Richards Selected
Chinook Winds GM
We were capable not only of recon
structing a traditional Dance House, but
also of teaching and carrying on our cus
tom at the Dance House with our children.
The dancers are knowledgeable and skill
ful in the performance of our traditional
Native dances and ceremonies.
Our Culture Camp held last month is
evidence of the interest, popularity and
awareness of carrying on our heritage in
a participatory way that touches almost
every family in our Tribe.
In the face of all the remarkable
achievements of our Tribal Councils since
Restoration, how can anyone have the
audacity to say on siletz.net:
Tribal member Sar Richards has
been selected by the Tribal Council as
the general manager of Chinook Winds
Casino Resort.
Sar brings years of experience to
the position, having worked at the Tribal
Gaming Commission and the casino. He
has been the acting general manager since
February of this year.
Congratulations, Sar!
Edenfield Appointed to
Tribal Council
Sharon Edenfield’s name was recom
mended to the Tribal Council by me to
fill the vacancy on the Tribal Council.
As in the past, consideration was given
to Tribal members who have previously
served on the council and on committees,
as well as staff and other members who
have contributed to the Tribe.
According to our Constitution, the
chairman recommends a name to the
council. The chairman does not make the
appointment. The council acts on the rec
ommendation, voting either up or down.
Sharon was approved by a 6 to 2 vote. No
other names were recommended by the
chairman or any other council member.
Regarding the appointment of Sharon
to fill the seat vacated by the expulsion of
Lisa Brown, the following was reported
on the non-Tribal website siletz.net:
•
“It’s not likely ... that she’ll be an
independent voice on the Tribal Council
... this appointment will increase Chair
man Pigsley’s power base on the Tribal
Council to a lopsided 7-2 majority.”
Delores Pigsley
Council Accomplishments
Negated on Siletz.net
For almost 24 years, I have proudly
served as chairman of the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians, serving a total
of 29 years. Serving with me have been
many dedicated Tribal Council members.
Despite what the siletz.net says and some
naysayers, our councils have always
been highly active and successful in our
endeavors for the Siletz Tribe.
Unfortunately, siletz.net, a privately
owned website, has been publishing false
and negative statements about the accom
plishments of the Siletz Tribal Council.
In the March postings, relative to the
expulsion of Lisa Brown from the council,
a Tribal member directing her comments
to the Tribal Council said:
“It is totally obvious that you don't care
what the tribe wants or needs ... by your
actions, you have made it clear that your
lives, your families lives and your own way
ot life is all that is important to you.”
The fact is, Sharon has always been a
strong, capable and independent voice in
The fact is, the Siletz Tribal Council
the Tribe's administration and it’s there
under my chairmanship “does care what the
fore presumptuous to assume any “power
tribe wants or needs,” as demonstrated by
base on the Tribal Council.”
the Tribe’s remarkable accomplishments
Sharon will be a great asset. There is
since Restoration. We have always had our
no basis in fact for the assumption that
focus on the Tribe’s best interests.
was reported.
I have not been the chairman for all
As administrative manager, Sharon
of those years but have been for many of
holds one of the top employment positions
them. The credit goes to the many mem
in the Tribe. The posting says it’s “inter
bers who have served and to our staff.
esting to see if she retains her high paying
Our Tribal Councils planned, financed
position while holding office, as so many
and established the Tribe’s successful
Tribal Council members have.”
gaming enterprise, Chinook Winds, 15
The fact is there are now six on the
years ago. We have acquired the Shilo Inn
present council who work in some capac
in Lincoln City, a first-class, ocean-front,
ity for the Tribe. Four are employees of
luxury hotel adjacent to Chinook Winds
the government, one is an employee of a
We have financed and developed
Tribal entity and one as a contractor for a
a first-class RV park and acquired the
Tribal entity. So Lynette’s statement, “as
administration building that houses the
so many Tribal Council members have”
gaming commission (and other offices)
is a gross exaggeration.
that overlooks our magnificent casino.
As a matter of record, the Tribal Court
We were able to finance and construct
upheld the right under the Siletz Consti
a Tribal administration building and a
tution of Tribal member employees to
modem community health clinic in the city
run for and serve on Tribal Council. The
of Siletz. We were able to establish excel
Constitution was voted on and approved
lent housing projects throughout Siletz.
by the Tribal membership.
