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
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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
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