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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2021)
Chairman’s Report American Rescue Plan Housing By the time you read this, President Joe Biden will have signed the American Rescue Plan that will assist all Americans during these trying times. Our Oregon congressmen have worked hard on our (Tribe’s) behalf to assure that we are designated funds for the interruption of our governments and lives because of the shutdowns the COVID virus has caused. The 10 new workforce housing units in Lincoln City were completed last month. Council and staff had a ribbon- cutting event. They are beautiful and are designated as low-income and affordable- income homes (see photo on page 1). Our Tribal Housing staff did a great job planning and delivering. Through our Tribal partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), we used available space on Logan Road in Lincoln City to enable FEMA to place 16 emergency homes on this site. The trailers are fully equipped for occupancy by victims of the wildfires that we experienced last fall. The homes are temporary and will be in use until perma- nent homes are found for the unfortunate folks who lost their homes. The homes come fully furnished with all utilities and furniture, even blankets for the beds. According to FEMA officials, it will take 18-24 months to help locate per- manent homes. All of the infrastructure was completed by FEMA. When the homes are vacated, the Tribe will then own the homes. FEMA will be in charge of assigning and managing them. Our Siletz Tribal Business Corporation staff assisted with this project that was completed unusually fast. The City of Lin- coln City also assisted in passing a change to the city ordinance to allow this event. The legislation contains resources to help address the health and resource prob- lems created by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $350 billion is designated for Tribal, state and local governments, of this amount $20 billion is set aside for Tribal governments. Another $11 billion will provide addi- tional funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service and various other agencies that serve Tribal govern- ments. It’s not clear how the money will be distributed to Tribes at this time. Elections Tribal elections were held success- fully. Our Election Board is composed of staff volunteers (but because no one else volunteers, they are assigned this duty). The Tribal Council will review the Elec- tion Ordinance to make necessary changes to the ordinance so there is a clear process to respond to questions and issues that arise during the election. Thank you to the staff who have worked so diligently to assure we have fair elections. Chemawa Station LLC Our first business, Chick-fil-A, is in the process of building on the Chemawa Station property in Keizer. 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: _______________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________________________ Change of address: Tribal members – contact the Enrollment Department at 541-444-8258; 800-922-1399, ext. 1258; or enrollment@ctsi.nsn.us. All oth- ers – call the newspaper office. Deadline for the May issue is April 9. 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 submit- ting items for Passages. 541-444-8291 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1291 Fax: 541-444-2307 Email: pias@ctsi.nsn.us 2 • Siletz News • April 2021 Member of the Native American Journalists Association Getting businesses in place has been a long slow process. Since obtaining the property from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Tribe had to go to Congress to get official action changing the title on the land to the Siletz and Grand Ronde Tribes. We will have a lease in place for a gas station-mini-mart soon and hopefully other businesses will follow. Across Chemawa Road, the Keizer Station property has been very success- ful. Our property is much smaller and we’re hoping with the success of these two businesses, others will follow. Memorial Day If we continue on a downward trend with the COVID virus, we will have a Memorial Day Ceremony this year. The event will be outside with all protocols in place to stay safe and we will have a speaker to enjoy. Every year the cemetery is decorated so beautifully by lots of people and I would like to see us pay tribute to those folks who are no longer with us. Food will not be provided but we will have a short cer- emony with our veterans at the memorial. Delores Pigsley U.S. Department of the Interior Former Congresswoman Deb Haaland from New Mexico was confirmed as the first American Indian Secretary of the Interior. She received a lot of Tribal sup- port, we are extremely happy she has been selected and confirmed by U.S. Senate (see article on page 1). Elders Council Meeting The Elders Council will hold a virtual Zoom meeting on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at 1 p.m. If you are interested in participating in the virtual meeting from your phone, computer or smart phone, please contact Brian Crump in the Elders Program at 541-444-8233 by Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
