Siletz news /, November 01, 2003, Page 3, Image 3

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
ATNI’s 50th Annual
Meeting - Celebrating
Tribal Unity
The year was 1953. The U.S.
Congress passed House Concurrent
Resolution 108, the ill-advised federal
policy that targeted Indian tribes to be
“terminated,” according to the resolu­
tion, “as rapidly as possible.”
That same year, tribal leaders in the
Northwest who had been meeting
informally until then on Indian issues,
formally established the Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI),
primarily to fight against termination -
a policy they knew meant disaster for
all Indian tribes.
The Affiliated Tribes, along with
the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), mounted a major
campaign to fight against termination
and sought to have officially reversed a
policy that was proving so disastrous
to Indian tribes.
Unfortunately, however, Congress
already had targeted a handful of tribes
to be “terminated,” passing laws several
months after the resolution was
proclaimed to “terminate” the
Menominee, the Utes, the Klamath, the
Siletz, and other western Oregon tribes.
Some years later, through concerted
intertribal effort, Congress reversed
its termination policy and adopted
instead federal policies reaffirming
tribal sovereignty and tribal self-
determination. In this collaborative
effort with NCAI, the Affiliated Tribes
became one of the most, if not the most,
influential regional Indian organi­
zations in the nation.
Presidents of ATNI went on to
become presidents of NCAI, including
Joe Garry of Coeur d’Alene of Idaho,
Earl Old Person of the Blackfeet Tribe
of Montana, and from the state of
Washington, Joe DeLaCruz of Quinault.
For the past 50 years, ATNI has
served as a watchdog to alert member
tribes of critical Indian issues and to
make certain that tribal rights,
programs, and services are protected
and promoted.
During the week of Sept. 22-25,
more than 400 tribal leaders, hosted by
the Umatilla Tribe, gathered at the
Wildhorse Casino and Resort to
celebrate the 50lh anniversary of ATNI.
We not only reflected on the or­
ganization’s past, but also discussed
that were held across the U.S. It was
announced that offici^ tribal consul­
tation sessions would be held in Las
Vegas at the end of October.
During the convention, ATNI
members were pleased by the
Department of Education's presentation
of a check for $30.4 million under the
No Child Left Behind Act to be used
by BIA schools over the next six years.
We’re proud of the fact that ever
since we were restored nearly 26 years
ago, the Siletz Tribe has been an active
and contributing member of ATNI.
Chairman Delores Pigs ley
the many important issues that lie
before us.
Earl Old Person from the Blackfeet
Tribe reminded us of the difficulty
tribes had in the old days of getting and
disbursing information, unlike today in
our world of instant communications.
The agenda covered a wide range
of tribal issues. Stan Speaks, regional
director of the BIA, explained what the
bureau’s organization is expected to
look like after reorganization. Tribal
leaders were upset that the admin­
istration seemed not to have listened
to them during the many sessions
Senate Native American
Caucus
In early October, along with other
tribal leaders, I was invited to attend a
meeting of the Senate Native American
Caucus in Washington, D.C. The caucus
is composed of a group of senators and
was organized last year along the same
lines as the House Caucus, which has
been in existence for a number of years.
Both the House and Senate
caucuses keep abreast of, and address,
Indian issues that come before Congress
for the purposes of protecting tribal
rights and promoting tribal programs
and services.
Sens. Tom Daschle and Hillary
Clinton chaired the meeting, with Sens.
Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Jeff
Bingaman, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer,
Tim Johnson, and Byron Dorgan among
others participating.
Approximately 12 tribes and leaders
of Indian organizations attended. Tribal
testimony covered six areas of
particular interest to Senate leadership,
including FY04 appropriations, BIA
trust reform, energy, health, welfare
reform, Head Start, transportation, and
Native Hawaiian recognition.
Sen. Clinton opened the discussion,
followed by presentations of issues by
tribes and Indian organizations. At the
conclusion of the formal discussion,
legislators and tribal officials had an
opportunity to talk informally with each
other on a face-to-face basis, which
often proves of greater value than
formal presentations. After lunch, we
met with staff from the senators’ offices,
which was followed by a reception at
the Senate office hosted by the
Pechanga Tribe of California.
It’s encouraging to know there are
senators and representatives on both
sides of the political fence who
understand Indian issues and are
working for the benefit of Indian tribes.
It’s incumbent on us - the tribes - to
recognize, support, and express
appreciation to these congressional
people for their efforts on our behalf.
Siletz Restoration - 26th
Anniversary Celebration
On Nov. 15, we’ll celebrate the 26th
anniversary of the restoration of the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
of Oregon.
Unlike the non-terminated tribes
with a long, unbroken history of
development under federal recognition,
the Siletz Tribe suffered more than 20
years during which we had no tribal
land and as a “terminated” tribe, had
no federal programs to assist us. Since
we were “restored,” however, we’ve
made remarkable progress of which we
should be proud.
On Nov. 15, we’ll celebrate our
restoration of 26 years ago and our
accomplishments since then. It’ll also
be an opportunity for us to commit
ourselves to do what remains yet to
be done.
Please come and celebrate with us
on this important date.
November 2003 □
Siletz News
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