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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2003)
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Siletz Tribe’s Statement to State Legislature May 19 kicked off Oregon Indian Week and Ed Ben gave the invocation to begin the House session. Sen. Joan Dukes (D-Astoria) presented to the state Legislature the Siletz Tribe’s statement about itself. The statement recounted the ordeal our tribe was made to endure during the early period of our history, including the removal of the confederated tribes from our aboriginal homeland, the loss of our promised reservation, the termination disaster, and our struggle to be restored. It also described our accomplish ments since restoration and how the tribe has proved to be tribal constitution and bylaws and a judicial system that have served us well for the past 25 years.” I gave credit to the state Legislature for its initiatives in improving tribal state relationships: Chairman Delores Pigs ley “a Dance House, exactly as in aboriginal times where we now hold our traditional solstice dances and spiritual gatherings” and that these events “... reflect our need to balance techno logical with cherished cultural values.” “ ... a good neighbor to our surrounding communities, contributing significantly to the local economy and charities,... (being) the largest employer in Lincoln County with about 1,000 tribal program and Chinook Winds employees, many of whom are non-Indians.” To underscore the fact that the Siletz Tribe is a sovereign no less than the state, the statement said: I said we distributed more than 1,000 computers to every Siletz house hold, but also told about constructing “The foundation upon which we exercise our sovereignty is our tribal government, which functions under a Council Approves Student Incentive Program The Siletz Tribal Council places great emphasis on educational achievement for tribal members. Each year, the tribe funds student activities ranging from Head Start/preschool through the college level. Initially, all funding was from federal government sources, but in later years has been a combination of federal, tribal, and gaming revenues. This year, the Tribal Council approved a Student Incentive Program, designed to reward student accomplishment as they graduate from: Head Start/Preschool (final year) Kindergarten Elementary School Middle School • • • High School Adult Vocational Training Certificate Higher Education Any student who graduated from the above classifications (except AVT) in the 2002-2003 school year should submit a copy of their graduation certificate, name, and address to the education specialist in their area. AVT students who graduated from Jan. 1, 2003, through June 30, 2003, should submit a copy of their graduation certificate to the education specialist in their area. The education specialist will submit the certificate for the student incentive and mail the incentive to the student. All students outside of the 11-county service area should forward their graduation certificate to Ramona Fisher, Education Specialist, CTSI, P.O. Box 549, Siletz, OR 97380-0549. “The Siletz Tribe acknowledges that the governor’s executive order that recognizes the sovereignty of Oregon tribes and promotes government-to- government relationships is unique among states in the nation. So is the legislatively established Commission on Indian Services that helps address critical Indian issues. These bold and progressive initiatives have helped promote mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.” I ended by stating that, “The Siletz Tribe is committed to do our part in facilitating that process.” ODOT Video Filming Last month, I spent some time with Ted Burney from the Oregon Depart ment of Transportation (ODOT), who is putting together a training video on how to work with tribes. Some basics in training materials are common to all organizations. There are some unique aspects about Indian tribes, however, about which people who work with tribes should be aware. This is why Burney was consulting with tribal officials to help produce the video. I was told that although ODOT is producing this work, the training video is intended for use by all state agencies. Tribal Investments/ Economic Development I now would like to touch on items that are dealt with in greater detail elsewhere in this issue of Siletz News or will be in the next issue of the tribe’s confidential newsletter, Nesika Illahee. As reported in previous issues of both publications, a set percentage of revenues generated by Chinook Winds and from the harvesting of our timber are invested in stocks, bonds, and savings. Gregg Gubuan, the tribe’s chief financial officer, reported to the General Council on May 3 on all of the tribe’s investments, in what companies our tribal funds are invested, and how they are doing. Greg also explained how the children s per capitas are invested. Information concerning the tribe’s investments will be dealt with in greater detail in the July issue of Nesika Illahee. As with gaming revenues dedicated to investments, a specific percentage is allocated for economic development. These funds are not only set aside to fund the newly established Siletz Tribal Business Corporation, but also to help initiate economic development projects. On May 6, Dwight Butt conducted an economic development workshop for the Tribal Council. Five specific project areas were identified as priorities. Please see more details in Jessie Davis’ report on page 4. Ross Simmons/ Weyerhaeuser Case Last month, a federal district court jury handed down its decision on the suit brought by Ross Simmons against Weyerhaeuser. Ross Simmons was awarded $26 million because it was able to prove that the lack of alder it needed for its operations resulted in a substantial loss caused by Weyerhaeuser’s monopoly. Although a party to the suit, the Siletz Tribe was unable to show any loss because of Weyerhaeuser’s monopoly of alder. Oregon Tourism Conference I’m proud to say that Chinook Winds was again host to another major conference. The Oregon Tourism Conference brought together rep resentatives from across the state to discuss ways to promote tourism in the state. As a destination resort on the coast, Chinook Winds was an ideal location for this statewide conference. Gov. Ted Kulongoski addressed the conference, pointing out how essential tourism is to the state, which is suffering economically. A number of high profile corporations abandoned Oregon for other states, taking employees with them or leaving behind hundreds of unemployed. Tourism is a valuable state resource. By attracting visitors from outside Oregon, tourism potentially can generate significantly more revenues for our economically depressed state. I attended part of the conference and had an opportunity to confer with various delegates about tourism issues. I also spoke with Gov. Kulongoski. Chinook Winds and Lincoln City should be commended for being excel lent hosts for this important conference. June 2003 □ Siletz News □ 3 *
