SILETZ NewS
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 42, No. 7
July 2014
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
Gracie Callis, Michael Turner, Shay Lucas and Tehya Seltenreich belt out Let It Go from the movie Frozen during the Siletz Tribal Head Start Transition Ceremony
in Siletz on May 23. See more photos of graduates from various schools on pages 9-12.
President’s visit to Standing Rock Sioux Reservation leads to new steps
to strengthen Tribal economies and improve education for Native youth
WASHINGTON – The National
Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
applauds President Barack Obama for
upholding his ongoing commitment
to Tribal nations and Native people by
traveling to the Standing Rock Sioux
Reservation on June 13.
In his speech, Obama expressed pride
that “the government-to-government rela-
tionship between Washington and Tribal
nations is stronger than ever” and affirmed
that his administration is “determined to
partner with Tribes.”
The president’s visit is a catalyst for
several new efforts to strengthen Tribal
nations through education and economic
development. The White House released
a fact sheet acknowledging that while his
administration has seen “unprecedented
progress” on Tribal priorities, “the presi-
dent recognizes that much work remains.”
The fact sheet outlined a number of
new initiatives, many of them longtime
priorities of Tribal leaders identified
through NCAI resolutions and regional
intertribal organizations, as part of Tribal
leader briefing materials for the annual
White House Tribal Nations Summits
or in other White House meetings and
roundtable events.
The new initiatives include improv-
ing the Bureau of Education, supporting
the academic achievement of all Native
students and supporting economic devel-
opment in Tribal communities.
Since taking office, Obama has
remained steadfast in honoring our
nation-to-nation relationship. He has
kept his commitment to host the annual
White House Tribal Nations Summit in
Washington, D.C. These summits have
facilitated unprecedented engagement
between Tribal leaders and the president
and members of his Cabinet.
At the 2013 White House Tribal
Nations Summit, Obama announced
that he would visit Indian Country
himself – a longtime priority of Tribal
leaders. His visit to Standing Rock fulfills
that promise.
This historic visit is the first by a sit-
ting president in more than 15 years and
makes Obama only the fourth president
in history to ever visit Indian Country.
NCAI expects the president to address
the economic development needs of Tribal
nations and the needs of Native youth.
While Tribal youth are included in the
administration’s My Brother’s Keeper
initiative, this administration has always
known that Native children have specific
cultural and education needs that require
focused attention.
For this reason, Indian Country has
witnessed an unprecedented collabora-
tion between Secretary Sally Jewell at
the Department of the Interior and Sec-
retary Arne Duncan at the Department of
Education to study what is necessary to
make sure that all of our Native students
– in public, Tribal and Bureau of Indian
Education schools – have the tools they
need to ensure a strong future for all
Native children.
In 2013, Jewell visited the Pueblo
of Laguna to see firsthand how a Tribal
education department was improving
the quality of school operations, perfor-
mance and structure of BIE schools. She
witnessed a nation that was engaged and
excited to participate in efforts to improve
educational outcomes in Indian Country.
It will take visits like this – the agen-
cies working together with Tribal govern-
ments and national organizations such as
NCAI and the National Indian Education
Association to ensure that our students
can be the future Tribal leaders, teachers,
health care workers and entrepreneurs that
our nations and the United States need to
thrive for generations to come.
The president’s visit builds upon
ongoing efforts of his administration to
work closely with Tribal nations on policy
that affects their citizens. We trust the visit
will be a catalyst for more policies that
will not only succeed today, but cement
the positive relationship between Tribal
governments and the federal government
well into the future.
President Obama has made annual
summits between our nations, in his
words, “almost routine.” We trust this will
be the continuation of his administration’s
engagement with our nations that makes
visits to Indian Country by the president
and his Cabinet routine too.