Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz. OR 97380-0549
S iletz N ews
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner.
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 36, No. 9 September 2008
Presorted
First-Class
Mail
U.S. Postage
Paid - Permit
No. 178
Salem, OR
American Masterpieces Project
Features Rarely Seen American
Indian Regalia
Tall Feather Hat: created by Alfred "Bud" Lane Hl. Confederated Tribes of
SHetf Indians: elk hide, velvet, ocean spray sticks, woodpecker scalps and
eagle feathers: collection rd the artist. Iphoto by Frank Miller)
What’s Inside
Chairman's Report
Tribal Program News
Tribal Council Timesheets
Tribal Member News
Notices
2
3
10
I 1
14
Siletz Clinic
Chinook Winds
Letters to the Editor
Passages
I 8
20
23
23
SALEM. Ore. - A groundbreaking
exhibition of historic and contempo
rary ceremonial regalia from all nine
of Oregon’s federally recognized
American Indian Tribes, much of which
is rarely seen by the general public,
will be on display Sept. 27 to Jan. 19
at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at
Willamette University.
The Art of Ceremony, Oregon’s
2008 National Endowment for the Arts
American Masterpieces project, fea
tures what the Tribes consider their fin
est artwork, items they wear and use
in private ceremonies and rituals.
Hand-crafted dance outfits, jewelry,
staffs, headdresses, musical instru
ments and a 21-foot cedar canoe -
many on loan from Native families
across the state - are among the items
to be displayed.
“Most people have never really
seen Oregon's traditional regalia.” said
Willamette anthropology Professor
Rebecca Dobkins, who organized the
exhibition in collaboration with Native
community curators. “The only time
much of this regalia is worn is during
See Our Special
Pow-Wow Section
Whipwoman Shirley Walker, above,
is the subject of our Elder 's feature
on page /1 and can be seen again
in our special 12-page
Nesika lllahee Pow-Wow section
(photo by Brent Merrill)
private events like funerals, feasts or
dance ceremonies. These items are not
largely shared outside their community.”
Procession of Nations
A multitude of free public events
will accompany the exhibition, starting
with a Procession of Nations through
campus at 3 p.m. Sept. 27 that will include
members of all of Oregon's Tribes. The
procession will be followed by an open
ing ceremony at the museum and a tradi
tional American Indian feast on campus.
Visitors can watch regalia-makers
at work from I p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 28
at the museum. Tours, films, lectures
and demonstrations are among the
other events scheduled throughout the
exhibition.
The Art of Ceremony will showcase
the diversity of regalia between Tribes,
from the western Tribes' use of feath
ers and abalone shells to the eastern
Tribes' beadwork and buckskin.
After leaving the Hallie Ford Mu
seum of Art. the exhibition will travel
to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute in
Pendleton. Ore., and the Museum at
Warm Springs in central Oregon.
“A lot of people attend intertribal
pow-wows and mistake what they see
there as our traditional dances and re
galia.” said Bud Lane, vice chairman of
the Tribal Council for the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians on the central
Oregon coast. “We want people to see
that each Tribe has its individual tradi
tions and cultures that vary from re
gion to region."
In addition to the National Endow
ment for the Arts grant, the exhibition is
supported by an endowment gift from
a Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution
Fund award, the Confederated Tribes of
(¡rand Ronde through the Spirit Moun
tain Community Fund, a Millicent
McIntosh Fellowship from the Woodrow
Wilson Foundation and by grants from
the city of Salem's Transient Occupancy
Tax funds, the Oregon Arts Commis
sion and the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation.
The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is
located at 700 State St. (corner of State
and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem
near the campus of Willamette Univer
sity. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday
from I p.m. to 5 p.m. The galleries are
closed Monday.
Admission is $3 for adults and $2
for seniors and students. Children
younger than I 2 are admitted free and
Tuesday is an admission-free day.
For more information, call 503-
370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/
museum_of_art.