major event not only celebrating the
congressional act that restored our tribe,
but also remembering our long struggle
to be restored, our many achievements
since then, and that restoration also is a
process of continued growth of the
Siletz Tribe.
We urge all our tribal members to
attend and welcome all our non-Indian
friends to come celebrate with us!
November 2002
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