Siletz news /, June 01, 2017, Page 11, Image 11

Delores Pigsley: Longtime leader sees multitude of changes
Delores Pigsley was born in Toledo,
Ore., to Alfred and Maude Lane. The
youngest of eight Chetco children, she
lived at Chemawa Indian School in Salem,
Ore., where her parents were employed.
She was married to Donald Pigsley
(Yankton Sioux Tribe of Wagner, S.D.).
She has three children – Timothy, Troy and
Quanna, and seven grandchildren. Don,
Troy and Quanna are deceased.
Delores worked in various jobs
throughout her career. She eventually
retired after 24 years with the Social Secu-
rity Administration, where she started as a
receptionist and finished as an operations
supervisor in Oregon.
As an advocate for the Siletz Tribe, she
was elected to the Siletz Tribal Council in
September 1975 and served until Novem-
ber 1979, when the Tribe sought to reverse
federal termination.
“I have always been proud to be a
Tribal member. I grew up in an Indian
community at Chemawa Indian School.
I only live a mile from the school today.
The campus was a very diverse Indian
community with students from all over
the country,” said Delores. “There wasn’t
a time while living there that me or our
family ever felt that we were not part of the
greater Indian community or that we were
terminated Indians, even though that was
a part of our history in the ’50s. My dad,
brother and sister proudly served on the
Siletz Council in those days. Lots of Tribal
members from Siletz visited our home as
well as all of our family attending Tribal
Council meetings in Siletz.”
Courtesy photo by Frank Miller, Willamette University
Delores Pigsley addresses the crowd after receiving an Honorary Doctor of Laws
degree from Willamette University on May 14.
She has been continuously re-elected
from February 1983 to the present, a
total of 38 years on the council, and she
has been Tribal chairman for more than
31 years.
“I’ve devoted most of my adult life
to serving on the Tribal Council with the
intent of creating beneficial programs,
assisting those in need and recognizing
that the Tribe would need an endless
stream of revenue to address all of the
needs,” she said. “My family played a huge
role in allowing my time (to be) given to
the Tribe and I hope that I was able to give
to them as much as I received from them.”
She currently is a Tribal delegate to
the National Congress of American Indi-
ans, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
and the National Indian Gaming Associa-
tion; chairman of the Oregon Legislative
Commission on Indian Services; and the
chief Tribal spokesman.
The history of the Tribe since termi-
nation in 1954 to restoration in 1977 has
been one of growth and prosperity. Delores
served on the Restoration Committee and
the Gaming Committee, both landmarks
in the Tribe’s successful operation.
“Immediately after Restoration, the
Tribe entered into self-determination
contracts with the BIA and IHS. This
led to compacting programs as a self-
governance Tribe,” she said. “It allowed
us to contract all the money available
from Tribal programs, hire our own staff
(mostly Tribal) and manage the programs
ourselves, making the most of our funds
and employing Tribal members instead of
having BIA and IHS employees run our
programs. We have been very successful
doing this.”
For the last 21 years, another Tribal
success has hugged the ocean in Lincoln
City – Chinook Winds Casino Resort,
which includes a hotel and golf course.
“The most major labor of love was
building and managing Chinook Winds
Casino Resort. It was a most difficult
project, took several years of work but
turned out to be the most rewarding,” said
Delores. “As a direct result of the casino,
the Tribe is able to provide scholarships,
provide elder benefits, fund cultural
activities, supplement housing programs,
develop infrastructure and provide benefits
to charitable organizations that help large
and small communities like ours.
“The Tribe has played a significant
role in Lincoln County, with the State of
Oregon and with other Tribes. I am happy
that I was able to play a small part in our
Tribe’s success.”
For more information about the Siletz Tribe, please visit ctsi.nsn.us.
Courtesy photo
Siletz Royalty and others represent the Siletz Tribe at the Loyalty Days Parade in
Newport, Ore., on May 6, including Tiffany Stuart, Nayson Tooya Ben Warren,
Tyee Yanez, Little Miss Siletz Halli Lane-Skauge, Allivea Hernandez, Sahaylee
Mason, Isabella Yanez, Tamiya Yanez and Junior Miss Siletz Jocelyn Hernandez.
Loyalty Days Parade • May 6, 2017 • Newport, Oregon
Photos by Andrea Taylor
Drummers (top left) join the group, including Ron Butler, Connor Mason, Carter
Mason and Nayson Tooya Ben Warren.
Little Miss Siletz Halli Lane-Skauge, Junior Miss Siletz Jocelyn Hernandez and
Rachelle Endres (front seat) ride in an ATV (left) driven by Ashton Retherford.
June 2017
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Siletz News
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