Chemeketa honors Native American Tribes
By Gustavo Ramirez of the Chemeketa Courier; first published March 17, 2020
Chemeketa held a flag-raising ceremony for Oregon’s recognized Tribes on March 6.
Eight of nine recognized Tribes in Oregon (Warm Springs, Umatilla, Burns, Siletz,
Cow Creek, Grand Ronde, Coos, Klamath and Coquille) had their flags raised. Due
to growing concerns of COVID-19, the Umatilla Tribe is under quarantine and could
not participate in the flag raising.
“The ceremony is about honoring the nine recognized Tribes of Oregon,” said Linda
M. Ringo-Reyna, a Multicultural Student Services coordinator. ”Our college is acknowl-
edging the land that we sit on belongs to indigenous people before it was colonized.”
Madison Burnette, a student employee for Student Retention and College Life,
opened the ceremony by reading a land acknowledgment, by which Chemeketa gives
thanks to the Kalapuya nation. This was followed by a song and prayer by Plummie Wright.
After the flag raising, Purcell Sisto, a student of Chemeketa and member of the
Northern Ute Tribe, presented his Tribe’s flag and played an honor song.
“I was invited and, not only that, it was an honor to be asked to present my flag
among the nine Tribes of Oregon because I’m not even a Tribal member from Oregon,”
said Sisto.
Sisto’s Tribe is from Utah. He came to Oregon to attend the Chemawa Indian School.
“It’s a boarding school for Native Americans up here in Salem and after graduation, I
decided to stay here and kinda just build a life up here.”
Sisto said the flag-raising has helped him feel more connected to Chemeketa. “I
love it because I feel comfortable. I feel comfortable being able to express my identity
and who I am … It’s a big deal because it’s leaving a legacy at this college.”
For Chemeketa, raising the flags “shows that we embrace our Native American
brothers and sisters from this region, from this land,” said Ringo-Reyna.
To see the flags, visit the Multicultural Center in Bldg. 2, Rm. 177.
Courtesy photo by Sonya Moody-Jurado
Tribal member Marbella Herrera Logan brought in the Siletz flag. She is a first-year
student at Chemeketa pursuing her Associate of Arts of Oregon Transfer Degree.
Coronavirus chokes Census activities
Be safe. Stay home. Stay well.
Join us to split, load & deliver
firewood to Tribal Elders
Rain o
r
Shine
Near USDA Building on
Logsden Road in Siletz
The response to the coronavirus has
had a devastating impact on 2020 Census
activities. The planned kickoff event on
April 1 with prizes and games had to be
cancelled.
Our service center teams
were trained to provide
help to those who need
assistance complet-
ing their 2020 Cen-
sus questionnaire. Now
our Census Assis-
tance Centers and
area offices have been
closed. Meetings to
explain the workings of
the Census Bureau have
been cancelled.
The Census Bureau is
not allowing its counters into our
neighborhoods to provide paper ques-
tionnaires until at least June. The final
date for responses has been pushed back
from July 31 to August 24. Even public
libraries, with their computer access, have
been closed.
Despite these and other complica-
tions, the count goes on. The need to get
everyone counted has not gone away. We
still need our share of federal funding for
schools, school lunches, roads and transit,
treatment programs, food assistance pro-
grams and health programs, not to men-
tion political representation. Our response
to the Census is how to get our fair share
of those funds and representation.
The best way to respond to the
2020 Census is to go online
at my2020census.gov and
complete the question-
naire. It takes less than
10 minutes for most
people. It’s secure.
Your personal results
won’t be shared with
any other agencies.
For those without
access to computers, a
good way of responding
is to phone 844-330-2020.
A Census Bureau employee
will take your information. You may
experience a delay in getting to someone,
though the bureau is attempting to reduce
waiting times.
Finally, you can wait for an enumera-
tor to come to your door with a paper
questionnaire. Census takers are short-
staffed and will be under pressure to do
their work. They may only have a few
weeks to do two months of work. Because
we don’t know when stay-at-home orders
will be lifted, please consider it an option
of last resort.
Donate to STAHS through Amazon Smile
Here’s how you can donate to the Siletz Tribal Arts and Heritage Society
(STAHS) painlessly and effortlessly. It’s as easy as 1,2,3,4.
Tribal Elders who need firewood delivered must
call the Elders Program to be added to the list.
Raina 541-444-8261 or AJ 541-444-8212
Thank you for supporting STAHS!
1. Go to Amazon.com.
2. In the Department drop down box, type Amazon Smile.
3. See Amazon Smile – You shop. Amazon Gives.
4. Follow the easy directions.
May 2020
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Siletz News
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