Siletz news /, June 01, 2007, Page 6, Image 6

TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
A depic­
tion of
Chief John
as the
people of
the tribes
of the
Rogue
River were
forcibly
marched
north to be
placed
on the
Siletz
Reserva­
tion
(original
painting of
Ahnkuttie
TiUicums
(Ancestors)
by Peggy
O Neal)
Siletz families and 477-SSP members who enjoyed an outing to the Lelooska
Foundation, inelude (top row) Seajay, William, Auzhane, Amberly, Tamatha,
Ronda, Chief Tsungani, and Nicole (by door); (middle row) Sunshine, Free­
dom, Antonette, Tatani, Stacey, Kenai, Ashlee, and Edelio; (bottom row)
Sharmon and Mariah; and Tina (walking forward).
477-SSP’s First
Family Outing
by Sharmon Cook-Wright
On April 20, Salem Area Office cli­
ents and the Portland Area Office clients
of the 477-Self-Sufficiency Program
Grant Assistance for Families had our
first family outing.
This family event took place at the
Lelooska Foundation in Ariel, Wash.,
just outside of Woodland, Wash.
The families enjoyed stories,
songs, and dances by firelight in the
Kwa' Kwakawakw ceremonial house.
The children really enjoyed the North­
west Coastal masks that were used in
this presentation.
If you are interested in the Living
History of the Lelooska Foundation or
would like to spend a wonderful evening
with your family, please check out its
Web site at www.lelooska.org. Enjoy
as we did!
6
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Siletz News
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Restoration, con’t from page 1
fields of Dayton. Some tribal people
were moved to Grand Ronde and some
were led to the Salmon River.
After surviving the winter weather
and the measles in the area at the mouth
of the Siletz River, the people gathered
camas and ate fish and deer.
Hunting and gathering meant jour­
neys through a homeland of rugged shore­
lines, open rangeland in mountain val­
leys, and rivers that rutted through deep
canyons. Timber and game sustained
life and trading along the Pacific Rim
with other tribal people brought about
cultural exchange and family diversity
before the arrival of white settlers and
the establishment of policies to secure
Indian lands for non-lndians.
Seven treaties written in “g(x>d faith"
were to be upheld “always,” and tribal land
covering the entire Willamette, Umpqua,
and Rogue River valleys - 15 million acres
- was ceded with the promise of a per­
manent reservation.
When the Coast Reservation was
established, several tribes were gath­
ered and expected to live side by side
within an area just 1 /20th of their origi­
nal combined territory.
By 1875, the land base was reduced
to 225.000 total acres without compen­
sation for the 900.000 acres taken.
The General Allotment Act of 1892
reduced tribal member land holdings
to 551 lots of 80 acres each. The re­
maining land was declared surplus land
and made available to settlers.
The government “negotiated" a
price of 74 cents an acre for 192.000
acres to be paid to the tribe. The nego­
tiations consisted of threats to take the
lands without compensation if the 74
cents was not accepted.
June 2007
By 1912, more than half of the In­
dian allotments were not owned by
tribal members because of forced fee
policies. This happened under the su­
pervision of the area’s only Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) official.
Termination in 1954 put an end to
all tribal recognition and land holdings.
By 1956, all tribal assets had been liq­
uidated by the BIA.
The remaining people of the tribe -
led by tribal member Joe Lane - banded
together in the 1970s and joined a na­
tionwide movement among Indian
people to achieve restoration to feder­
ally recognized status. Tribal leaders
knew it was the only way to get the
treaty rights upheld that had been
promised to the elders.
They followed the civil rights move­
ments of the time and became educated
on social justice issues. The people
gathered and held their first meeting in a
generation. They talked about Restoration.
“The rebirth of our culture is bring­
ing forth research and learning of lan­
guage. dance, and history.” said Tribal
Council member Lillie Butler in 1997.
“Our future generations will learn about
our past generations’ walk to the Siletz
Reservation, termination, and the Res­
toration of the Siletz Tribe. Twenty
years has surely shown the results of
hard work, unification, and pride of
being a Siletz Indian."
Following in the footsteps of the
Menominee people who were the first
Tribe in the nation to receive their Res­
toration status in 1972, Siletz became
the second tribe in the country to make
their dream come true.
The documents were signed on Nov.
18, 1977. In 1980, the government re­
turned 3.660 acres of scattered timber­
lands, including the old agency head­
quarters and cemetery on Government
Hill, to the tribe as a reservation land base.
Modern-day leaders of the tribe
respect the work of their ancestors.
“Our early tribal leaders had virtu­
ally nothing at the time they struggled
to be restored in terms of tribal assets,”
said Pigsley of the tribal leaders who laid
the groundwork for all that followed.
“They possessed something of far
greater value - vision, courage, and a
sense of tribal unity and purpose. The
resources we as a tribe have attained
since Restoration are nothing if we fail
to use them with the same sense of pur­
pose that drove our early tribal leaders.”
The late Craig Whitehead, a cultural
and spiritual leader of his tribe, was
known to believe in his people and
often thanked those who led the way
to the modern day.
“Through the vision of a handful
of people came the reality of what we
are today.” said Whitehead at the tribe's
20,h Anniversary of Restoration. "Our
tribe has come a long way since Res­
toration. As we continue to bring back
the traditions of our ancestors, we be­
come a once-again strong and proud
people. As the youth of today grow,
let us not forget to remind them of the
struggles our people have gone through
to get where they are today. As the fu­
ture generations come, let us pass on
the history of who and where we as a
people come from. We must continue
to be a strong and united people so that
the generations to come will have a
better way of life. May we go together
strong as friends and relatives.”
In other words, we are all family.