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SILETZ NEWS " OrColl E 78 Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Vol. 37, No. 5 • SCA .06 S523 V. 37 May 2009 Siletz News Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians P.O. Box 549 Siletz, OR 97380-0549 Delores Pigsley, Tribal Chairman Brenda Bremner, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief Presorted Flrst-CIsss Mall U.S. Postage Paid-Permit No. 178 Salem, OR T33 P2 KNIGHT LIBRARY ACQUISITION DEPT./SERIALS 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON EUGENE OR 97403-1205 97403120599 no. 5 Honoring the Past, May 2009 Embracing the Future Siletz Tribal Collection at Hallie Ford Museum of Art by Brent Merrill Like a person, sometimes a place has a soul. Willamette University's Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem could be considered such a place. When you go there you sense that this place has a story - maybe many, many stories. When you go upstairs to the second floor and you walk into the Siletz Tribal exhibit, you can feel the stories as they surround you in space ... and time. A special relationship has developed between the folks at Willamette’s Hallie Ford Museum and the people of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and this relationship has resulted in a long-standing sharing of trust. That trust has resulted in an ongoing Tribal display that keeps getting larger, deeper and more meaningful as time goes by. According to Rebecca Dobkins, the curator at Hallie Ford, the museum is planning a major overhaul of the Siletz Tribal exhibit for next year. The showcase has been in place since the museum opened in October 1998. The collection includes nearly 300 Northwest Native baskets. A chance opportunity at a sneak peak of what’s to come leads one to believe that the relationship between this place and the Siletz people will continue for many years to come. It takes a special place and understanding, caring people to convince a Tribe to display its most precious artifacts somewhere outside the Tribal community and the museum and Dobkins seem to fit for the Siletz. “The relationship we have with the Siletz Tribal people is important to us here at Willamette," said Dobkins as she showed some Tribal artifacts not on display for the public. One of the most stunning displays in the entire museum is the Siletz basketry collection. Many of the pieces are very old, but yet sturdy and firm and look like they could hold water and goods to this day. Some of the pieces are new and look just like they were peeled from the past like pages in a sticker book. Some of the newer pieces were created by Siletz Tribal member Alfred “Bud” Lane III, who is also the Tribe's vice chairman of the council. Lane’s basketry includes an acorn mush basket and a women’s basket cap made in the style of his great-grandmother. The mush basket was completed by Lane in 1999 and is an example of an essential basket-type that played a key role in ceremonial feasts. The baskets held acorn mush, which is like porridge and was a food staple of Indian people in Oregon and California. Mush soup still is enjoyed in Tribal communities in the modem day. See Collection on page 12. Haileigh Corley squeals with delight as she gets ready to join other children at the Tribal Youth Annual Easter Egg Hunt in Siletz. Please see additional photos on page 4. Tribe Receives More Than $1.4 Million for Housing from Stimulus Package by Diane Rodriquez Fifth District Rep. Kurt Schrader presented the Siletz Tribe with a check for $1,468,998 on April 10 that will help build Tribal housing in Siletz. This money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARR, i.e., the stimulus package) and is coming to the Siletz Tribe through the U.S. De partment of Housing and Urban Develop ment’s Native American Housing Block Grant program. It is available for new construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and infrastructure development. In making the presentation, Schrader said he wishes more people were willing to share with their neighbors the way Tribes do and be less like the stereotypical people on Wall Street. “In D.C., it’s still all about ‘me’ for them. The Wall Street types are discourag ing, they disavowed there was any prob lem. But people are losing their homes and their farms. They don’t really care about people,” he said. “That is antithetical to the way Tribes work. The U.S. should try to be like Tribes and share.” Schrader also said that in the ARR, Tribes were called out specifically in several areas in recognition of the roles they play in our country. “We would rather be at the table in bad times as well as good times to see how we can support each other,” said Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley. “We appreci ate the support you’ve shown us in these 90 days (Schrader’s first three months in office). We appreciate your help.” 11 Apartments in Siletz The money will help build 11 new low-rent apartments on Gwee-Shut Road See Housing on page 8. University of Oregon Library Received on: 05-05-09 Siletz news (Siletz, Or 1998) - Rep. Kurt Schrader (left) listens to the concerns of the Siletz Tribal Council about the country's current economic condition prior to presenting a check for Tribal housing from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Pictured with Schrader are two members of his staff and Jim Jaquith from the Tribal Internal Audit Department. What’s Inside Chairman's Report Tribal Program News Tribal Member News Hallie Ford Museum Tribal Council Timesheets 2 3 10 12 14 Notices Siletz Clinic Chinook Winds Letters to the Editor Passages 15 17 19 21 22
