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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2008)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the editor: I would like to introduee myself and take this opportunity to state to the tribal members that I am running for Tribal Council in the next election. I am also asking for your support by voting for me and allowing me to rep resent you on the council. 1 am Elaine Thomas and my parents are Alton and Edythe Butler. My mother was formerly a Logan and my grand parents on my father’s side of the fam ily were Bruce Butler and Jane Hollis. My grandparents on my mother's side of the family were Gertrude Curl and James Logan who lived at his Otis, Or egon, ranch until his passing in 1964. I was raised in Lincoln City, Or egon, and graduated from Taft High School in 1969. I have seven brothers and four sisters. Patricia Fredrickson lives in Lincoln City, Oregon, while Charlie Butler and Sylvia Butler live in Siletz, Oregon. James McCormick lives in Independence, Oregon, and my deceased brother Alfred (Buck) Butler had lived in Otis, Oregon. Reggie Sr., Elouise. Nancy, and Ronald Butler cur rently reside in Siletz, Oregon. Delmar lives in Reedsport and the Nathaniel Butler who is deceased had lived in Grand Ronde, Oregon. I currently reside in Dallas, Oregon, and purchased a home in 19X3 where I raised all three of my children, Shawn and Kimberly Thomas. Shawn and Kimberly both graduated from Dallas High School in 1999 and 2000, respec tively. My oldest son, Dennis Van Dyke, resides and works in Lincoln City, Oregon. I am raising my grand son, Wakien Van Dyke, who is twelve years old and in the sixth grade at Lacreole Middle School. I have served on the Education Com mittee and served as the Chairperson in 1993. 1 have worked at Chemawa for the past twenty-four years. I started my career at the Chemawa High School and currently am employed at the C hemawa Health Center. I have worked in the Optical Department for the past ten years. I have met and provided techni cal Optical service to many tribal mem bers during the past ten years. I truly believe in the extended fam ily and encourage my entire family to exercise their right by involving them selves in the voting process. 1 would sincerely hope that they would see their way to support me in this endeavor; however, I accept the fact that they will all be voting their conscience. The im portant matter is to involve ourselves in the events that will help create the future destiny of our tribe. 1 would invite any tribal member who may have any questions or concerns about my participating in the election please contact me at (503) 623-6253. Sincerely yours, Elaine Thomas To the editor: Would you please let the Confed erated Tribes of the Siletz people know that Native singers and songwriters are wanted to participate and become a part of a new Internet radio station for Na tive Christian singers and songwriters. Please listen to www.jbnlive.com/ JBN_BroadcastPage.htm. I know you will not be disappointed. WWW.jbnlive.com is the first ever 24/7 radio station which showcases Christian Native singers and song-writers, only. The station wants to feature Native people from every tribe across America. You can read articles about the Internet radio station that were pub lished in the Native Times and Indian Country Newspapers at www.jbnlive. com/jbnpressreleases.htm. Please let your people know of this good work and invite them to be a part of this great mission to “Let our Na tive voices be heard.” For more information, contact Roger Martin at 918-829-9377 or send e-mail to jbnlive@aol.com or webmaster@sunbeltsports.com. Thank you, Jan Evans (Yuchi Tribe) Webmaster To the editor: At present the Siletz tribal govern ment structure seems to be more of a dictatorial regime than a democracy. The tribal constitution imposed upon the Siletz people as a part of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 addressed the fiscal operations of our tribe. But it includes no separation of powers and little protection for the civil rights of us as Indian people. A number of Tribes do have a sepa ration of powers (http://www.cherokee. org/Government/Default.aspx, http:// www.crowtribe.com/govt.htm. http:// www.navajo.org/govt.htm) for good reason. At present, our Tribal Council has ultimate authority over all Tribal programs/ services. This action puts them in con flict between their duties as Directors and their duties to the Tribal members. I’ve thought about this for quite some time. In the past we had a chief who was the “head” of the group. When a tribal chief was in charge of his reservation, he looked out for all 4 • Siletz News • January 2008 To the editor: I’m interested in hearing what members needs are (541-444-1290, nadosh2@yahoo.com). Resources are limited in respect to the number need ing services. We must seek to aggres sively stretch our budgets to meet the ever increasing needs. I presently serve on the Health Committee. Prior to this I’ve served on the Housing/Powwow committees to better understand how each component works. 