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V. 32
no. 11
November
2004
Apprenticeships, all-stars, new
babies, and retirements
Pages 10-13
Restoration agenda;
celebrate wellbriety
Pages 5 and 8
S iletz
Flu shot update and ways to
help avoid getting the flu
Page 19
Professional billiards,
concerts, and comedy
Page 21
N ews
Vol. 32. No. 11 November 2004
lerated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon
Siletz Group Attends NMAI Opening
by Ed Ben
The brand new National Museum
of the American Indian in Washington,
D.C., was scheduled to be dedicated
Sept. 21, 2004. A procession of more
than 500 tribes was to walk, in alpha
betical order, from the Capitol Mall to
the museum as part of the dedication.
I am both proud and thankful to
have the opportunity to represent our
Siletz Tribe at the dedication. I walked
in the procession with the following
members and friends of the Siletz Tribe:
Don and Dee Pigsley, Alfred (Bud)
Lane III, Alfred (Brother) Lane IV, Alan
and Dona James, Leslie Ralston, Kenny
Ralston, Randy Lane, Selene Rilatos,
Robert Kentta, LeRoy and Doni Wilder,
and Randy Fuson.
We arrived early at the Capitol Mall
staging area to ensure our place in the
lineup. Hundreds of Indians already
were milling around in the staging area.
Dee and Bud conferred with one of the
coordinators and we were immediately
placed in the lineup and began the walk.
Part way through the walk, I heard
a familiar voice say, “Hey you Siletz
Indians, look over here.” There in the
crowd stood my son, Gerald, camera in
hand. He and his friend, Randy, joined
us for the remainder of the walk. He
has told several people he was not sure
he could ever find us in all those feath
ers and leathers.
We walked with tribes around us
singing song after song. Bud and Rob
ert honored our group with several
songs. Selene and I sang a song during
one of the stops of the procession.
Our contribution to the procession
was well documented by the hundreds
of cameras and video cameras in the
hands of people standing shoulder-to-
shoulder, five to 10 deep, lining the
parade route. We finally arrived at the
seating area to await the arrival of the
remaining tribes and organizations.
Our early arrival at the seating area
provided us the time to see the other
tribes as they entered. We visited with
many people, Indian and non-Indian,
who came to our area to take pictures
and/or say hello and question where we
were from. One man who honored us
with a visit introduced himself as a
grandson of Aggie Pilgrim.
Emotions ran deep as the program
of speeches and acknowledgments be
gan with an Indian Color Guard and
drumming group entering the speaker’s
stage. It was awesome to see thousands
of people standing in unison to the sing
ing of a flag song. Some estimates place
the attendance at the dedication at up
wards to 80,000 people.
Some of us attended a preview of
the museum on Sept. 20. It’s everything
the critics have described.
If you went there expecting a “skull
and bones” exhibit, you probably went
away disappointed. If you expected a
positive spin on the uniqueness of the
different tribes, you probably went
away satisfied. With representatives of
What’s Inside
Letters to the Editor
Chairman’s Report
Vice Chairman’s Report
Tribal Program News
Tribal Member News
2
3
5
6
10
Notices
Tribal Council Timesheets
Siletz Clinic
Chinook Winds
Passages
14
15
18
20
23
Kenny Ralston, Selene Rilatos, Bud Lane, LeRoy Wilder, Leslie Ralston, Dona
James, Robert Kentta, Delores Pigsley, Ed Ben, and Buddy Lane stand in front
of the Washington Monument while awaiting the procession to the National
Museum of the American Indian. See more photos on pages 15-17.
500 tribes passing through the museum,
one can expect a variety of opinions.
Likewise, we Indians can always rely
on the media to exploit the negative.
My ability to attend the dedication
was made possible with the help of sev
eral tribal members. Thank you to Bud
Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians of Oregon
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
and Gerald for helping me find an air
line ticket that fit my retirement bud
get. Thank you to Buddy for giving up
his bed rather than having me sleep on a
$25-a-night rollaway bed. Thanks to Sonja
for making me a new ribbon shirt and
breechcloth to wear in the procession.
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner,
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
of Oregon Library
University oT
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