We were able to be federally recog
Thank you to all of you who have
nized as a self-governance Tribe, one of
communicated support for Sharon.
the first 20 in the nation. We were able
Lisa Brown has filed an appeal of to establish a history/culture department
the Tribal judge's expulsion decision. As
with a competent and dedicated staff that
of the publication of this issue of Siletz
has recovered and catalogued a tremen
News, no decision had yet been made on
dous wealth of historical documents about
when the appellate hearing will be held.
our Tribe.
2
•
Siletz News
•
August 2009
“It is totally obvious that you don’t care
what the tribe wants or needs ... by your
actions, you have made it clear that your
lives, your families lives and your own way
of life is all that is important to you.”
Regarding the revenues generated
by Chinook Winds, we have periodically
published in the Tribe’s confidential news
letter, Nesika Illahee, for the benefit of
our members, the gaming revenues that
are allocated to the Tribe for Tribal use
after all costs of the gaming operations are
paid - the excess pledge revenues.
Since our Tribal gaming enterprise
began, excess pledge revenues have been
allocated to six general categories and are
in compliance with federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act guidelines: Government
Operations, General Welfare, Economic
Development, Investments, Charitable
Donations (including municipal services)
and Per Capita Distributions.
Federal law requires that we distribute
revenues to all of these categories to meet
Tribal needs and restricts the distribution
of net revenues per capita until all Tribal
needs have been met. Nesika Illahee pro
vides detailed reports of the Tribe’s total
revenues generated by our gaming center
and the total excess pledge revenues avail
able for Tribal use.
There are more than 25 categories
under Tribal Government Operations and
more than 20 under General Welfare. Indi
vidual managers responsible for these pro
grams present their funding requests to the
Tribal Council in each of these categories.
In an April 2009 open letter to the
Tribe, Delores Riding In made the follow
ing unsubstantiated, false and deceptive
allegations on siletz.net:
Send letters to:
Siletz News
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
541-444-8291 or
800-922-1399, ext. 1291
Fax: 541-444-2307
E-mail: pias@ctsi.nsn.us
“The Siletz Tribe can and will go
bankrupt, exactly like the AIG and the Wall
Street banks. Secret deals worth millions
of tribal dollars have gone out to non-tribal
people and are covered up to this day. Mil
lions of tribal dollars are ‘missing.’”
Where Riding In got her fallacious
information is a mystery. The facts are that
the Siletz Tribe is not, as Riding In falsely
alleges, in danger of going “bankrupt like
the AIG and the Wall Street banks.”
There are “no secret deals worth mil
lions of tribal dollars” that have “gone
out to non-tribal people and covered up
to this day.” Millions of tribal dollars are
not "missing” as Riding In alleges.
The Tribe currently has investments
in Morgan Stanley, which are fully in
sured by the Securities Investors Protec
tion Corp up to $500,000 per account.
Additionally, Asset Protection Company
(CAPCO), an insurance company, fully
protects the principals of each account
above $500,000.
Our investments are fully insured and
financially stable. Our other investments
are in Atalanta-Sosnoff, none of which are
invested in AIG, Merrill Lynch, WAMU,
Lehman Bros or Bear Steams.
The Tribe's custodial relationships were
moved from Bear Steams on Aug. 8, 2008,
to Charles Schwab & Co., where transaction
charges are lower than Bear Steams.
The Tribe’s other investments are in
Wells Fargo endowments, which insures
up to $500,000 per account. They are
not assets of the bank and not subject to
bank creditors.
Each mutual fund company in which
Wells Fargo invested our endowments has
its own individual insurance. According to
Global Finance, Wells Fargo was desig
nated one of the 10 safest banks in 2008.
So, for Riding In to make deceitful
and unrestrained allegations poses a se
rious problem. Tribal members will, as
they should, view the extensive record of
unreliability on siletz.net with increasing
skepticism and disbelief.
I do not normally respond to the
misstatements and smears published on
siletz.net because it only serves to bring
more attention to statements that deserve
to be ignored, but recent statements on
this private website have spread confusion
among the membership and are causing
great, unwarranted harm to the Tribe and
had to be corrected.
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Please make checks payable to CTSI
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