Chairman’s Report
Christmas season
Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year to everyone.
Sea lion legislation
Bipartisan legislation to protect endan-
gered salmon passed Congress in Novem-
ber. There were intense negotiations with
Tribes over the language in the legislation.
Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden
were active in the consultation process
with Oregon Tribes. Notification from
Sen. Merkley’s office is included on page
1. Our congressional delegation repre-
sented Oregon Tribal interests very well.
Tribal election
A reminder that you must be reg-
istered to vote in the upcoming Tribal
election to be held in February 2019.
Past voter turnout has been very small,
according to our adult population who is
eligible to vote.
Closing out 2018
We are anxiously waiting for budget
information for the coming year. Congress
had until Dec. 21 to take action to fund the
government for the coming year.
The farm bill was passed, which
includes several provisions for Tribes. This
was good news.
Salmon, con’t from page 1
tisan legislation is the result of significant
collaboration across multiple stakeholders
to protect our native fish populations for
generations to come.”
“Salmon are a big part of the Pacific
Northwest way of life, but without action,
we could see runs continue to decline to
a point of no return,” Murray said. “This
bipartisan legislation represents a bal-
anced, sensible approach to this threat. I
urge my House colleagues to pick the bill
up and get it across the finish line as soon
as possible.”
ESA threatened and endangered
salmon and steelhead are being signifi-
cantly harmed by the increasing sea lion
population. Sea lion populations have
increased significantly along the West
Coast over the past 40 years; today, there
are roughly 300,000.
These sea lions have entered into
habitat where they had never been before,
including areas around the Bonneville
Dam in Washington and Willamette Falls
in Oregon. This predation of ESA-listed
fish is negating the large investments
spent on salmon recovery associated with
habitat, harvest and hatcheries.
If enacted, this bill would amend the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
to provide for better management of these
invasive, non-listed sea lions.
A recent study by Oregon State Uni-
versity found that increasing predation
from sea lions has decreased the fishery
harvest of adult Chinook salmon in the
Pacific Northwest. According to the
study, if sea lions continue their current
consumption habits, there is an 89 percent
chance that a population of wild steelhead
could go extinct.
Note: “Open Until Filled” vacan-
cies may close at any time. The Tribe’s
Indian Prefeence policy will apply. Tribal
government will not discriminate in
selection because of race, creed, age,
sex, color, national origin, physical
The study also noted that future long-
term salmon management plans will need
to address the increased salmon predation
throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The declining salmon populations
have also impacted other threatened ani-
mals in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, a
Washington state task force on southern
resident orcas recommended authorizing
the removal of pinnipeds in the Columbia
River to improve orca survival.
Delores Pigsley
TICC Board of
Directors Vacancies
Résumés are being accepted for
the Tenas Illahee Childcare Center
Board of Directors. Currently, there
are two vacant board positions.
If interested, please submit your
résumé to:
Siletz Tribal Council,
c/o Executive Secretary
CTSI Jobs
Tribal employment information
is available at ctsi.nsn.us.
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: _______________________________________________________
handicap, marital status, politics,
membership or non-membership in an
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549.
Vacancies are open until filled.
employee orgnization.
Elders Council Meeting
Jan. 19 • 1-4 p.m. • Chinook Winds Casino 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 February
issue is Jan. 10.
Send information to:
Submission of articles and
photos is encouraged.
Siletz News
Please see the Passages
Policy on page 20 when sub-
mitting items for Passages.
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
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
January 2019
Nuu-wee-ya’ (our words)
Introduction to the Athabaskan language
Open to Tribal members of all ages
Siletz
Siletz Tribal Community Center
Jan. 7 – 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 4 – 6-8 p.m.
Portland
Portland Area Office
Jan. 14 – 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 11 – 6-8 p.m.
Eugene
Eugene Area Office
Jan. 8 – 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 5 – 6-8 p.m.
Salem
Salem Area Office
Jan. 15 – 6-8 p.m.
Feb. 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.