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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2006)
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Our Nov. 18. 2006, Restoration speaker will be Forrest Gerard, who is well-known to many of you not only as an authority on Indian affairs, but also as a friend and advoeate. Before his retirement. Forrest served as a lobbyist and consultant for the Siletz Tribe on many national as well as spe cific Siletz Tribal issues. He fought for Indian tribes in the same spirit he fought as a turret gunner of a B-24 bomber with 35 combat missions over Eastern Europe during World War II. After his discharge from the Air Force, he engaged in many combat missions on behalf of Indian tribes as a Senate staffer, assistant secretary of the Interior, and lobbyist on critical Indian issues - from health, education, housing, and self-determination to self governance and Indian gaming. Forrest always has an important message to impart and does so with eloquence. I am pleased he will be with us again for our 29,h Annual Restora tion Celebration. NCAI Receives Harvard’s “Honoring Nations Award” For whatever reasons, statistics have shown that violence against women has become a problem among some American Indian tribes - a problem virtually unheard of during the aborigi nal and early historical period. It has been suggested that this tragic social phenomenon is similar in some respects to vets who experience serious psy chological problems upon returning home to their families from the horrors of the Iraq and other wars. The National Congress of Ameri can Indians (NCAI) recently was hon ored for its “ground-breaking work to protect Native women from the high rate of domestic violence they face." The award was presented to NCAI by Harvard University's Project on Ameri can Indian Economic Development at the Kennedy School of Government. According to Juana Majel-Dixon, chairman of NCAI's Violence Against Women Task Force: “The work we do has brought together grassroots advo cates and tribal leaders in a way that has impacted hundreds of Indian tribes. American Indian and Alaska Native women have been given a place for their voices to be heard ... I am honored by this recognition." of greater tribal self-determination ini tiatives, Indian people have a greater responsibility to use their voices and their votes in the electoral process. According to NCAI: “Native VOTE 2006 was about making candidates aware of tribal issues and getting In dian voters involved in the political process. In off-presidential election years such as this, those votes can reso nate even more. This year every mem ber of the House of Representatives is up for re-election in some races. The Native Vote could very well decide the outcome of those races.” So if you have not yet voted and there is time, I urge you to exercise your right and vote! Native Leaders Rally Around Native Vote Effort at NCAI Convention By the time you read my article in this issue of Siletz News, the November election may already be over. We al ready may have decided who will gov ern our state and local governments and who will serve as our representatives in the U.S. Congress. We also may have already decided what critical local and state measures have passed or failed. If, however, the dead line has not yet arrived as you read these words and you have not yet voted. I urge you to do your duty and vote! I have often reminded our members of the importance of understanding the issues and the candidates and to vote accordingly. I hope we all will have fulfilled our citizenship responsibilities by doing exactly that. And good or bad, we will be stuck - or blessed with the results of this election. Former Colorado Sen. Ben Night horse Campbell, the first American In dian in history to chair the Senate Com mittee on Indian Affairs, said. “Native people are realizing now more than ever the substantive nature of their power at the polls ... Using our vote, we are beginning to define ourselves after 400 years where we were defined by some one else." ECONorthwest’s study has shown that Oregon tribes have had an enor mous positive impact on the state's economy. NCAI Chairman Joe Garcia reminds us that with the undertaking General Council Meeting Nov. 4, 2006 - 1 p.m. Siletz Tribal Community Center - Siletz, Oregon Agenda Call to Order Invocation Roll Call Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes Reports: Tribal Council Committee/Activity Reports Proposed Constitutional Amendment Delores Pigsley Tribal Member Concerns Declaration of Candidacy for 2007 Election Chairman's Report Announcements Adjournment Finally. I would like to alert our members to an upcoming constitu tional election. The present Siletz. Constitution pro vides that constitutional elections can only be conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As summarized by tribal attorney Craig Dorsay, at the present time, “amendment elections ... com pletely separate from tribal elections, require separate voter registration, are held at a time set by the Bureau of In dian Affairs, and arc conducted pursu ant to federal rules and regulations.” The Siletz Constitution, like the constitutions of many other tribes, was adopted under the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, which requires constitutional elections to be conducted by the BIA. Many tribes have liberated them selves from this obsolete system. Our tribe has initiated a process to do the same. Under the proposed amendment, the Constitution may be amended “by a ma jority vote of the qualified voters" of the Siletz. Tribe ... pursuant to tribal law." The proposed amendment states that. "It shall be the duty of the Election Board to authorize an election on any proposed amendment by Resolution of the Tribal Council or upon presentation of a petition signed by at least one third of the General Council." The proposed amendment goes on to spell out the Elec tion Board's responsibilities, including the specific time frames of the election. Another important proposed amend ment involves attorney contracts. The Siletz. Constitution, similar to many other tribal constitutions, provides that all attorney contracts must be approved by the Department of the Interior. This is pursuant to an old law passed by the U.S. Congress in the late 1800s to pre vent unscrupulous attorneys from ex ploiting Indian tribes. According to Dorsay. "The provi sion was included in the Siletz Consti tution when it was adopted in 1979 as a limitation on the power of the Siletz Tribal Council." Dorsay states, however, that. “In the modern era of tribal self-government and Indian self-determination, this fed eral authority becomes obsolete, and in 2000 Congress amended the IRA and Section 81 removed federal approval of tribal attorney contracts. The BIA no longer reviews and approves such con tracts. but the requirement still appears in the Siletz Constitution." The Tribal Council has initialed the process of amending the Constitution to eliminate this unnecessary and ob solete requirement. The other most important amend ment is to document/recognize the tribe's historical treaties in our Constitution. Siletz Tribal members will be pro vided with further details of these pro posed constitutional amendments. r-------------------------------------- | Cut Wood for the Elders Day I I I | Nov. 10, 2006 Old log yard on the tribe’s Toledo Mill property Lunch, drinks, and snacks provided [ I I Meet at the tribal administration building at 8 a.m. to caravan to the mill. I I I If you can haul wood to elders outside of the Siletz area, contact Elders Coordinator Angela Ramirez at 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1225, or 541-444-8225. Most Often Requested Numbers I-800-922-1 399 503-390-9494 I-888-870-905 I 503-238-1 5 I 2 541-484-4234 541-747-0161 I-8OO-628-572O 1-800-648-0449 1-800-600-5599 1-888-244-6665 I-8OO-452-7823 I-8OO-323-85I7 www.ctsi.nsn.us Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Salem Area Office Salem Finance Office Portland Area Office Eugene Area Office Springfield Siletz Tribal Head Start Contract Health Services (CHS) Siletz Community Health Clinic Siletz Alcohol and Drug Chinook Winds Casino Resort Chemawa Health Clinic Bureau of Indian Affairs Web Site November 2006 • Siletz News • I I
