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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2017)
Chairman’s Report I am sharing the following report that the Tribal Council receives from our Tribal lobbyist, Matt Hill, who is our Washington, D.C., lobbyist. In addition to the monthly reports, Matt keeps the Tribal Council informed on very current events that need council attention. • • • • • legatees. Repeal of the Act would treat the Klamath Tribes as other Tribes are in terms of use and distribution of any federal judgment funds. • S. 1285, “Oregon Tribal Economic Development Act.” (Merkley-Wyden) This legislation would effectively waive the Non-Intercourse Act to allow several Oregon Tribes to “lease, sell, convey, warrant or otherwise transfer all or any part of its interests in any real property that is not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of such tribe” (my emphasis). The bill would apply to the Coos, Siletz, Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Cow Creek Tribes. This issue came up years ago when the Coquille Indian Tribe was working with a developer who required a waiver of the Non-Intercourse Act and Sen. Merkley passed a bill to that effect (it was his first bill signed into law as a U.S. Senator). Senate hearing on Oregon Tribal bills Senate energy bill contains Oregon Tribal land provisions NW delegation introduces Columbia River Bi-Op bill Field hearing on Indian Arts & Crafts Act Congressional schedule Senate hearing on Oregon Tribal bills The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a legislative hearing on three bills in July – two of which are Oregon-specific and introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley: Also on the docket: • S. 1223, “Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act.” (Merkley-Wyden) This legislation would repeal a 1965 law passed by Congress – after ter- mination of federal recognition of the Klamath Tribes – to provide for the distribution of funds received by the Klamath Tribes from judgments issued by the Indian Claims Commis- sion and the Court of Federal Claims, as well as all other funds deposited in the U.S. Treasury to the credit of the Klamath Tribes. Distribution from the judgment fund was limited to people on the final 1954 roll, their heirs or • S.943, the “Johnson-O’Malley Sup- plemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act.” (Heitkamp) The legislation would provide necessary updates to the JOM program, which awards supplemental assistance to Tribal organizations, school districts and other partner organizations to address the unique cultural and academic needs of Native American students. Specifically, the bill would: o Direct the Secretary of the Inte- rior, in coordination with the Siletz News is free to enrolled Siletz Tribal members. For all others, a $12 annual subscription fee applies. Please make checks payable to CTSI and mail to Siletz News. Name: _______________________________________________________ o o o o Bureau of Indian Education Director, to take all practicable steps to ensure full participation of all qualified students in the JOM program; Facilitate a coordinated, proac- tive effort to identify Tribal organizations and school districts to ensure participation in JOM programs; Require the Secretary to provide a count of eligible Indian stu- dents based on available data and direct DOI to consult with JOM contractors to reconcile avail- able data to establish an accurate count for future years; Ensure consultation by the Sec- retary with federally recognized Tribes and school districts with currently unserved Native student populations; and Require an annual program assessment report to Congress. The witness list for the hearing has not been made public yet. Senate energy bill contains Oregon Tribal land provisions Last week, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski introduced S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017 (ENRA), as the successor to her broad, bipartisan bill from the last Congress. The bill is divided into two primary parts: a comprehensive energy bill and a hodge-podge of public land measures. Included in the latter is the ENR Com- Delores Pigsley mittee-passed version of Wyden-Merkley- DeFazio legislation that would decouple the Coquille Tribal Forest from adjacent federal land management standards and convey roughly 15,000 acres each to the Coos and Cow Creek Tribes. Murkowski worked with Republi- can Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to add S. 1460 directly to the Sen- ate Calendar so that it can be brought up for debate before the full Senate on an expedited basis. NW House delegation introduces Columbia River Bi-Op bill Washington and Oregon representa- tives last week introduced legislation See Chairman on page 4 Elders Council Meeting No meeting in August Next meeting: Sept. 16 For more information, contact the Elders Program at 800-922-1399, ext. 1261, or 541-444-8261. Address: _____________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________________________ Nuu-wee-ya’ (our words) Change of address: Tribal members – contact the Enrollment Depart- ment at 541-444-8258; 800-922-1399, ext. 1258; or enrollment@ctsi.nsn.us. All others – call the newspaper office. Deadline for the September issue is Aug. 10. Send information to: Submission of articles and photos is encouraged. Siletz News P.O. Box 549 Siletz, OR 97380-0549 Please see the Passages Policy on page 20 when sub- mitting items for Passages. 541-444-8291 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1291 Fax: 541-444-2307 Email: pias@ctsi.nsn.us 2 • Siletz News • Member of the Native American Journalists Association August 2017 Introduction to the Athabaskan language Open to Tribal members of all ages Siletz Siletz Tribal Community Center Aug. 7 – 6-8 p.m. Sept. 6 – 6-8 p.m. Portland Portland Area Office Aug. 14 – 6-8 p.m. Sept. 11 – 6-8 p.m. Eugene Eugene Area Office Aug. 8 – 6-8 p.m. Sept. 5 – 6-8 p.m. Salem Salem Area Office Aug. 15 – 6-8 p.m. Sept. 12 – 6-8 p.m. Classes begin with basic instruction and progress over the year. They also are a refresher course for more-advanced students. Come and join other members of your community and Tribe in learning to speak one of our ancient languages. We also have equipment in the Cultural Department available for use in grinding and drilling shell or pine nuts or other applications. If you need to use the equipment, call the number below to set up an appointment. For more information, contact Bud Lane at the Siletz Cultural Department at 541-444-8320 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1320; or e-mail budl@ctsi.nsn.us.
