SILETZ NEWS
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 44, No. 3
March 2016
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
Tribe raises minimum wage to $11 at all Tribal entities, retroactive to Jan. 1
The Siletz Tribal Council has raised
the hourly minimum wage for employ-
ees of all tribal entities from $9.25 to
$11 an hour.
The new minimum wage applies to
Chinook Winds Casino Resort, includ-
ing the hotel, golf course and fitness
center. It also applies to all employees
of the Tribal government and tribally
owned entities, including the Siletz Tribal
Business Corporation, Internal Audit
Department and the Siletz Tribal Gaming
Commission.
Tribal Council approved the raise
effective Jan. 1, 2016, which will result in
a small retroactive payment for employees
currently making the tribal minimum
wage. Annually, the increase means
an extra $2,704 for a minimum wage
employee working 30 hours a week. This
additional income will help with the rising
costs of groceries, gas, heath care, utilities,
rent and recreation, which also benefits
the local economy.
According to Tribal Chairman
Delores Pigsley, “The Tribal Council
sees the new tribal minimum wage as
one way to help employees and their
families to make ends meet.”
Lane, Pigsley, Butler re-elected to Tribal Council; officers also selected
Alfred (Bud) Lane III, Delores
Pigsley and Lillie Butler were re-elected
to the Tribal Council of the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians in elections held
Feb. 6.
Lane, from Siletz, Ore., was re-elected
with 418 votes; Pigsley, from Keizer, Ore.,
was re-elected with 371 votes; and Butler,
also from Siletz, was re-elected with 261
votes. Eight candidates ran for the three
open positions and the three who received
the most votes were elected.
These individuals will serve with
Loraine Butler of Siletz, Gloria Ingle
of Lincoln City, Ore., and Robert Kentta
of Logsden, Ore., whose terms expire in
2017; and with Reggie Butler Sr. and Sha-
ron Edenfield of Siletz and David Hatch
of Portland, Ore., whose terms expire in
2018. Term of office is three years for each
position on the nine-member council.
Seven hundred seven (707) 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
Feb. 7. Officers are elected on an annual
basis and those selected for 2016 include:
•
•
•
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Delores Pigsley, chairman
Alfred (Bud) Lane III, vice chairman
Sharon Edenfield, secretary
Robert Kentta, treasurer
Pigsley currently has served 30.5
years as Tribal chairman out of 37 years
on the council, while Lillie Butler has
served 24; Reggie Butler, 19; Lane, 18;
Kentta and Loraine Butler, 11 each; Hatch,
7; and Edenfield, nearly 7 years.
The Siletz Tribe has spent the last
38 years rebuilding its government and
economic structure. The signing of Public
Law 95-195 in 1977, which restored gov-
ernment-to-government relations between
the Siletz Tribe and the federal govern-
ment, 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 pro-
vides general funding to the Tribe (rather
Courtesy photo by Andrea Suitter
The 2016 Siletz Tribal Council includes (front row) Loriane Butler, Reggie Butler Sr. Gloria Ingle and Lillie Butler; and (back
row) Robert Kentta, Alfred (Bud) Lane III, Delores Pigsley, Sharon Edenfield, and Dave Hatch.
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
much larger clinic in 2010; building more
than 150 homes and multiple dwellings
for Tribal members, including 28 units at
Neachesna Village in Lincoln City that
have opened since 2009, 19 apartments in
Siletz that opened in 2010 and 12 homes
in the Tillamook subdivision in Siletz that
have opened since 2013; completing the
Siletz Dance House in 1996; opening the
Tenas Illahee Childcare Center in 2003;
opening the Tillicum Fitness Center and
a new USDA food distribution warehouse
in Siletz in 2008; and opening the Siletz
Recreation Center in 2009.
Through its economic development
division, the Siletz Tribal Business Cor-
poration, the Tribe purchased the Lincoln
Shores office complex in Lincoln City in
2001 and opened the Siletz Gas & Mini-
Mart in Siletz in 2004, the Logan Road RV
Park in Lincoln City in 2004 and the Hee
Hee Illahee RV Resort in Salem in 2006.
See Election on page 4
Obama’s FY 2017 budget request for Indian Affairs
increases funding that supports strong Tribal nations
WASHINGTON – President Obama’s
Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget request for
Indian Affairs, which includes the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of
Indian Education (BIE), reflects the admin-
istration’s all-of-government approach to
meeting the federal government’s responsi-
bilities to the nation’s 567 federally recog-
nized American Indian and Alaska Native
tribes and building on the commitment to
promote strong, resilient nations for today
and for future generations.
“President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017
budget request for Indian Affairs embod-
ies his belief that a federal budget that
addresses trust and treaty responsibilities
with comprehensive, coordinated federal
resources promotes strong, resilient Tribal
nations,” said acting Assistant Secretary –
Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts. “I’m
very pleased this budget continues the
president’s long-standing commitment to
our nation-to-nation relationship and to
our mission of promoting tribal sovereignty
for the prosperity of future generations.”
The budget request of $2.9 billion,
a $137.6 million increase above the FY
2016 enacted level, provides funding to
foster Tribal self-determination and self-
governance through investments in educa-
tion for Native youth, support of Indian
families, additional public safety resources
in Tribal communities, restoration and
governance of Tribal lands and resources,
and by fostering Tribal resilience to climate
change and promoting Tribal cultures.
Creating opportunities for
Native youth
The FY 2017 budget request for
Indian Affairs makes key investments to
support Generation Indigenous (Gen-I), an
initiative launched in 2014 to address bar-
riers to success for American Indian youth.
The request supports Obama’s vision
for a 21 st century Indian education system
See Budget on page 8