SILETZ NEWS
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner,
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 44, No. 6
Presorted
First-Class
Mail
U.S. Postage
Paid - Permit
No. 178
Salem, OR
Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
June 2016
Human remains found, Tribe called late to investigation in Lincoln City
On Friday, May 6, 2016, work was
being done under a home near the turn-
around in the Taft area of Lincoln City,
Ore., when human remains were found.
Some missteps were initially made in
following state law and the State/Tribal
Cultural Resources Cluster Position Paper
on Treatment of Inadvertent Discoveries
of Human Remains (available at Oregon
State Historic Preservation Office [Ore-
gon SHPO] website).
The Siletz Tribal Cultural Resources
director / Native American Graves Pro-
tection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
representative, Robert Kentta, should have
been contacted right away by the OSP
State Agency key contact on such matters.
The position paper stresses that Tribal
contacts should be made early in the pro-
cess to help law enforcement determine
whether the remains are associated with
an ancestral burial or pioneer grave vs. a
modern crime scene.
Local OSP and Lincoln City Police
did the best they could, in the absence
of Tribal assistance, by consulting with
the State Medical Examiner’s Office in
Clackamas, Ore. The Siletz Tribal rep was
not contacted until much later, initially by
Editor Rick Mark from The News Guard
rather than through official channels. By
then, the contact with the State Medical
Examiner’s Office had provided assur-
ance that the remains were associated
with a Native burial and were not part of
a crime scene.
Oregon’s Cultural Resource and
Native Burial Laws apply to state and
private lands in Oregon; federal laws
such as the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAG-
PRA), National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) and Archaeological Resources
Protection Act (ARPA) apply to federal
lands and project locations that are using
federal funds, federal permits, etc.
Oregon’s laws are strong in protect-
ing history for all Oregonians. No one
can remove an artifact from the ground
if a tool or equipment had to uncover it
(without a permit from SHPO – which
includes property owner consent). One
cannot knowingly alter, deface or destroy
a Native burial, cairn, archaeological site,
etc., without similar clearances. Discovery
of burials raises significant special con-
cerns that must be addressed. Provisions
to handle the discovered remains must
be taken, which may include protection
in place, relocation with approval and
supervision of the Tribe, or other options.
Once an inadvertent discovery is made,
such as occurred on May 6, standard pro-
cesses are supposed to kick in. All ground-
disturbing activity is to halt – nothing is
to be further removed or disturbed – until
the proper contacts have been made and
clearances have been given.
State law says that the OSP key
contact (Trooper Chris Allori), SHPO
(either Dennis Griffin or John Pouley, both
state archaeologists) and the Legislative
Commission on Indian Services (Karen
Quigley, executive director) all should be
contacted immediately, and contact then
should be made with the appropriate Ore-
gon Tribe or Tribes. That determination
is made by the LCIS executive director
based on historical connections and Tribal
expressions of areas of interest. Once all
are informed and have the opportunity to
respond, then decisions can be made.
As stated earlier, the first business
is to determine whether a crime needs
to be investigated and Tribal reps gener-
ally can assist in quickly reaching that
See Remains on page 19
Portland Area Office celebrates 30
years of serving Tribal members
1986
to
2016
Confederated Tribes Of Siletz Indians
Portland Area Office Celebrates
30
You and a guest are invited to join the
Siletz tribe as we honor those who have
helped us accomplish our work.
Date: Thursday, June 9, 2016
Time: 11 AM — 6 PM
Where: Portland Area Office
12790 SE Stark St
Portland, Oregon
RSVP: Andrew Johanson:
Call (503) 238-1512 or
andrewj@ctsi.nsn.us
Photo by Diane Rodriquez
Eann Biggar aims a ping pong ball at bowls filled with dyed water in an
attempt to win a prize during a carnival held for Siletz Tribal Head Start
students at the Siletz Recreational Center on May 23.
Creating opportunities in education, employment, and wellness for the
Native community in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington County
YEARS
By Andrew Johanson and Sherry Addis
It’s hard to believe that 30 years have passed since the Siletz Tribal Council voted
to add Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties to our service area.
Throughout the years, it has been our privilege to serve Siletz Tribal members,
members of other federally recognized Tribes, Alaskan Natives and Hawaiian Natives
and help them attain their education, employment and wellness goals.
To commemorate this achievement, the Portland Area Office will host an open
house on June 9 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Portland Area Office, located at 12790
SE Stark St., Suite 102, in Portland, Ore.
We hope you can join us!