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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2008)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS Information on Constitutional Amendment Election by Robert Kentta, Tribal Council Member By the time this gets printed, many of you already will have sent your ballots in. For those who have not got ten around to filling out their ballot or have been waiting for additional infor mation before voting, I hope this serves the purpose. Al a recent council meeting, I ex pressed as a concern that many Tribal members seemed to be asking ques tions or were unsure about the inten tions or ultimate effects of each of the proposed amendments. I asked if an article could be included in the May issue of Siletz News to try to gel addi tional information about the proposed amendments to our membership before the last two weeks of the voting period. I raised the question and I was del egated to write the article. I have heard that a few Tribal mem bers have been highly vocal and critical of the proposed amendments, though I’m not sure why. A relative sent a letter to some of our family members, but the arguments against the proposed amendments did not make sense to me. My concern was that a sufficient num ber of Tribal members were going to hear the criticisms and without further studying the issue, just vote a blanket no. Please consider what I have to say about each of the proposed amendments. ated our confederation, our original reservation and thereby our rights upon that original reservation, which include health care and education funding, and other trust responsibilities. If included in our Constitution, it would bolster our ability to cite these documents (seven ratified treaties, one unratified treaty and the 1855 execu tive order that established the original Siletz Reservation) as foundations of our right to exist as the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and be recog nized as a government to which the United Slates has ongoing treaty obli gations, and rights that our people have rights confirmed within. First Proposed Amendment There are four proposed amend ments to the wording in our Constitu tion. The first is an effort to have our correct history and rights declared within our Constitution, thereby also declaring the United Slates of America's obligations to our people under the treaty agreements that ere- Second Proposed Amendment The second proposed amendment is to remove the language that places secretarial (U.S. Secretary of the Inte rior Department) authority over our Siletz Tribal Constitution (promulgation of rules and regulations for us to fol low, his duty to call an amendment elec tion - when asked by a simple major ity of the Siletz Tribal Council, etc.). The proposed amendment removes the authority of the United States over our Siletz Tribal Constitution and con stitutional amendment processes. It replaces that with Tribal authority (under Siletz Tribal law) to mange those issues and exercises in sovereignty ourselves, thereby increasing our tribal sovereignty. The proposed language also would make it more difficult under the new process for Tribal Council to refer fu ture proposed amendments to the mem bership for a vote. The current language says that a simple majority vote of the General Council Meeting Memorial Day Ceremony May 3, 2008 May 26, 2008 11 a.m. Government Hill Siletz, Oregon Siletz Tribal Community Center 1 p.m. 4 p.m. 4 • Siletz, Oregon Procession to Veterans Memorial Honor Guard Agenda Invocation Welcome - Delores Pigsley The Lord’s Prayer - Siletz Royalty Memorial Day Address Presentation of Flowers Gun Salute - Honor Guard Taps Call to Order Invocation Flag Salute Programs: Head Start Death Benefits Tribal Member Concerns Chairman's Report Announcements Adjourn Siletz News • May 2008 Closing Lunch at the Tribal Community Center Provided by the Cultural Heritage Committee - Noon elected members of the Tribal Council can refer a proposed amendment to the membership for a vote. In our Tribal law, any resolution can be passed by simple majority, un less it’s going to create or amend a Tribal ordinance (an ordinance being like a code or larger body of policy/ regulations). Ordinances can only be established or amended by at least a 2/3 vote of the Tribal Council. The propose amendment would make the Tribal Council’s ability to refer constitutional amendments to a vote consistent with how ordinances are treated, recogniz ing the importance of the Constitution and that it shouldn’t be opened to amendment frivolously. tough on the U.S.) discouraged from practicing law on behalf of Tribes. The BIA moved away from attor ney contract approval many years ago. Congress eventually took action in agreement and six or seven years ago amended law to remove U.S. author ity over Tribal attorney contracts. The provision for it was al the time of Siletz Restoration necessary to be restored as an "IRA Tribe;” contracts were reviewed and approved by the U.S. at that time. They no longer do so. the law that required it has been amended and we should remove it to increase tribal sovereignty and lake out language now not reflective of U.S. Indian law. Third Proposed Amendment The third proposed amendment in volves removal of language that was an archaic rule (which no longer is practiced by the BIA) under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA - also known as the Howard-Wheeler Act). The U.S. government wanted to assert certain rights over Tribes when the act was passed and so the act said Tribes that agreed to the provisions of the IRA (to adopt constitutional gov ernments under the IRA) agreed to have their contracts with attorneys reviewed and approved by the Department of the Interior (BIA). The review' and approval of attorney contracts was purported to be to pro tect tribes from unscrupulous lawyers, but I believe - at least in part - it was an attempt to influence Tribal choices of legal representation because of In dian claims cases in the U.S. courts and have certain attorneys (who were Fourth Proposed Amendment The last proposed amendment will correct a couple of typographical errors that occurred many years ago. Our law is that Tribal members at least 18 years of age are eligible to run for Tribal Council. The language in the Constitu tion somehow mistakenly got printed as “19.” The second correction is to in sert the word “by” in the third sentence of the third paragraph of the Constitu tion to make it grammatically correct. I hope I have answered any ques tions you might have had about the proposed amendments. I believe they are all good and necessary changes in language that promote our best inter ests as members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and our future generations, and memorialize our an cestors who came together upon the Siletz Reservation to form the Confed erated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Thanks for your time. Nuu-wee-ya’ (our words) Introduction to the Athabaskan Language Open to Tribal members of all ages Siletz Siletz Tribal Community Center May 6-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 10 - 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Salem Salem Area Office May 13-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 3-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Portland Portland Area Office May 12-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 9-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eugene Eugene Area Office May 5-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 2-6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Athabaskan Language class started for beginners in January 2008. These classes began with basic instruction and will progress over the next year. It also will be a refresher course for those more-advanced students. Come and join other members of your community and Tribe in learning to speak one of our ancient languages. For more information, contact Bud Lane at the Siletz Culture Department at 541-444-8320 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1320; or e-mail budl@ctsi.nsn.us.
