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.