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

TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Siletz Tribal Restoration - A 30th Anniversary Celebration
Part V - “Yesterday and Today: Stories of a Warrior Spirit”
by Brent Merrill
Tyee John, the War Chief of the
Rogue River and Klamath Tribes, stood
with his hands hound and his heart sick
with dread. It was the summer of 1856
and Tyee John, or Tecumtum as he was
known to his people, wanted to keep
fighting the white settlers, but he knew
the women and children in his band could
not survive if they did not surrender.
Despite the loyalty of 35 men at his
side, John knew he had to bring his
people down out of their Native lands
and agree to be relocated or they would
die.
The discovery of gold and land rich
with valuable natural resources like
game, water and timber led to the at­
tempted extermination of all Indians in
southern Oregon and northern California.
Tyee John’s people, their villages
burned, began their move to the newly
established Coast Reservation in the
winter of 1856 and the movement con­
tinued for the next two years. The 592
Natives in his band at the time of the
forced relocation were barefoot and
used torn blankets to cover themselves
while they walked away from their
ancestral lands forever. Many people
died from starvation and many more
died upon reaching the mountain riv­
ers of Siletz.
The grief of the people as they were
forced to leave their lands made for
quite the display of emotion. Even U.S.
Army officers in charge of the reloca­
tion were affected by the plight of the
Tribal people.
“It almost makes me shed tears to
listen to them wailing as they totter
along,” said Captain Edward Ord.
One year later, in 1857, Tyee John
reported to the federal government rep­
resentative that he wanted to take his
people home.
“For my own part, my heart is
sick,” said Tyee John. “Many of my
people have died since they came here;
many are still dying. There will be none
left of us. We have no game; we are
sick at heart; we are sad when we look
upon the graves of our families. I will
consent to live here one year more;
after that I must go home. My people
are dying off. I am unable to go to war,
but I want to go home to my country."
Chief Tyee John never did make
the return trip to his traditional home.
The revered leader was arrested and
taken to California’s Alcatraz Prison in
1858 when he was preparing to return
to his ancestral lands in the Rogue
River region. He died on the Grand
Ronde Reservation in 1864.
Another of the Warrior Chiefs of
the Rogue River people was Chief
John. He also was known for his resis-
6
•
Siletz News
•
Ed Ben attends Tribal Information
Day at the state Capitol in Salem on
May 18, 2007. (photo by Brent Merrill)
tance to the onslaught of the dominant
culture. Chief John avoided being taken
to the Coast Reservation until 1858, two
years after the mass exodus of the ma­
jority of the Rogue River Tribes.
Chief John had been kept under
close watch until it was decided he also
would be relocated to Alcatraz. After a
failed attempt to leap from the steam­
ship, Chief John was incarcerated at the
island prison known for its dangerous
residents.
Chief John later received a pardon
and returned to the Siletz Reservation,
where he lived out his days even pos­
ing for historical pictures taken in Port­
land in 1880.
Today, the fighting spirit lives on
in the modern day Tribal members.
Siletz Tribal Elder and former Tribal
Council member Ed Ben is a proud Na­
tive American who served his people
as a leader at the most crucial point in
their history - just prior to Tribal Res­
toration and just after the Tribe put the
pieces back together again.
“I served on Tribal Council from
before our Restoration until 1980,” said
Ben. “Prior to Restoration, serving on
Tribal Council was strictly on a volun­
teer basis. There were no travel ex­
September 2007
penses, if you went
to Washington, D.C.,
or anywhere else to
represent the Tribe
you paid your own
way. I, like others
on the council, had
a full-time job. I used
my vacation time for
years to attend Tribal
meetings.”
Ben said he used
to get off of work
and stop in Philo­
math to eat before
going to meetings
that lasted past mid­
night most times.
“Before we had
any resources, it
took a big toll on the
families,” said Ben.
“The families - the
wives and the hus­
bands - had to give
up the same thing as
the council people.”
When President
Jimmy Carter signed
the Restoration Act
in 1977 and the people
began putting a gov­
ernment in place, Ed Ben said he knew
they were making history, again.
“It was like catching lightning in a
jug,” said Ben of the two-year period
of time the Tribe had to establish a
Tribal Constitution and short- and long­
term Reservation Plans. He said the
members of the Tribe met in the Siletz
Grange Hall and went through the
Constitution line by line with Tribal At­
torney Charles Wilkinson.
The political climate in the late
1960s and 1970s for Native Americans
in this country was much different than
it is in the modern day with proud Tribal
leaders having the opportunity to rep­
resent Tribes that have begun to turn
their poverty into prosperity in the
modern economy of the United States.
This is much different than the days of
Tribal leaders washing cars and orga­
nizing bake sales just to raise gas
money for parades and traditional gath­
erings like pow-wows and annual rites.
When Tribal leaders asked for the
return of Government Hill, which was
now within the city limits of Siletz, they
were criticized by some locals, sup­
ported by others.
Government Hill was the former
headquarters of the area’s Indian
Agency and also holds the nine-acre
Tribal cemetery. Today, it is the center
of Tribal activity, housing the Tribe’s
cultural program and Elder activity area
complete with a meeting area and
kitchen. The area holds the Tribe’s
pow-wow grounds and is the future
home of the planned museum and cul­
tural item storage areas.
The Tribe also asked for 3,600
acres of nearby Bureau of Land Man­
agement acreage east of the current city
of Siletz as part of the Reservation Plan
submitted to Congress. The Reserva­
tion Plan Committee included state of
Oregon Attorney General at the time
Jim Redden, representatives of the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife, fed­
eral agencies like the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA), the Oregon Legislature
and Tribal leader Arthur Bensell.
Bensell, the former mayor of Siletz
who spent 20 years building a career
as an administrator at Indian BIA
schools before owning the local coun­
try store, said land was the most im­
portant thing that could help the newly
restored Tribe build a future for the
generations to come.
Arthur Bensell, Ed Ben, Joe Lane
and other Tribal leaders felt that a Res­
ervation land base was the only chance
the Tribe had to look seven generations
into the future. They felt it was their
only chance to have a permanent and
sovereign existence.
“A Reservation is central to our pur­
pose,” said Bensell during the Restora­
tion movement. “We will need a land
base from which to provide services.”
Ed Ben is also a proud veteran who
not only served in war, but spent a ca­
reer as a prison guard for 30 years in
Salem upon his return from active duty.
Today, he serves his people and his fel­
low veterans by carrying a flag as a
member of the Tribe's traveling Color
Guard.
“There is pride in how 1 feel about
the Tribe and what the flag represents,”
said Ben. “I'm proud to be a Siletz In­
dian and because of that flag we are able
to be recognized as Siletz Indians."
He explained that his pride is in­
herent. He is the son of Siletz Chief and
Tribal leader Archie Ben.
“During termination, my family still
danced and attended pow-wows,” said
Ben. “(Today) I take great pride in be­
ing able to walk with those other Tribes
and carry the Siletz. Tribal flag.”
Ben said ensuring a better life for the
future leaders of the Tribe was the driv­
ing force behind the Restoration effort.
“I think our young people ought
to know that the people who took on
the task of getting the Tribe Restored
had a goal of creating opportunities to
develop our young people and give
them an opportunity to be responsible
for their own lives.”