Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
SILETZ NEWS
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner,
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 43, No. 6
Presorted
First-Class
Mail
U.S. Postage
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No. 178
Salem, OR
June 2015
Tribal Council approves equality-based marriage, dissolution ordinances
The Siletz Tribal Council approved
marriage and dissolution of marriage
ordinances during its meeting on May
15, 2015. The ordinances apply equally to
couples of the opposite sex and to same-
sex couples (at least one person of each
couple must be a Siletz Tribal member for
the laws to apply). The ordinances became
effective upon approval.
The Tribal Council’s actions followed
a General Council advisory vote that
favored the passage of both ordinances
by a 336 (yes) to 169 (no) vote. Those
eligible to cast an advisory vote included
all enrolled members age 18 and older.
The General Council comprises all of
the 5,001 members of the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians.
There was some concern with the call
for an advisory vote of the membership
before the council’s final enacting vote
because it could give the impression that
the Tribe believes it appropriate for equal-
ity issues to be decided that way or that a
simple majority vote can legislate discrimi-
nation – if the ballot count turns out that
way. But with this being an advisory vote
and not a binding vote, it went forward.
“The Siletz Tribe is committed as
a government to serve its people well
and treat all members with the respect,
dignity and equal protections under
Tribal law that they deserve,” said Robert
Kentta, Tribal Council member. “When
approached with the request for the Siletz
Tribal Council to establish a Siletz Tribal
Marriage Ordinance – and for it to be
specifically inclusive of same-sex couples
and treat all adult Tribal members equally
in this regard – it was a fairly simple
process to get that ball rolling. We did
not have an existing ordinance that dealt
with recognition of marriages to amend,
so our new marriage law is inclusive
from its inception. It is also important to
recognize that ancient Tribal traditions,
beliefs and practices that amount to the
law of our ancestors are consistent with
the concepts of marriage equality in the
ordinances just passed.”
The impetus for the ordinances came
from the Siletz Change Team, formed in
2010 with support from the Western States
Center, which formed a partnership and
provided both grant support and trainings/
collaborative dialog to further the team’s
work. The center is a regional organiza-
tion that works with various groups to
advance racial, gender and economic
justice in their communities.
The Lewis & Clark College Indige-
nous Ways of Knowing (IWOK) Program,
led by Se-ah-dom Edmo (Shoshone-
Bannock/Yakama/Nez Perce) also con-
tributed greatly with its education,
training and supportive work around
traditional diversity of gender roles and
traditional cultural recognition of same-
sex couples in Tribal communities.
were not needed. The Siletz Tribal Mar-
riage Ordinance is just the natural next
step in providing our members with the
tools and community support needed to
live the fullest, happiest and most produc-
tive lives possible, regardless of who they
fall in love with.”
Edmo pulled together a collabora-
tive team that produced a “Tribal Equity
Toolkit” for Tribal governments to use
in developing equality-based law around
marriage in their communities.
With the passing of these two ordi-
nances, the Siletz Tribe joins at least 22
other Tribes that provide legal recognition
of same-sex couples in their communi-
ties, including the Coquille Indian Tribe
in Oregon and the Confederated Tribes
of the Colville Reservation, Port Gamble
S’Klallam Tribe, Puyallup Tribe and
Suquamish Tribe (all in Washington state).
“The Change Team was organized
through funding and support provided by
the Western States Center and IWOK was
a collaborative partner from the start. The
team’s mission was to conduct a review of
all Tribal policies, ordinances, codes, etc.,
to make sure that our members were all
treated fairly and equally without regard
to sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
We soon found that our various bodies
of policy and law were already generally
inclusive and welcoming to all Tribal
members and clients that we serve,” said
Kentta. “We did make some changes to
make intent clear and make wording con-
sistent so all are treated equally, including
Two-Spirit and same-sex households. It
felt good to know that dramatic changes
“The Siletz Tribe thanks our sister
Tribes that have previously taken such
legislative action to protect their mem-
bers and communities, and express their
living cultures. We thank them for their
leadership and courage to stand up for
what is right,” said Kentta. “We can now
be counted among you and look forward
to others also taking this important step.
It’s about treating all Tribal members
with equal respect and dignity – and
recognizing and supporting their natural
ability to make important life decisions
for themselves.”
MemorialDayCeremony•May25,2015•VeteransMemorial•Siletz,Oregon
Photos by Andrea Suitter
Everetta Butler accepts the medals awarded to her dad, Everette Butler, a World
War II veteran.
Two of the Siletz Tribe’s World War II veterans, Alfred Lane Jr. and Ed Ben,
address the crowd.