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

TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Restoration, con’t from page 1
ory to him and are absolutely unable
to function in his present world.”
The words seem ludicrous now,
especially when you consider that six
decades later, tribal people still remem­
ber their culture and have rebounded
to create their own society within the
dominant-culture society.
Termination as a federal policy be­
gan to be implemented in the 1950s.
Siletz Tribal land holdings were sold
by the federal government and other
tribal properties, including the cem­
etery, were transferred to the town of
Siletz because the tribe could not pay
the property taxes that were now due.
Ironically, a Congressional Report on
Indian Affairs in 1949 warned that tribal
leaders might never forget the establish­
ment of such a cruel and unusual policy
toward their people. “The termination
policy adopted by the federal govern­
ment” will have a “major impact on the
attitudes of subsequent generations of
Indian leadership. The memory of con­
gressional committees and bureaucrats in
Washington terminating the existence of
hundreds of tribes across Indian Coun­
try will stand as “a chilling reminder that
Congress can unilaterally decide to ex­
tinguish the special status and rights of
tribes without Indian consent.”
The government held 13 hearings
on the subject of termination in 1953.
The overwhelming majority of Indian
testimony at those hearings was against
termination as a policy.
Tribal leaders had financial con­
cerns as well as worries about the loss
of rights established in the signing of
treaties. They also worried about a loss
of connection to the land.
Utah Sen. Arthur Watkins, who at
that time was the chairman of the Senate
Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, ex­
pressed his dissent during the hearings.
“I think we have been operating
now in many cases over 150 years as
guardians of some of these Indians and
I do not think we can point with any
degree of pride to what we have ac­
complished,” he said.
A generation later, leaders of the
U.S. government began to realize what
a failure termination of Indian tribes
had been.
According to background informa­
tion supplied to members of the 93rd
Congress while considering the Res­
toration of the Menominee Tribe òf Wis­
consin in 1973. termination of Indian
tribes had the opposite effect of what
had been intended. “Experience has
shown that termination was not a solu­
tion for the problems facing America's
original inhabitants and the Congress
has attempted to correct this error and
restore federal recognition to termi­
nated tribes ...”
Restoration of the Menominees and
later the Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Indians “represented the first signifi­
cant rejection of the termination policy
of the 1950s.”
In the years prior to Restoration in
1977, the people of the Siletz Tribe who
had remained on their known reserva­
tion lands suffered because they stayed.
This photo of Tribal Council member Loraine Butler and her sisters, Laverne (I)
and LaVonne (r), was taken in 1959, just five years after termination.
6
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Siletz News
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July 2007
Robert Rilatos and Art Bensell at Siletz Valley A-frame
(Capital Journal photo by Gerry Lewin)
Unemployment among tribal mem­
bers was more than 40 percent, the
average family income was only
$3,000 and half of the tribe’s young
people had not finished high school.
Facing the devastating effects of
alcoholism and other significant health
problems, tribal leaders began meeting
in the late 1960s in hopes they could
reorganize. Tribal leaders incorporated
in 1973.
A Senate Report to the Indian Af­
fairs Committee considering the Siletz.
Restoration proposal felt that the
people of the Siletz Tribe met the crite­
ria for Restoration because, “There
exists an ongoing, identifiable commu­
nity of Indians who are members of the
formally recognized tribe; the Siletz
community is located in the vicinity of
the former reservation: the group has
continued to perform self-governing
functions; there is widespread use of
their aboriginal language, customs and
culture; and there has been a marked
deterioration in their socio-economic
conditions since termination.”
The report stated that tribal mem­
bers would benefit from Restored sta­
tus as Indians.
“Restoration would make a large
difference both to individuals and the
tribe as a whole in that they would be
eligible for benefits. Tribal members
would be eligible for the health services
provided by the Indian Health Service.
Many of the other programs of these
agencies would be available to the tribe
and its members to address the social
and economic problems they are now
experiencing. Just as important to the
people of the Siletz is the fact that this
legislation will restore to them their
dignity as members of an Indian tribe.”
Current Tribal General Manager
Brenda Bremner feels the effects of
termination are still being felt by tribal
members today.
“Termination is about identity,”
said Bremner. “Our people today are
still struggling with issues that are a di­
rect result of being from a terminated
tribe. They are still dealing with issues
of cultural identity, with issues of self­
worth, and with issues of knowing who
they are.”
Now that Loraine Butler has be­
come a leader in her tribe, she feels
even more strongly that members of the
tribe need to be willing to stand up for
their legacy as Indian people.
“I feel, as a Tribal Council person,
that we have to fight every day to keep
what we have,” said Butler. “It could
happen again. This is a daily battle to
prevent termination from happening
again. We're still fighting termination
today.”
From the ashes of termination has
come a revitalization of an entire tribe.
When the tribe was restored. then-
Tribal Chairman Arthur Bensell said his
people would honor their ancestors by
returning tribal members to their sta­
tus as proud, self-sufficient people.
“The Confederated Tribes of Siletz,
have reason to celebrate,” said Bensell
in 1977. “The Restoration Act restor­
ing federal recognition to the Siletz has
become a reality. The Tribal Council and
all those involved have not wavered in
their purpose to regain tribal Restora­
tion and procure the education, health,
welfare and special project benefits
which they felt would assist them in
becoming useful citizens in our tribe,
state and nation.”
Bensell then challenged future gen­
erations to carry on the important work
of putting the tribe back together again.
“We now have the tools which we
have been fighting for, therefore, let us
not fail in our efforts in combating the
social and economic problems experi­
enced by our people after termination.
Let us not lose the enthusiasm and de­
votion to the cause of our people,
which culminated in this historic event.
Through a united effort we can continue
to be proud that we are Siletz Indians.”