Renee Lanette Metcalf – Nov. 24, 1965-March 24, 2017
Renee made her career as the Bingo
manager for Chinook Winds Casino. Dur-
ing that time, she changed the department
for the better and was happy and proud to
see her ways being honored to this day.
Renee was an avid reader since she
was just a little girl. She loved sharing
her books with family and friends. Renee
had a passion for creative writing, from
journaling to encouraging quotes. Her
soft kind words were inspirational, which
touched the lives of so many.
Renee lived for her five children and
loved being part of and watching her nine
grandchildren grow. They made her so
proud and filled her heart with a love only
a mother and grandmother would know
and she cherished every moment. Family
truly was everything to her. Renee enjoyed
countless adventures with her soul mate.
Renee loved going on journeys with
her mother, seeing beautiful places all
around. She enjoyed the quality time with
her as she was her best roadie. She had a
passion for photography and capturing
nature and the beauty around her, not
knowing she was the true beauty.
Renee was preceded in death by her
father, Willard “Babe” Metcalf.
She is survived by her mother, Loraine
Butler of Siletz, Ore.; her sons, Farrell
Cockrum of Washington and Jarron Brown
of Siletz; daughters, Rhiannon Hamel-
Fox, Rachelle John and Leslie Brown of
Siletz; grandchildren, Ts-eennelh “Turtle”
Metcalf, Tommy Metcalf, Neva Hamel,
Thomsus Cockrum, Holly Marie, Nakita
Fisher, Ezahbella Mosqueda, Katia Cock-
rum and Cruz Cockrum; brothers, Nathan
Metcalf and Rusty Butler of Siletz; sisters,
Martha “Michelle” Metcalf and Misty
Butler of Siletz; and her soul mate, Jarrod
Brown of Logsden, Ore.
All were invited to celebrate the life
of a woman who was full of such uncon-
ditional love, so caring, so selfless, so
beautiful inside and out, a woman who
truly saw the good and positive in every-
thing. From her many quotes of inspira-
tion: “Today is the tomorrow you worried
about yesterday.”
A Celebration of Life was held April
1 at the Siletz Tribal Center in Siletz.
All who knew Renee were welcome. A
potluck followed.
Courtesy photo
Renee Lanette Metcalf
Springing into life at the Inter-Tribal Gathering Garden
From NAYA eNews; originally pub-
lished April 4, 2017
Land stewardship and honoring our
connection to our environmental relatives
are values that bridge indigenous cultures
across the continent and around the world.
NAYA’s Community Engagement team
drew on these values March 25 as they
shared their experience in creating a new
park in the Cully “NAYAborhood.”
Thomas Cully Park has been a com-
munity work in progress for over a decade
(in Portland, Ore.), most recently in col-
laboration with Living Cully partners
(Hacienda CDC, Habitat for Humanity,
Verde) and Portland Parks and Recreation.
It is scheduled to open in September 2017.
The interactive workshop showcased
the community-aligned, co-managed park
project as one that heals land and people.
NAYA staff Cary Watters (Tlingit) and
Donita Fry (Shoshone-Bannock) were eager
to share this precedence-setting project
model, with the hope that other groups in the
region can adapt the project to their context.
As Mother Earth renews herself this
spring, participants learned about the
benefits of Native plants at the Inter-tribal
Gathering Garden and how the commu-
nity-driven design process helps to honor
the history of those who have lived here
since time immemorial and the diversity
of the current community.
Staff and participants shared freshly
gathered forest tea and scattered seeds at
the highest point of the park, the medicine
wheel feature. Folks also checked out the
outdoor classroom and learning garden.
When the park opens, visitors will be
able to learn about local, wild, harvest-
able plants in hopes that first foods and
medicines can be used more widely
throughout the region.
This is the first in a series of three
green infrastructure workshops funded by
East Multnomah Soil and Water Conser-
vation District. The second is at Zenger
Farms, in partnership with Wisdom of
the Elders and Black Food Sovereignty,
on May 13.
