SILETZ NEWS
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 39, No. 9
September 2011
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
Î5Û P3
KNIGHT LIBRARY
SERIALS DEPARTMENT
1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
EUGENE OR 9F403-1205
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Salem, OR
Photo by Natasha Kavanaugh
Several youth dancers enter the arena during Grand Entry at the Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow, including grass dancers Ashten
Fisher (left), Ashton Sampson (second from left), Amial Rhoan (in blue and white), Tre Jackson (in black and multiple colors),
Shawn Robertson (in teal), plus Hattie Imbler-Bremner (far right). See additional photos from the pow-wow on pages 9-20.
Volunteers needed for 234-mile Run to the Rogue event
You are invited to join Siletz Tribal
members and friends on Sept. 8-10 for
Run to the Rogue 17.
This event is a 234-mile relay run/
walk in memory of the Siletz Tribal ances
tors who were forcibly removed from their
homeland in the Rogue River country in
the mid-1800s and marched north to Siletz
to the confinements of the Coast Reserva
tion. This annual relay is the closest we
can come to our ancestors’ experience on
the journey from their homeland.
Run to the Rogue begins in Siletz on
Sept. 8 at the Tribal Community Center
and ends Sept. 10 at Oak Flat on the
Rogue River.
•
•
Volunteers are needed to run, walk or
help out with camp setup, cleanup,
cooking and other areas.
Youth can participate but need a des
ignated adult committed to traveling
and camping with the youth.
•
Camping, meals and runners’ support
and refreshments are provided along
the route.
•
An orientation session will be held
Sept. 8 at 8 a.m. at the Tribal Com
munity Center in Siletz.
If you would like to participate or
need more information, please call SOO-
922-1399 or 541 444-2532, ext. 1230 or
1290, for a registration packet.
Tribe, AT&T sign lease for cell tower; construction begins
Full service available in
about three months
Photo by Diane Rodriquez
The trees near Silatchee Park show just
how much vertical space there is for a
cell phone tower.
By Diane Rodriquez
Representatives from the Siletz Tribe,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and AT&T
signed the lease for a cell phone tower in
Siletz on Aug. 8 and the construction of
this project has begun.
Tribal General Manager Brenda
Bremner; Greg Norton, BIA superintendent
of the Siletz Agency; and Geri Roper, Area
Manager of Construction and Engineering
with AT&T, signed the lease document that
allowed the construction to start.
“The signing of this lease with AT&T
for the erection of a cell tower in the Siletz
community has been a goal of the Tribe’s
for over 10 years. We are pleased to have
finally worked out an agreement to bring
cellular service to our community,” said
Bremner. “It has taken a great deal of
time and effort by those involved to make
this happen and I’d like to thank our staff
and those of AT&T, especially Heather
Kesten, for their hard work.”
The 250-foot-tall telecommunica
tions tower will be on the eastern side of
Silatchee Park in Siletz. It’s estimated that
the tower will be operational in approxi
mately three months. Residents should be
aware that near the end of construction,
during the testing phase, some spotty
phone service will be available before full
service is up and running.
Benefits to the community from the
proposed new coverage include:
•
•
Mobility, with access to the entire
national communication grid
Reduced telephone costs, especially
long-distance calling
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Ability to communicate more readily
in emergency situations and during
natural disasters
911 coverage for all cell phone users
Text and e-mail communication for
business users
Access to the Internet for entertain
ment and education
According to AT&T, the new cell
tower will provide “excellent coverage”
for approximately 12 square miles of the
immediate area, extending three miles
north and two miles south of the city along
Highway 229 and more than two miles east
along Logsden Road. “Good coverage” is
expected to include 32 square miles, while
“fair coverage” will extend even farther.
See Cell Tower on page 3.