Chairman’s Report
Tribal Nations Summit
President Obama once again invited
all Tribal leaders in the United States
to attend the 2013 White House Tribal
Nations Summit in Washington, D.C.,
on Nov. 13 at the Department of Interior.
Bud Lane, Tribal vice chairman, repre
sented Siletz at the summit (see article
on page 1).
The White House Council on Native
American Affairs was established earlier
this year and was a discussion item at
the summit.
The Departments of Interior, Veter
ans Affairs, Health and Human Services,
Environmental Protection, Transporta
tion, Energy, Justice, Labor, Housing,
Homeland Security, Small Business
Administration and Agriculture made pre
sentations, along with President Obama.
Tribes generally don't get to speak
at this meeting; usually pre-conference
meetings cover Tribal issues that may be
local. This year the president met with
12 Tribes the day before the summit to
understand individual Tribal interests. We
all have issues in common, but also have
issues specific to our region.
Bud and Robert Kentta also met with
our congressional delegation as well as
some committee staff members.
On Nov. 14, Bud testified before the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee about
how sequestration affects the Siletz Tribe
(see testimony below).
Holidays
1 hope you enjoyed our Restoration
Celebration and your Thanksgiving.
Blessings to you for the holiday season.
May you have a safe New Year and an
awesome beginning to 2014.
Delores Pigsley
Testimony of Alfred “Bud” Lane, III, Tribal Council Vice Chairman • Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon
Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Hearing on Contract Support Costs and Sequestration: Fiscal Crisis in Indian Country
My name is Bud Lane. As Tribal
Vice Chairman for the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians, I want to thank
you for creating this opportunity to hear
directly from Tribes on the impacts of
sequestration. While some in the media,
like The Washington Post, maintain that
sequestration effects are minimal or
non-existent, I can assure you this has
not been the case for Indian Country
and for the Siletz Tribe.
2008 Economic Collapse. Like
the rest of the nation, the Siletz Tribe
has been trying to recover from the
2008 crash of the economy. We have
worked diligently to keep services and
jobs intact for our Tribal members and
focused funding cuts in the areas of travel,
training and staffing. To that end. we have
left vacated positions unfilled and shifted
duties to other staff, froze salaries and
step increases from 2010 through 2012
and provided no COLA in 2010, a 1%
COLA in 2011 and no COLA in 2012.
Compare that to federal agencies who,
while freezing salaries, still received step
increases and bonuses, including a 3.6%
COLA for 2012.
The Siletz Tribe's recovery has been
limited - Tribal revenue is slowly coming
Siletz News is free to enrolled Siletz Tribal members. For all others, a $12
annual subscription fee applies. Please make checks payable to CTSI and mail
to Siletz News.
back but as of 2012 we are still down 35%
from where we were in 2008. Our federal
funding has steadily declined in this same
time period. Through frugal planning,
the Tribe was able to plan for and budget
a 2% COLA and 2% step increase for
employees in 2013. However, given the
current sequestration and those proposed
tor the future, these are the last increases
for the foreseeable future.
2013 Sequestration. The Tribe has
continued cost cutting in response to the
first round of sequestration cuts. Staff
travel is restricted to mandatory grantee
meetings and to trainings required to
maintain professional licensing and
certifications. For 2013, we continued
not filling most vacated positions and
in some instances reduced full-time
positions to part-time to achieve savings
in salary and fringe benefits. At this
point we have lost 26 positions (10%
of our staff).
For the first time ever, the Tribe's
Contract Health Services program
began the year on priority levels which
restricted services: (1) authorized care
is limited to health services needed for
Continued on next page
Elders Council Meeting
Dec. 14*1-4 p.m. • Chinook Winds Casino Resort
For more information, contact Dee Navarro at 800-922-1399.
ext. 1261 ; 541-444-8261 ; or deen@ctsi.nsn.us.
Name:
Address:
Phone:
NUU”WeG-y3
Change of address: Tribal members - contact the Enrollment Depart
ment at 541-444-8258; 800-922-1399, ext. 1258; or covas@ctsi.nsn.us. All
others - call the newspaper office.
Send information to:
Deadline for the January
issue is Dec. 10
Siletz News
Submission of articles and
photos is encouraged.
Please see the Passages
Policy on page 24 when sub
mitting items for Passages.
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
541-444-8291 or
800-922-1399, ext. 1291
Fax: 541-444-2307
Email: pias@ctsi.nsn.us
2
•
Siletz News
•
Member of the Native American
Journalists Association
December 2013
(our words)
Introduction to the Athabaskan language
Open to Tribal members of all ages
Eugene
Eugene Area Office
Dec. 2 - 6-8 p.m.
Jan. 6 - 6-8 p.m.
Portland
Portland Area Office
Dec. 9 - 6-8 p.m.
Jan. 13 - 6-8 p.m.
Siletz
Siletz Tribal Community Center
Dec. 3 - 6-8 p.m.
Jan. 7 - 6-8 p.m.
Salem
Salem Area Office
Dec. 10 - 6-8 p.m.
Jan. 14 - 6-8 p.m.
Classes begin with basic instruction and progress over the year. They also
are a refresher course for more-advanced students. Come and join other members
of your community and Tribe in learning to speak one of our ancient languages.
We also have equipment in the Cultural Department available for use in
grinding and drilling shell or pine nuts or other applications. If you need to use
the equipment, call the number below to set up an appointment.
For more information, contact Bud Lane at the Siletz Cultural Department
at 541-444-8320 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1320; or email budl@ctsi.nsn.us.