The third will be at June Key Delta
Community Center on May 27 and will
focus on the environmental, social and
cultural benefits of parks.
For more information, contact Cary
Watters at carryw@nayapdx.org.
Degree, continued from page 1
an address from Sandra McDonough, presi-
dent and CEO of the Portland Business
Alliance. The Atkinson Graduate School
of Management ceremony begins at 9 a.m.
Commencement for the university’s
College of Law will begin at 11:30 a.m.
and features an address by Michael D.
Levelle, president of the Oregon State
Bar and Willamette Law alumnus from
the class of 1990.
For more information about all of the
university’s commencement ceremonies,
including schedules, speaker biographies
and live-streams, visit willamette.edu/
events/commencement.
The following is from willamette.
edu/events/commencement/cla/honor-
ary_degrees/index.html:
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Delores “Dee” Pigsley
Delores Pigsley is the chair of the
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz. She
was born in Toledo, Ore., the youngest of
eight children and lived and grew up at
the Chemawa Indian School, where her
parents were employed. She is a graduate
of North Salem High School.
Pigsley was elected as a Siletz Tribal
Council representative in September of
1975. In 1954 the U.S. Congress passed
the termination statute selling off all
Siletz Tribal lands, abrogating all treaties,
cutting off all federal benefits, meaning
the Siletz were no longer recognized as a
sovereign Indian nation.
In the early 1970s, the Tribe reorga-
nized and launched their effort to restore
federal recognition. The Native American
Rights Fund stepped forward and provided
legal services. The Tribal Council and a
core group of Tribal members worked tire-
lessly to publicly make their case.
Delores was a leading figure in this
extremely contentious battle and when
the restoration was achieved through fed-
eral statutes of 1977 and 1980, the Siletz
became only the second tribe nationwide
to achieve repatriation.
Pigsley has been Tribal chair since
1986. As chair, Pigsley has worked with
city, county, state and federal officials to
represent the Tribe’s position on many
issues. She has negotiated agreements,
testified before congressional hearings
and continuously advocated for adequate
funding for Indian programs.
Her efforts to build Tribal sover-
eignty have resulted in improved law
enforcement, housing, education, cultural
resources, health care and environmental
and natural resources management. Envi-
ronmental protection has been a priority
under her leadership and the Tribe has
been recognized for their timber manage-
ment practices.
In the face of local and state opposi-
tion, she led her Tribe in the establishment
of the Chinook Winds Casino and Conven-
tion Center in the mid-1990s. Today, the
casino not only provides Tribal and local
community members with jobs, but revenue
from the casino provides funds for govern-
mental programs as well as for contribu-
tions to nonprofit organizations statewide.
Temporary Tribal Student Assistance Program
By Jessica Garcia, Rental Assistance
Program Coordinator/Resident
Services Advocate
The Siletz Tribal Housing Depart-
ment’s Temporary Tribal Student Assis-
tance Program (TTSAP) will soon
accept applications for the 2017-2018
academic year. Applications will be
accepted from April 3, 2017, to May 5,
2017, only.
8
•
Siletz News
•
May 2017
Program Information
 The TTSAP assists Tribal students
who will attend a college, university,
vocational or trade school.
 The TTSAP is a time-limited program.
Funding is for one academic year.
 The TTSAP helps students with
rent or room and board in a
dormitory.
 The student’s share of the rent
is 30 percent of their adjusted
annual income. Important
Note: The student might be
required to remit a portion
of the rent. For example, if a
student is working, the wages
will affect the student’s share of
the rent.
 Assistance is not transferable.
To obtain an application, please stop
by the STHD office at 555 Tolowa Court
in Siletz; call 800-922-1399, ext.1322,
or 541-444-8322; email jessicag@ctsi.
nsn.us or download one from the Tribal
website at ctsi.nsn.us.