LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the editor:
There is a young girl in SVS. Her
name is Kateri Whitehead that sent me
a Valentine’s card she made while in school.
I would like to “thank” her for
thinking of us Elders in the Salem area.
I appreciate it very much.
My home is close to Woodburn,
not Salem.
Sincerely,
To the editor:
I'd like to thank the Siletz Clinic
for all the services they provide to me
on a regular basis. They are friendly,
helpful and often go out ol their way
to make my visit a pleasant experience.
I am very thankful for every service
they are able to provide me.
Keep up the gtxxJ work and thank you!
Clark John
To the editor:
Hidden Americans
In recent weeks 1 have listened to
both the Republicans running for Presi
dent and the Democrats running for
President. In all of the hours and hours
of watching, I have heard of Indian
people mentioned only twice. Once
was to point out that McCain served
on a committee for Indians and once
by Obama listing the races of people.
Why is this? We are invisible to the
politicians. They believe we do not regis
ter and we do not vote. In addition we are
not visible in political circles and we do
not make contributions to their campaigns.
Why is this important? Entitlement
monies are being drastically cut for health
programs, economic development, en
vironmental issues on reservations,
educational dollars and the list goes on
and on. If we do not take the responsi
bility as a people to become active in
the political process, we will not only
hurt ourselves but our next generation.
Get registered and vote in the up
coming election. The number of em
ployees of the Tribe and the Tribal
members could determine several
County and State elections.
Humbly,
Mike Darcy
To the editor:
It came to my attention just a lew
days ago that there is a problem with
the mail-in balloting process. I'm cur
rently away from home and my mail is
forwarded so there is a lag in the lime
my mail is sent and when I receive it.
In January I sent my ballot off fully
two weeks before the election, but my
ballot was returned with no note or ex
planation. At first I thought it might have
been received in Siletz and returned, but
that doesn't seem likely since there were
no markings on the envelope to suggest
that. I saw that my signature was never
in question lor this election and I know
that my ballot was in plenty of time to
make it to Siletz before the election.
The circumstances in this case
strongly suggest that my ballot was
returned due to the practice of having
voters' names and addresses printed
prominently on the back of the enve
lope, resembling a destination address.
I sent my ballot from California, where
I'm currently visiting, but my home
address is in Nevada which was printed
on the back of the envelope. It was
obviously taken to be the destination
address because that’s where the bal
lot ended up. I suspect that the post office
here in California read my Nevada home
address as the destination and simply
sent it to that address instead of the
Siletz PO Box. That's the simplest and
the best explanation for what happened.
We should not have voters' addresses
printed on the back of the outer enve
lopes because it leads to such mistakes.
I understand that a voter's name and
roll number may be needed on the outer
envelope, but the address should be in
the front upper left of the outer enve
lope, where the Post Office is accus
tomed to seeing return addresses. Put
ting the voter’s address on the back of
the envelope is likely to lead to contu
sion during mail sorting and would lead
to some ballots being sent back to the
voter, instead of to Siletz. I see no reason
to continue to put voters’ addresses on
the back of the envelope, where they can
be mistaken for a destination address.
The greater concern here is that if
this has happened to me. it most likely
has happened to other voters. This is
an issue that must be corrected before
the next election.
If any other tribal members have
had their ballots returned to them un
der similar circumstances, please call
me al 775-901-2256.
Lynette Warren
To the editor:
I would like to thank all those who
supported me in our last tribal council
election. Becoming involved is a posi
tive solution.
Congratulations Robert, Loraine
and Tina. Our tribal council contribu
tion is one I have great respect for.
Our tribal New Year is well on its
way and it is time to center and move
on with the business of meeting the
needs of the people as a whole.
I believe each of us as tribal mem
bers have a responsibility of becom
ing an informed participant. This em
powers in two ways:
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The people to better understand the
process.
The tribe to better meet service
expectations.
Respectfully submitted,
Eva E. Clayton
To the editor:
My name is Steven Ashley. I’m
now close to thirty years old and did
not grow up with the Native ways.
Through time I've learned a lol from
other Native Americans in other tribes.
I’ve found myself but not completely.
I'm missing the knowledge of my own
tribe. I'm looking for a person to teach
me about the past and to teach me
about the old ways. This is very im
portant for me to learn and know. My
grandmother was Marry Ashley. Unfor
tunately, I did not get to learn anything
To the editor:
My name is Eddie Collins and I
would like to have my say on a few
things. Many of the names staled in
Gilbert Towner's letter to the editor
were wrong. Tututin was the language
of my Grandfather Pete Collins and
spoken by my Grandmother Ada
Collins. I grew up speaking the lan
guage and remember who in Siletz
spoke it.
Tolowa. just as Tututin. is our
people's language. In my opinion the
similarities are greater than the differ
ences. If you speak to a person from
Boston and then to a person from Or
egon. we sound very different, but
aren't we both speaking English?
Learn Tolowa, learn Tututin. just
take the time to learn our language. I
will never take money for passing on
our language and culture. I believe it
is to be passed down, not to be prof
ited by.
Those that I remember growing up
in Siletz speaking Tututin or
Macanuttin are: my grandparents,
Daisy Collins Fuller, Ethel Logan Case,
Abe Logan. Jane and Ed Bensell, Lucy
Dan Smith, Hank and Martha Johnson,
Miller Collins, Jim and Ida Bensell, and
Gladys Muschamp.
I plan on attending Bud Lane's
classes in Siletz and Salem. I hope that
many tribal members attend. I hope to
see many of you there.
Best regards,
Eddie Collins
from her. I have faint memories of
pow-wows, but that's about it. I believe
that the more I know, the stronger I will
be in who I am. Then 1 could pass it on
to my children and other Native people
in other tribes. If anyone would like to
help me, my address is below. Thank
you.
Steven Ashley
DC# 125690 (C1-1 I OU)
Washington Correctional Institution
4455 Sam Mitchell Dr.
Chipley, FL 32428
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Editor-in-Chief: Brenda Bremner
Editor: Diane Rodriquez
April 2008
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