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SILETZ NewS Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Vol. 41, No. 2 February 2013 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 First-Class Mail U.S. Postage Paid - Permit No. 178 Salem, OR Photo by Diane Rodriquez Work continues on the first seven single-family houses in the new Tillamook Community in Siletz. See story on page 5. Salazar will leave Interior to return home to Colorado WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Jan. 16 that he will return to his home state of Colorado, having fulfilled his promise to President Obama to serve four years as secretary. Salazar has informed President Obama that he intends to leave the depart- ment by the end of March. “Colorado is and will always be my home. I look forward to returning to my family and Colorado after eight years in Washington, D.C.,” said Salazar. “I am forever grateful to President Obama for his friendship in the U.S. Senate and the oppor- tunity he gave me to serve as a member of his Cabinet during this historic presidency. “I have had the privilege of reform- ing the Department of the Interior to help lead the United States in securing a new energy frontier, ushering in a conservation agenda for the 21 st century and honoring our word to the nation’s first Americans,” added Salazar. “I thank the more than 70,000 employees at the department for their dedication to our mission as custo- dians of America’s natural and cultural resources. I look forward to helping my successor in a seamless transition in the months ahead.” Secretary Salazar’s term was marked by historic progress for Indian Country with the passage of the Cobell settlement that honorably and responsibly addressed long-standing injustices regarding the U.S. government’s trust management. The president also signed into law six Indian water rights settlements, totaling more than $1 billion, that will help deliver clean drinking water to Tribal communi- ties and provide certainty to water users across the West. Salazar spearheaded a sweeping reform – the first in 50 years – of federal surface leasing regulations for American Indian lands that will streamline the approval process for home ownership, expedite economic development and spur renewable energy in Indian Country. “President Obama has made it a priority to empower our nation’s first Americans by helping to build stronger, safer and more prosperous Tribal commu- nities,” Salazar said. “This administration has been marked by a renewed com- mitment to honoring a nation-to-nation relationship and ensuring Tribes have a greater role in federal decisions affecting Indian Country.” Salazar has helped usher in a new era of conservation to protect America’s lands, wildlife and heritage. Under the banner of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors pro- gram, Interior has established 10 national wildlife refuges and seven national parks since 2009; established forward- thinking protections for wildlife and preserved millions of acres of land; and implemented community-driven, science- based conservation strategies that take into account entire ecosystems and work- ing landscapes. “From the Crown of the Continent in Montana to the prairie grasslands of Kansas to the Everglades Headwaters in Florida, we are partnering with landown- ers, farmers and ranchers to preserve their way of life and the irreplaceable land and wildlife that together we cherish,” Salazar See Salazar, con’t on page 4. NCAI statement on Salazar’s impact WASHINGTON – A statement released by the U.S. Department of Interior on Jan. 16 announced that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will return to his home state of Colo- rado, having “fulfilled his promise to President Obama to serve four years as secretary. Secretary Salazar has informed President Obama that he intends to leave the Department by the end of March.” The National Congress of Amer- ican Indians (NCAI) released the following statement regarding the announcement: “Secretary Ken Salazar will be remembered for the promises he kept and the trust he rebuilt with Tribal nations and Native people. His legacy among Tribes is rooted in the depth of the relationships he forged See NCAI, con’t on page 4. Photo by Diane Rodriquez Tribal Council candidates (l to r) Rusty Butler, Kelley Ellis, Frank Aspria Sr., Melinda Logan, Alfred “Bud” Lane III, Delores Pigsley and Matthew Pronovost gather at Chinook Winds Casino Resort for the Candidates Fair on Jan. 12. All ballots for the 2013 Tribal Council election must be received by 4 p.m. on Feb. 2. You can vote in person on Feb. 2 at the Tribal Community Center in Siletz, Ore., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
