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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2015)
SILETZ NEWS Presorted First-Class Mail U.S. Postage Paid - Permit No. 178 Salem, OR Delores Pigsley, Tribal Chairman Brenda Bremner, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Vol. 43, No. 3 Siletz News Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians P.O. Box 549 Siletz, OR 97380-0549 March 2015 Tribal members elect Butler, Edenfield and Hatch to Siletz Tribal Council Photo by Diane Rodriquez The 2015 Siletz Tribal Council (l to r): Reggie Butler Sr., Lillie Butler, Delores Pigsley, Robert Kentta, Sharon A. Edenfield, Alfred (Bud) Lane III, Gloria Ingle, David R. Hatch and Loraine Butler STAHS Board visits Yaquina Head Interpretive Center By Teresa Simmons, STAHS Board Member The Siletz Tribal Arts and Heri- tage Society (STAHS) is visiting local museums and cultural centers to collect ideas and experiences related to our Siletz Tribal Cultural Center. This is a most informative way to understand the ins and outs of operating a museum or cultural center. On Jan. 17, Sharon Edenfield, Gloria Ingle, David Hatch, Josh Eddings, Margo Hudson, Kathy Kentta Robinson, Darcy Jimenez and I (all members of the STAHS Board) along with Pam Barlow-Lind from the Tribal Planning Department visited the Yaquina Head Interpretive Center. It was an unusually blustery day with rain pounding the facility and giv- ing all present a profound appreciation of the indoor facility and the need to See STAHS on page 4 NCAI releases analysis of president’s new budget request WASHINGTON – On Feb. 4, the National Congress of American Indians released an analysis of the president’s fiscal year 2016 budget that highlights the impact on funding for Indian programs. The budget proposes an overall increase of 12 percent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) over the FY2015 enacted level, the largest increase in more than a decade (excluding Recovery Act funding) and a 9 percent increase for the Indian Health Service (IHS). Overall, several proposals in the FY2016 budget request would improve the federal government’s fulfillment of treaty and trust responsibilities in the fed- eral budget, proposals that should benefit from bipartisan support. NCAI and Tribal leaders will con- tinue to work with appropriators and members in both the House and Senate to underscore the importance of strength- ened investments in direct services to Tribes and funding for programs admin- istered by Tribes. “Indian Country strongly supports the several increases that recognize the treaty and trust responsibilities, with the goal of parity in governmental resources for Tribes,” said NCAI President Brian Cladoosby in response to the fiscal year 2016 budget release. “Tribes also strongly support the proposal to make BIA and IHS contract support costs mandatory, which Tribes have called for in Tribal consulta- tion over many years.” Highlights of the president’s FY2016 budget include: • • • Mandatory contract support costs: The FY2016 budget includes a legis- lative proposal to reclassify contract support costs as permanent funding beginning in FY2017. Native youth: The creation of Gen- eration Indigenous, a comprehen- sive multi-agency initiative to help improve the lives of and opportunities for Native youth in multiple areas, such as broadband access and college and career readiness. Tiwahe (Family) Initiative: This com- prehensive and integrated approach addresses the inter-related problems of poverty, violence and substance abuse faced by Indian communities. The FY16 budget would provide $15 million to expand the initiative, $6 million more for social services, $4 million more for law enforcement for alternatives to incarceration and $5 million more for Tribal family courts. • Public safety: The budget includes $417.4 million for Department of Jus- tice public safety initiatives in Indian Country, a $102 million increase. • Tribal Behavioral Health Grant (TBHG) increases: The TBHG would receive an additional $25 million as part of Generation Indigenous. With the expansion of the TBHG program, SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra- tion) aims to reduce substance use and suicide among Native youth and address conditions that impact learn- ing in BIE schools. • Indian education funding: This would increase for the Bureau of Indian Edu- cation (BIE), expanding broadband for BIE schools, scholarships and higher education. As Congress makes decisions as a part of the appropriations process in the coming weeks and months, NCAI urges lawmakers to support parity in govern- mental and program funding as well as promote Indian self-determination to achieve the vision of broader progress in Indian Country. For more information, visit ncai.org. Reggie Butler Sr., Sharon A. Eden- field and David R. Hatch were elected to the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in elections held Feb. 7. Butler, from Siletz, Ore., was re- elected with 267 votes; Edenfield, also from Siletz, was re-elected with 267 votes; and Hatch, from Portland, Ore., was elected with 247 votes. Ten candi- dates ran for the three open positions and the three who received the most votes were elected. These individuals will serve with Lillie Butler and Alfred (Bud) Lane III, both of Siletz, and Delores Pigsley, of Keizer, Ore., whose terms expire in 2016; and Loraine Butler of Siletz, Gloria Ingle of Lincoln City, Ore., and Robert Kentta of Logsden, Ore., whose terms expire in 2017. Term of office is three years for each position on the nine-member council. Seven hundred eight ballots were returned and accepted. Enrolled members of the Siletz Tribe who are age 18 or older are eligible to vote in Tribal elections. The Tribe has nearly 5,000 enrolled members. The swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected council members took place Sunday. Officers are elected on an annual basis and those selected for 2015 include: Delores Pigsley, chairman Alfred (Bud) Lane III, vice chairman Sharon A. Edenfield, secretary Robert Kentta, treasurer Pigsley currently has served 29.5 years as Tribal chairman out of 36 years on the council, while Lillie Butler has served 23; Reggie Butler, 18; Lane, 17; Kentta and Loraine Butler, 10 each; Edenfield, nearly six years; and Hatch, with six years of previous service on the Tribal Council. The Siletz Tribe has spent the last 37 years rebuilding its government and economic structure. The signing of Pub- lic Law 95-195 in 1977, which restored government-to-government relations between the Siletz Tribe and the federal government, started this process. The Siletz Tribe was the second in the nation – and the first in Oregon – to achieve restoration. The Siletz Tribe was among the first to become a self-governance Tribe, giving Tribal government more control over ser- vices provided to Tribal members. Under self-governance, the U.S. government provides general funding to the Tribe (rather than to specific programs), then Tribal employees and the Tribal Council decide how funds will be spent. Significant Tribal accomplishments since Restoration include opening the original health clinic in 1991 and a new See Election on page 4
