Chairman’s Report
I am sharing important information
from Matt Hill, our Tribal lobbyist in
Washington, D.C., regarding the proposed
FY18 appropriations bill in Congress:
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Overall Funding (BIA + BIE): $3.6
billion ($203 million above FY17 level)
Contract Support: $241.6 million
($36 million reduction from FY17 level)
BIE/Education: $914 million ($128
million over FY17)
Public Safety & Justice: $405 mil-
lion ($56 million above FY17)
BIA Forestry: $54.8 million is pro-
vided (a slight increase from FY17 and
significantly more than the administra-
tion’s request)
Columbia River Fishing Sites:
Report language – “The committees note
that the bureau has not yet complied with
the fiscal year 2017 directive to provide a
report on funding requirements associated
with operating and law enforcement needs
for congressionally authorized treaty
fishing sites on the Columbia River. The
bureau is directed to transmit the report
no later than 30 days following enactment
of this act. The bureau is also urged to
incorporate unfunded needs for these sites
as part of future budget requests.”
Tribal Languages: Report language
– “The committees support efforts to
revitalize and maintain Native languages
and expand the use of language immersion
programs. The ISEP program is expected
to continue to enhance access to Native
language and culture programs in bureau-
funded schools and the bureau shall report
back within 60 days of enactment of this
act on how funding has been and can con-
tinue to be used to support these programs.
In addition, $2,000,000 is provided within
Education Program Enhancements for
capacity building grants for bureau- and
Tribally operated schools to expand exist-
ing language immersion programs or to
create new programs.”
PL-280 Tribes: $13 million in new
funds are earmarked for PL-280 courts.
Report language – “The committees
understand that several Tribes whose fed-
eral recognition was terminated and then
subsequently restored now face significant
challenges in securing law enforcement
funding through self-determination con-
tracts. The bureau is directed to work with
affected Tribes to assess their law enforce-
ment needs and submit a report within 120
days of enactment of this act that details
the amounts necessary to provide suffi-
cient law enforcement capacity for them.”
Forest/Fire Management: The bill
directs the department to report on how it
prioritizes wildfire suppression on Indian
trust forests (after reports of BIA losing
suppression assets to protect privately
owned summer homes in Washington
state) – “The Department of the Interior is
expected to promote and expand the use of
agreements with Indian Tribes to protect
Indian trust resources from catastrophic
wildfire, insect and disease infestation, or
other threats from adjacent federal lands,
as authorized by law. The committees
direct the bureau to coordinate with the
Office of Wildland Fire to submit a report
describing how the department deter-
mines the use of wildfire suppression and
rehabilitation resources and prioritizes
Indian forest land, the title to which is held
by the United States in trust.”
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Name: _______________________________________________________
Indian Health Service
Overall Funding: $5,537,764,000, an
increase of $497 million from the FY17
enacted level.
Purchased/Referred Care: The bill
provides $962,695,000, an increase of
$33.8 million from FY17. Congress also
expressed its concern about the inequi-
table distribution of funds as reported by
the Government Accountability Office
(GA0-12-446).
Contract Support Costs: The bill pro-
vides an “indefinite” appropriation of nearly
$718 million/year for contract support costs.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Tribal Hatcheries: “Within the
amounts provided for fish, wildlife and
parks, the agreement continues $545,000
for substantially producing Tribal hatcher-
ies in BIA’s Northwest Region currently
not receiving annual BIA hatchery opera-
tions funding. This funding should be
allocated in the same manner as in fiscal
year 2017 but should be considered base
funding in fiscal year 2018 and thereafter.”
Traditional Ecological Knowledge:
The bills states that, “The committees are
concerned that the Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice has not fully incorporated traditional
Tribal knowledge in its implementation of
the ESA. When appropriate, the commit-
tees expect the service to make every effort
to incorporate traditional knowledge in
ESA decisions. The committees also
expect the service to engage in additional
outreach to Tribal governments in circum-
stances where traditional knowledge may
provide valuable information, including
for species like the northern sea otter. The
Delores Pigsley
service should brief the committees on its
efforts regarding traditional knowledge
within 60 days of enactment of this act.”
National Park Service
NAGPRA Funding: Funding for the
Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Grant Program is maintained
at the fiscal year 2017 enacted level.
Elsewhere, in the BIA law enforcement
budget, there is $1,000,000 to implement
the Native American Graves Protection
and Repatriation Act.
Wildfire/Forest Management
(Forest Service, DOI)
The bill contains somewhat of a
“deal” on wildfire suppression and for-
See Chairman on page 12
Elders Council Meeting
April 14 • 1-4 p.m.
Chinook Winds Golf Resort
For more information, contact the Elders Program at 800-922-1399,
ext. 1261, or 541-444-8261.
Address: _____________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________________________
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 May issue
is April 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
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Siletz News
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April 2018
Member of the Native American
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Nuu-wee-ya’ (our words)
Introduction to the Athabaskan language
Open to Tribal members of all ages
Siletz
Siletz Tribal Community Center
April 2 – 6-8 p.m.
April 30 – 6-8 p.m.
Portland
Portland Area Office
April 16 – 6-8 p.m.
May 14 – 6-8 p.m.
Eugene
Eugene Area Office
April 3 – 6-8 p.m.
May 1 – 6-8 p.m.
Salem
Salem Area Office
April 17 – 6-8 p.m.
May 15 – 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.