CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Education is the focus of my report
this month. In addition to briefly com
menting on Van Peters’ report about
Siletz Valley School that appeared in
the April issue of Siletz News, I would
like to review what has happened to
the educational level of the Siletz Tribe
since we were restored 30 years ago.
SVS Progress and
Problems - The First Year
In the April issue of Siletz News,
Van Peters, administrator of Siletz Val
ley School, reported that, “The students
did great and the school met Annual
Yearly Progress as required under the
No Child Left Behind Act and also re
ceived a ‘Strong Rating' from the Oregon
State Department of Education."
However, Peters also reported, re
gretfully, that an organization of Toledo
community members called Save Our
Schools (SOS) had submitted a proposal
to the state Legislature to create a
school district, separate from the Lin
coln County School District, which,
according to Peters, would negatively
impact both Siletz Valley School and
Eddyville Charter School.
I won’t restate the reasons why the
proposal would be detrimental to the
tribe’s educational objectives and pro
grams. Peters already has explained
those reasons in his April article.
I do think it’s important, however,
to remind our readers of the crisis our
tribe and the Siletz community faced
and the fierce struggle we were en
gaged in when we learned that Siletz
School was doomed to be closed.
For the sake of our children and the
future of our tribe, the Tribal Council
and the Siletz community mobilized to
save Siletz School. It was out of that
desperate struggle that our charter
school was born.
This is the first year that Siletz Val
ley, which includes the high school, has
been in full swing. It’s doing very well,
with all test scores higher than the state
average.
My hope is that there are no nega
tive impacts if SOS is successful in its
desire to establish a separate school
district. Without disparaging in any
way SOS’ basic intent, my hope also is
that SOS members will bear in mind
what the Siletz Tribe and the Siletz com
munity have had to endure in estab
lishing the charter school. We trust SOS
members will not want to jeopardize
the goodwill that has been built be
tween our communities.
Tribal Higher Ed, AVT, and
Adult Ed Programs
The question is often asked: Is the
Siletz Tribe making any progress in our
education programs? Are Siletz students
really graduating from high school and
going on in significant numbers to col
leges, universities, and adult vocational
institutions?
The answer is definitely - Yes!
To understand what's happened -
education-wise - to our tribe, all we
Delores Pigs ley
need do is go back to what our tribe
was like when we were restored.
The Siletz Tribe’s Reservation Com
prehensive Plan, published in March
1984, gives us a clue: The report states:
The 1978 SERA Report found 24.8
percent of the 855 surveyed left high
school prior to completion and that very
few of the tribal members are involved
in any form of technical training or
enrolled in four-year colleges, negative
school-related experiences turn a sig
nificant number of people away from
seeking further education, and many
people reported a poor background in
the basics necessary for higher educa
tion. The conclusion is that the funda
mental lack of funds necessary to com
plete a prospective student's education
combined with little or no career guid
ance are negative experiences that cur
tail the student’s education.
The Siletz Tribe's 1992 annual re
port reported 22 students enrolled in
higher education and 18 in adult vo
cational schools.
Significant progress has been made
since that annual report. In a period of
just 15 years, instead of just 22, the
tribe currently has more than 160 stu
dents enrolled in colleges and univer
sities and instead of just 18 in adult
vocational schools, there are now
more than 50.
This remarkable increase can be
attributed to the fact that students have
greater positive school-related experi
ences, stronger backgrounds in the
basics for higher education, and greater
access to financial resources.
The dramatic increase also can be
attributed to strengthened family ties
and support, and skillful guidance and
assistance by our capable staff.
Education has been a high tribal
priority ever since we were restored
and is reflected today in numerous pro
grams that promote education, i.e.:
An endowment fund in which we
invest a substantial amount of gam
ing revenues annually to the fund,
with only the interest used for
higher education purposes
Issuing to every Siletz household
a computer for the informational
and educational enrichment of all
tribal members
Providing every higher ed student
with a laptop to facilitate his/her
education
The Tribal Youth Employment Pro
gram under which we offer mean
ingful employment and motivation
to high school students
The Summer Employment Program
for college students
Annual awards recognition at
which college graduates are recog
nized and honored
Stipends for certain levels of
achievement from kindergarten
through high school
The Tribal Council also has talked
about specifying and offering full
scholarships to students in certain
high priority trades and degrees. We
aren't there yet but soon will be.
The Mentor/Protege Program under
which current employees of Chi
nook Winds undergo training to
become managers
Oregon Coast
Community College
Finally, I would like to mention that
I have been invited to be this year s
Oregon Coast Community College
(OCCC) graduation speaker.
For those of you who may not be
familiar with this relatively new. small
but unique community college, it s
headquartered in Newport, Ore., and
its district encompasses all of Lincoln
County. In addition to Newport, the
college has satellite facilities in Lincoln
City and Waldport.
The college has approximately
3,000 students and a faculty of 45.
It's unique in that OCCC has the only
aquarium science program in the
United States.
It presently holds classes in tempo
rary facilities, but voters passed a $23.5
million bond levy in 2004 that has
made possible the planning and con
struction of permanent college facilities.
We. members of the Siletz Tribe, who
have experienced the pangs of growth
over the past 30 years, from virtually
nothing to what we have today, can
empathize with the pangs being expe
rienced today by the officials and fac
ulty of OCCC. We wish them well, j
Congratulations to all the students
who graduate this year!
Restoration Committee Working on
30th Anniversary Celebration
by Tina Retasket
The Tribal Council has appointed a
committee to work on this year’s Resto
ration Celebration. As you may already
know, this year marks the 30th anniver
sary of Restoration. The committee is
working on many events leading up to
the Restoration event in November.
If you have any photographs of
people or events that are significant to
pre- or post-restoration, we would like
to make a copy of them.
Please bring your photos to the
Public Information office in the admin
istration building in Siletz. Diane or
Laurel will scan your photo, ask you who
the people are in the picture and what
the event is, and return the photo to you.
They will forward the copies to the com
mittee and you will have the original.
We appreciate everyone’s assis
tance in this event and hope to use as
many pictures as possible to show the
recent history of the Siletz Tribe.
Most Often Requested Numbers
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
June 2007 •
1-800-922-1399
503-390-9494
1-888-870-9051
503-238-1512
541-484-4234
541-747-0161
I-8OO-628-572O
1-800-648-0449
1-800-600-5599
1-888-244-6665
1-800-452-7823
I-8OO-323-8517
www.ctsi.nsn.us
Siletz News
•
3