Healthy Traditions activities continue in January with meetings, classes
The Healthy Traditions project seeks
to improve the health of Siletz Tribal
members through educational activities
that promote the use of traditional foods
through hunting, gathering, gardening,
cooking, food preservation and protecting
our natural resources.
Find event information on:
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Facebook
www.ctsi.nsn.us (calendar and mem
bers only section)
Siletz News
Or call 541-444-9627 to listen to the
upcoming event recording
Do you “like” Healthy Traditions?
See event announcements on your
Facebook news feed by clicking to “like”
Healthy Traditions. “Like” is the same as
becoming a fan.
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Event announcements and reminders
Event cancelations (for weather or
red tide)
Photo sharing
Weather reminders (freeze warnings
for gardeners)
Low-tide reminders
Community planning meetings
The Tribal Planning Department will
host community meetings in all area of
fices this month to discuss services, plans
and goals for the Tribe. Many Tribal de
partments, including Healthy Traditions,
will give presentations on program ser
vices and goals. Attendees will have the
opportunity to share feedback on how the
programs can better serve the needs of the
community (see story on page 5).
Reminder: Start saving your food
grade containers such as yogurt contain
ers, paper towel rolls and egg cartons to
start seedlings for spring. Clear plastics
serve as mini-greenhouses for seedlings.
You also can make biodegradable seedling
containers out of newspaper.
Tribal housing garden planning
Healthy Traditions is working with
the Housing Department to create gar
dening space in Tribal housing neighbor
Jerky smoking classes
Smoking meat is a tasty and traditional
method for meat preservation. Learn how
to make your own beef jerky at your local
area office on the following dates:
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hoods. We are looking for resident input
on garden locations and policies. If you
would like to participate and give feed
back, please contact me.
Fruit tree care and planting class
TBA, pending instructor availability
As an initiative to increase fresh pro
duce availability, Healthy Traditions will
host a fruit tree care and planting class
where attendees will learn how to plant
and care for a fruit tree.
Siletz: Jan. 11, 10 a.m.
Eugene: Jan. 18, 10 a.m.
Salem: Jan. 26, 10 a.m.
Portland: Jan. 27, 10 a.m.
We also will do a small cooking demo
that participants will be able to sample while
we are waiting for the jerky to finish.
Gardening meeting
Jan. 11, 5 p.m.
Siletz Tribal Community Center
Agenda will include classes for new
gardeners, container gardening, seed
ordering, community garden - individual
plots vs. open harvesting, garden hours.
Photo by Natasha Kavanaugh
Carol Blomstrom, Rose Bremner, Verdene McGuire and Daniel Brown join Sharia
Robinson (second from right) at a meat canning workshop at the USDA building in
Siletz on Dec. 7.
Bill to help Oregon Tribes with 99-year leases heads to president’s desk
Legislation sponsored by Merkley and Wyden enhances economic opportunities for Oregon Tribes
WASHINGTON - The U.S. House
of Representatives on Dec. 15 passed a
bill written by Oregon’s Senators Jeff
Merkley and Ron Wyden to authorize the
Coquille Indian Tribe; the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians; the Confeder
ated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua
and Siuslaw; the Klamath Tribes; and the
Burns Paiute Tribe to lease out lands held
in trust for up to 99 years.
The bill, numbered S.1448, passed
the Senate unanimously in September and
now heads to President Obama’s desk to
be signed into law.
Current law allows many Tribes
across the country to lease land beyond 25
years, but five of the nine Oregon Tribes
were not included in that law. S.1448
provides all Tribes in Oregon with this
same opportunity to attract future eco
nomic development.
“Oregon’s Tribes deserve every op
portunity to improve their local econo
mies,” Merkley said. “This bill provides
every Tribe in the state with lease flexibil
ity to attract business investment, plan for
economic development and create jobs.”
“This arcane law has been holding
Oregon’s Tribes back for far too long,”
said Wyden. “This law gives these Tribes
the ability to enter into long-term agree
ments with investors - giving them the
stability they need to attract the investors and
take control of their economic future.”
This bill amends the Act of Aug. 9,
1955, and authorizes five of the nine
Oregon Tribes with the ability to lease out
lands held in trust for up to 99 years. By
providing assurances to lenders, the bill
will assist Tribes in planning for economic
development.
The current law allowing only 25-
year leases has made it difficult for the
five Tribes to attract large business in
vestments from companies looking for
a guarantee they can operate longer than
25 years.
President signs Cobell settlement, closes chapter on historic injustices
WASHINGTON - President Obama
signed into law on Dec. 8 the Claims
Resolution Act of 2010, which included
the $3.4 billion Cobell settlement and
major Tribal water settlements that have
been at the forefront of Indian Country’s
legislative agenda.
“The president and the Congress
have continued to exhibit a renewed
determination to honor the federal trust
responsibility to Tribal nations and Indian
people,” said Jefferson Keel, president
of the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and
most representative American Indian and
Alaska Native organization in the country.
“Today’s ceremony is another concrete
example of this administration’s commit
ment to work with members of Congress
to honor our historic, nation-to-nation
relationship. Tribal leaders look forward
to meeting with the president and his ad
ministration next week at the White House
Tribal Nations Conference and continue
building our vision for strengthening
Indian Country.”
The signing of the Cobell settlement,
which resolves long-running class action
litigation over mismanagement of Indian
trust funds, came one week prior to the
president’s Tribal Nations Conference,
the second of his administration. Leaders
from the 565 federally recognized Tribal
nations were invited by the White House
to the gathering at the Department of
Interior on Dec. 16.
The Cobell settlement also includes
payment for resource mismanagement
and funds for consolidation of fraction
ated lands. The case has been pending
since 1996. In the last month, it moved
forward rapidly in the Senate as budget
neutral legislation after lingering for the
last year in both houses.
Unresolved for 14 years, the settle
ment was part of a number of historic
measures included in the Claims Resolu
tion Act of 2010. In addition to the Cobell
settlement, historic water settlements vital
to Indian Country totaling more than $1
billion were passed as part of H.R. 4387.
The water settlements involved the
Crow Tribe, Taos Pueblo, the White Moun
tain Apache Tribe and the Aamodt settle
ment, including the Pueblos of Nambe,
Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque.
Help available for college application process through College Horizons
College Horizons is a summer op
portunity exclusively offered to American
Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian
students and provides expert advice on nav
igating the college application process.
College Horizons invites current 10th-
and 11 “’-grade American Indian, Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian students to
apply to its CH 2011 summer program.
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Siletz News
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This pre-college program helps 90 stu
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dents work with 60 college admissions
officers, college counselors, essay special
ists and other educators in a six-day “crash
course” that helps students navigate the
college application process.
This summer, College Horizons will
offer two programs:
January 2011
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Colorado State University (Ft. Col
lins, Colo.), June 12-17, 2011
University of Rochester (Rochester,
N.Y.), June 26 - July 1,2011
The application and eligibility details
are available at www.collegehorizons.org.
The deadline for application submission
is Feb. 14, 2011.
Since these programs tend to fill
up quickly, it’s highly recommend
ed that students postmark their ap
plication by the deadline. Significant
financial aid is available (tuition and air
fare) for students who qualify.
For more information, call College
Horizon’s main office at 505-401-3854 or
e-mail info@collegehorizons.org.