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.
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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.
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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:
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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
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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:
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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: _______________________________________________________
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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
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Siletz News
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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.