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holarship applications
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Basketball champs, wrestling
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network, exercise challenge
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Paul Anka, comedy, $700,000+
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S iletz
Vol. 35, No.
6 June _ 2007
_________
ated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Siletz Tribal Elder Ed Ben (right photo) participates in Tribal Information Day
at the state Capitol in Salem on May 18. He presented the Siletz Tribal flag as
part of the Color Guard presentation. Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley attended
along with representatives from all nine Oregon tribes. Umatilla Tribal Elder
Jay Minthorn served as host of the ceremony that took place on the steps oj
the Capitol, (photos by Brent Merrill)
Siletz Tribal Restoration - A 30th Anniversary Celebration
by Brent Merrill
Part II - “We Are All Family ...”
hands of the federal government for
more than 150 years when they signed
treaties. They continue to approach
their relationship to the government
with dignity and respect to this day.
Forced relocation to the confines of
the reduced allotment known as the Siletz
Reservation in 1855 meant a diminished
ability to practice their hunting, fish
ing, and gathering techniques that had
sustained them from time immemorial.
Tribal member George Thompson
remembers his grandfather’s story of
being relocated to the Siletz Reservation.
“It was summer time. We were all
herded down to the edge of the ocean at
Port Orford by the soldiers of the gov
ernment. Some people were crying,
others were just quiet. Nobody talked.
Each person was allowed only one
package or pack, generally made up in
a basket. The Indians took mainly
something to eat, as they did not know
where they were going. The only clothes
were what they wore; later the govern
ment gave us a blanket apiece. We left
behind many fine canoes, homes,
tanned hides, and other belongings.”
The connections between the tribes
in Oregon run deep and have many roots.
For many tribes, it's their shared history
of forced relocation, termination, and
restoration that bind them to each other.
Like holocaust survivors at a reunion,
when tribal elders see each other they
smile and grin like little kids. Siletz Tribal
Restoration 30 years ago brought that
practice into the modem day, where it can
be shared by seven generations to come.
Tribal elders pass down their his
tory to their family members and they
pass it on to others so they can learn
and grow. Restoration allows these tra
ditional Native values to live on. El
ders will continue to share their wis
dom and the tribe’s .young people will
continue to try to change the world.
“It is our tradition and therefore our
legacy that we learn from our elders and
that they be respected and honored." said
Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley. “We are
passing that legacy on to our children
and they will pass it on to their children.
This is our way of life. We are all family.
Modern-day eiders of the Siletz
Tribe have endured difficulties at the
f_____
------ ----------------------------——----- - -----------------------
What’s Inside
2
Letters to the Editor
3
Chairman’s Report
6
Tribal Program News
16
Tribal Member News
\__________ _ ____ ________
Tribal Council Timesheets
Siletz Clinic
Chinook Winds
Passages
The grandfather remembered the
pain they all felt.
“All of us were heartsick."
It took nearly nine months for
Thompson’s grandfather and his
people to be relocated to the area that
would become the Siletz Reservation.
The people were placed on a ship that
took them on a five-day journey the
entire length of the Oregon Coast to
Second in a Series Celebrating 30 Years
This is the second in a series of monthly articles by Brent Merrill about
the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ 30th Anniversary of Restoration.
Merrill is a public relations con-sultant for the tribe. He has spent his adult
life working for many tribes throughout the Northwest as a journalist, pub
lic relations con-sultant, and natural resource law enforcement coordinator.
Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner,
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Universitv of Oreuon Library
Received on: 06-04-07
Siletz news (Siletz. Or. :
1398)
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the mouth of the Columbia River and
then delivered them to Portland.
“One morning we saw land and we
were happy again. We did not know it
then, but we were in the Columbia
River. We sailed up to Portland - only
a few large buildings at that time."
The tribal people were then led by
ox-team from the piers in Portland to the
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