1 know health care expenses are a high priority. I support alternative health care services (chiropractic/acu- puncture) can serve to alleviate medi- cations/referrals for treatment. I sup port creating sustainable businesses and community gardens and/or recycling. I recall some years ago, we used to aggressively search out donations, grants and creative solutions for fundraising. I miss the annual Head Start auction and other collective ideas that helped us fill the gaps. Program budgets are increasing and there seems little interest in saving a buck. Since this money is Tribal dollars, I believe accounting records for these program/ tribal expenditures should be viewable by Tribal members. In the past (2003 Nesika Illahee) Tribal members received a balance sheet on casino operations. We knew how much revenue was received and what operating expenses were (payroll, maintenance, etc.). We no longer re ceive information is such clear/concise detail. 1 support providing this info to members, especially since other gam ing enterprises (Harrah’s) provide shareholders with this info in detail (http://investor.harrahs.com/ phoenix.zhtml?c=84772&p=irol- reportsAnnual). It’s my opinion that our present organizational structure (Tribal, Gam ing, Court) needs renovating. At present we have no clear separation, creating a conflict of interest for elected officials when they are asked to advo cate for members. It's with little suc cess that council members can act when they are facing questions regard ing the very entity on which they serve as board members. Funding is scarce, we need to do all we can to address unnecessary expen ditures. I’ll support endeavors that give Tribal members opportunities, plus the rewards and recognition they deserve. Personnel development (professionally and within our community) is key in providing this to members. Risks such as unemployment, poverty, drug/alcohol addiction and violence can increase when our community or organization fails to provide sufficient programs or alternatives education for members. I believe we can increase revenue distribution (per capita) by identifying where expenditures can be decreased expenditures. In order to do this effec tively it would be necessary to provide members with detailed information on all current jobs and casino/program services. A review of past performance/ accomplishment of objectives is a cru cial part of this process. Addition of on site trainings rather than sending elected officials/staff out, plus offering educational components to tribal mem bers (local community for a fee) would benefit the Tribe as a whole. I welcome your comments and suggestions. Yours truly, Lisa Brown, CPS 2(X)8 Siletz Tribal Council candidate his people; not only just himself or his brother-in-law, but the entire member ship. I don’t understand why our gov ernment had seen fit to do away with the tribal-chief system and put in rep resentative government. By doing that, we’re split up into groups of Indian people who are easier to control (Bellanger MPR 7/22/99). The result is mega power and con trol of financial resources. In this case I believe that all this money and power has proven to motivate people for the wrong reasons. Our elected leaders haven’t consulted members on impor tant decisions (many with negative or minus outcomes) involving millions of dollars. Our present government struc ture takes away the opportunity for in put from people and shifts the power to the business and administrative com mittees, which are an arm of govern ment that answers to the Tribal Council. I’d like to have my concerns ad dressed, and be able to receive detailed answers (documentation) to my ques tions. There are many Tribes that pro vide this for members, (http:// www.wabanaki.com/ tribal_constitution.htm) “(h) All min utes, ordinances, resolutions, votes of the Governor and Council, and audits performed pursuant to Section 1(c) of Article V shall be recorded in writing and shall be available to Sipayik mem bers of the Tribe. All regulations and ordinances governing the conduct of non-members of the Tribe shall be available for public inspection.” I’d like to hear input from other Tribal members who support having one main chief. Considering the areas in which we live, I think designating “sub-chiefs” could lead to a process that honors tra ditional Indian beliefs and democracy, so we can better serve future generations. Thank you for allowing me to take this time to share what I think is a good ex ample of what works for tribal government. Yours Truly David Tyee John
