SILETZ NEWS
Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Brenda Bremner,
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 45, No. 12
December 2017
Presorted
First-Class
Mail
U.S. Postage
Paid - Permit
No. 178
Salem, OR
Photo above by Andrea Taylor; photo right by Diane Rodriquez
Jai Kibby Jr. (above) is the only fancy dancer in the dance arena during a
demonstration of fancy dancing at the Siletz Tribal Restoration Pow-Wow.
Young ones in regalia (right) await their dollars after the Tiny Tots dance. See
more photos from the Restoration Celebration on pages 9-12.
First Nation historic site signs put
up in Yachats area of Oregon coast
Courtesy photo
Robert Kentta
YACHATS, Ore. – The installation
of five signs commemorating the history
of the First Nation people who lived in
the Yachats area is complete, according
to View the Future, a forward-looking
organization based in Yachats.
VtF raised more than $6,000 in dona-
tions and also obtained a grant from the
Oregon Community Foundation’s Oregon
Parks Foundation Fund for the signs.
The last two signs were recently
installed on the Amanda Trail, which
starts just south of Yachats and connects
to the trail to Cape Perpetua. The Ya’Xaik
(pronounced Yah’ khik, gargled h) people
lived in the Yachats area and were related
to the Alsi to the north.
Joanne Kittel, chair of View the Future,
has researched and written, with Tribal
assistance, about the Ya’Xaik people who
lived in this area for thousands of years
before Europeans arrived.
“Their rich and enduring culture is
a testament to their ingenuity, talent and
sensitivity to the sustainability of their
environment. I hope people will visit the
Amanda and Ya’Xaik Trails and learn more
about the Ya’Xaik People,” said Kittel.
Many of the donations were made
in honor of Ben Christensen, a former
professor of Spanish literature at the
University of California at San Diego
who retired in Yachats with his wife,
Kathee. Ben was passionately involved in
supporting trails in the Yachats area and
educating locals and visitors about local
First Nation history.
On Aug. 1, 2015, he was working
with a crew on the Amanda Trail when he
suffered a massive heart attack. Despite
the efforts of crew members and EMTs
from the Yachats Rural Fire Protection
District, Ben died on the trail he so loved.
Kathee and their family decided to carry
on with the First Nation signs project in
Ben’s memory.
Five signs were developed and
designed through the collaborative efforts
of Kittel, who co-authored The Yachats
Indians, Origins of the Yachats Name
and the Prison Camp Years; Diane Disse,
a writer, graphic designer and former
educator at the Lincoln County Historical
See Signs on page 6