CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Governor’s Annual
Summit
On Oct. 21, Gov. Ted Kulongoski met
with officials of the nine Oregon tribes in
Portland in what has become known as
the Governor’s Annual Summit.
Tribes were asked to submit to the
governor issues and information of spe
cial interest in advance of the meeting.
Although we were unable to speak on
those issues in any detail during the sum
mit, the governor and tribal chairmen had
an opportunity to comment on and ask
questions about the issues.
As it was at every previous summit,
panels met in what are known as cluster
groups to review issues of the past year
and highlight those that remain to be ad
dressed. The cluster groups, composed of
state officials and tribal officials and staff,
address specific program areas, i.e., edu
cation, economic development, housing,
culture, etc.
During the general sessions, each
tribe had an opportunity to highlight one
program that it considers of special inter
est and that merits special attention. We
chose to present our Aquatic Eel and Fish
Restoration program.
As our Siletz Tribal members already
know, it’s a very innovative program where
fish are filmed by underwater cameras in
Siletz Bay to study their behavior and
identify the issues involved in their sur
vival. The program is funded by grants
from the Environmental Protection
Delores Pigsley
Agency, Fish & Wildlife Service, Port
land Harbor, and other agencies.
We are proud of the fact that the pro
gram was featured as a television special
on Oregon Public Broadcasting. Our
Natural Resource Department is to be
commended for this outstanding innova
tive program that has far-reaching biologi
cal and ecological significance.
Oregon Tribal Leaders
Forum
You will recall how I have commented
in previous issues of Siletz News and
Nesika Illahee about the fact that Indian
tribes currently face critical economic and
legal issues. I said that not only can ma
jor natural disasters have serious negative
Some Siletz Tribal Children
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If you are thinking of becoming a I
needs good homes for temporary and
foster parent or relative placement, or
long-term placement for some of our
just have questions, contact Sandra
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Simmons at 1-800-922-1399, ext.
1275, or 541-444-8275. Packets on the 1
homes for relative placements are
needed, both locally and within the 11-
certification process and information
county service area.
sessions are available upon request.
__________________________ >
impacts on the funding of federal Indian
programs, but federal court appointments
also can result in adverse legal conse
quences for tribes.
It was timely that an Oregon Tribal
Leaders Forum with Sens. Gordon Smith.
John McCain, and Ron Wyden was con
vened in October and hosted by Portland
State University.
All nine Oregon tribes, as well as the
Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, were present
and were given the opportunity to present
issues and concerns to our senators. Ma
jor concerns brought to the senators’ at
tention included the lack of necessary
health care funding, stagnant education
funding, the Cobell court case (involving
all trust issues), and proposed Indian gam
ing legislation.
In response to our request that Bu
reau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health
Service budgets be exempted from any
cuts or recessions, the senators listened
intently to these concerns and responded
that across-the-board budget cuts would
not occur.
NCAI
I attended the annual National Con
gress of American Indians (NCAI) con
vention in Tulsa, Okla., hosted by the east
ern Oklahoma tribes. Reggie Butler, Lillie
Butler, and I represented the Siletz Tribe.
Typical of NCAI conventions, it in
volved a very busy agenda not only with
general sessions, but also with breakout
meetings held simultaneously on eco
nomic development, gaming, and other
important topics. The three of us attended
the general sessions as well as commit
tee sessions and various luncheons, recep
tions, and special programs.
Joe Garcia, governor of the San Juan
Pueblo of New Mexico, with the support
of the Northwest tribes, was elected NCAI
president.
At this annual meeting, we were
pleased that the Harvard Project recog
nized the Oregon Native American
Business Entrepreneurial Network
Most Often Requested Numbers
(ONABEN), of which our tribe for sev
eral years has been an active participant.
A special dinner was given in honor of
ONABEN along with 12 other diverse
programs nationwide.
Wilma Mankiller
I was proud to be asked to welcome
Wilma Mankiller to Oregon, the former
principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and
an Indian leader of national prominence.
Wilma currently occupies the Wayne
Morse Chair of Law and Politics at the
University of Oregon. She spoke elo
quently at an evening gathering to a
packed audience. I presented her with a
Siletz treaty blanket.
I also was on the Women’s Leader
ship Panel the following day. The
Women’s Leadership Conference recog
nized Sue Schaeffer, chairman of the Cow
Creek Band of Umpqua Indians, and
Kathryn Harrison of the Grand Ronde
Tribe for their accomplishments.
Investments
Finally, without going into specifics,
I would like to report that the Siletz
Tribe's common stock investments in sev
eral large companies generally are doing
well, i.e., Boeing, General Electric,
Lowe’s, Pepsi, Merrill Lynch, Google
Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corp,
Yahoo Inc., to name a few. I urge tribal
members to support these companies in
which we have vested interests.
You know that the Siletz Tribe, with
an eye to the future, has been wisely allo
cating part of our gaming revenues to
various funds, including endowments for
culture, capital replacement, health, and
education. The principals of these endow
ment funds remain untouched and con
tinue to grow as gaming revenues are
added to them and only their interest will
be used for special circumstances.
Details of our investments and en
dowments will be reported in an upcom
ing issue of Nesika Illahee.
Nuu-wee-ya’
(our words)
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
1-800-922-1399
Salem Area Office
503-390-9494
Salem Finance Office
1-888-870-9051
Portland Area Office
503-238-1512
Eugene Area Office
541-484-4234
Springfield Siletz Tribal Head Start
541-747-0161
Contract Health Services (CHS)
1-800-628-5720
Portland
Siletz Community Health Clinic
1-800-648-0449
Portland Area Office
Siletz Alcohol and Drug
1-800-600-5599
Dec. 13-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Chinook Winds Casino Resort
1-888-244-6665
Chemawa Health Clinic
1-800-452-7823
Bureau of Indian Affairs
1-800-323-8517
Web Site
www.ctsi.nsn.us
Introduction to the Athabaskan Language
Open to tribal members of all ages
Siletz
Salem
Siletz Tribal Community Center
Dec. 6-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Salem Area Office
Dec. 12-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Jan. 3-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Jan. 10-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
i
_
Eugene
Eugene Area Office
Dec. 5-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Jan. 9-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Jan. 17-6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tribal members who need help on cultural projects should contact the Siletz
Culture Department. We can assist you prior to the language classes.
For more information, contact Bud Lane at the Siletz Culture Department at
J
541-444-8320 or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1320; or e-mail budl@ctsi.nsn.us.
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December 2005
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