Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2007)
NOTICES Editors note: Part V of our Restoration series, which was published in the September issue of Siletz News, contained inaccurate information, so we have decided to run the entire corrected piece in this issue. Siletz News is sorry for the inconvenience. Siletz Tribal Restoration - A 30th Anniversary Celebration Part V - “Yesterday and Today: Stories of a Warrior Spirit” hy Brent Merrill Tyee John, the War Chief of the Rogue River and Klamath (at Siletz, Klamath means “Shasta” in reference to the Klamath River) Tribes, stood with his hands bound 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 attempted extermination of all Indians in south ern 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 relocation 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.” But the revered leader was arrested at Siletz in 1858 for inciting unrest and a son (Cultus Jim) was shot dead. His son, Adam, was sent with him to three years at the Presidio - a military prison on San Francisco Bay. He was returned to Oregon and died on the Grand Ronde Reservation in 1864. Today, the fighting spirit lives on in the modern day Tribal members. Siletz Pitch Woman and Other Stories The Oral Traditions of Coquelle Thompson, Upper Coquille Athabaskan Indian Edited and with an introduction by William R. Seaburg Collected by Elizabeth D. Jacobs The rich oral traditions of the Athabaskan Indians from southwestern Oregon are showcased in these pages for the first time. This volume features vivid and humorous tales of familiar tricksters: Coyote, known for his un usual sexual prowess and escapades that often go awry; the vain and gull ible Grizzly Bear; and Raccoon, often greedy and ever elusive. The collection also includes the less familiar but all-too-human stories of Pitch Woman, Little Man, the unicorn- like Hollering-Like-a-Person and other local figures, all of which add to the wealth of Native oral literature in the Pacific Northwest. In 1935, Elizabeth D. Jacobs con ducted ethnographic fieldwork with survivors of several Athabaskan cultures living on the Siletz Reservation. Her work preserves the 47 stories recorded here as recounted by Upper Coquille consultant Coquelle Thompson Sr., an accomplished storyteller who lived through the Rogue River Wars of 1855- 14 • Siletz News • 56. His tribal community was evicted from its homeland and resettled with other Athabaskan groups on the Siletz Reservation, where he lived for 90 years. This volume offers a behind-the- scenes look at the collection of oral ac counts, a sketch of Upper Coquille Athabaskan culture, an examination of Thompson’s storytelling and extended analyses of four stories, including Pitch Woman. The reader is encouraged to “listen” to the stories with an ear at tuned both to the storyteller himself and to the stories’ own cultural context. William R. Seaburg is a professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at the University of Washington, Bothell. He is the editor and annotator of The Nehalem Tillamook: An Ethnography by Elizabeth D. Jacobs, and the coauthor of Coquelle Thompson, Athabaskan Witness: A Cultural Biography. Elizabeth D. Jacobs (1903-83) was mentored in anthropology by her hus band, the noted anthropologist Melville Jacobs. October 2007 Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council member Ed Ben is a proud Native American who served his people as a leader at the most crucial point in their history - just prior to Tribal Restora tion 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 expenses, 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 at tend Tribal meetings.” Ben said he used to get off of work and stop in Philomath 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 the remain ing infrastructure of a government 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 mem bers of the Tribe met in the Siletz Grange Hall and went through the Con stitution line by line with Tribal Attor ney 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 lead ers having the opportunity to represent 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 organizing bake sales just to raise gas money for parades and traditional gatherings like pow-wows and annual rites. When Tribal leaders asked for the return of Government Hill - which had been turned over to the City of Siletz at termination, rather than sell it - they were criticized by some locals, sup ported by others. Government Hill was the headquar ters of the Siletz Reservation from 1856 to 1956 and also holds the nine-acre Tribal cemetery. Today, it is the center of Tribal activity, housing the Tribe’s cultural programs offices and Elder ac tivity 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 Siletz Tribal Cul tural Center. Along with Government Hill, the Tribe also asked for 3,600 acres of nearby Bureau of Land Management parcels east of the current city of Siletz as part of the Reservation Plan submit ted to Congress. The Reservation Plan Committee included state of Oregon Attorney General at the time Jim Red den, representatives of the state Depart ment of Fish and Wildlife, federal agencies like the Bureau of Indian Af fairs (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 taking over the local country store his parents had, said land was the most important 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 purpose,” said Bensell during the Res toration 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 built a career as a prison guard for 30 years in Salem upon his return from active duty. To day, he serves his people and his fellow veterans by carrying a flag as a mem ber of the Tribe’s traveling Color Guard. “There is pride in how I 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 generations of the Tribe was the driving force behind the Restora tion 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.”
