SILETZ NEWS
Delores Pigsley,
Tribal Chairman
Mike Kennedy, Interim
General Manager
and Editor-in-Chief
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Vol. 49, No. 6
Siletz News
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
June 2021
Presorted
First-Class
Mail
U.S. Postage
Paid - Permit
No. 178
Salem, OR
Photo by Andy Taylor
Progress on the Tribe’s comfort
station in Siletz continues in May.
The building on the left is a laundry
with seven commercial-size wash-
ers and dryers. The building on
the right is a restroom and shower
facility with six restrooms and six
showers. Both buildings are fully
ADA accessible.
Tribal employees will staff these
buildings when they are in use. The
washing machines are operated by
a card reader system, similar to a
credit/debit card machine.
This project is made possible by
CARES Act funding and a grant
from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
NCAI, NARF support Biden’s nomination of Washington
state’s first American Indian federal judge
WASHINGTON – President Joe
Biden has announced his intent to nomi-
nate Lauren J. King (Muscogee Nation) as
a judge on the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Washington.
If confirmed, King would be the third
active American Indian federal district
court judge in the United States, the fifth
in the history of the federal judiciary and
the first American Indian federal judge in
the Western District of Washington.
“NCAI strongly supports the nomi-
nation of Lauren J. King, a citizen of
the Muscogee Nation, as the first ever
Native American judge to serve on a
federal bench in Washington state,” said
Fawn Sharp, president of the National
Congress of American Indians (NCAI).
“Washington state is home to 29 federally
recognized Indian Tribes, making it criti-
cal that its federal judges better reflect the
communities they serve and understand
the unique histories of Native peoples
and the legal principles that protect and
preserve our standing under federal law.”
For decades, the Native American
Rights Fund (NARF) and NCAI have
advocated for more American Indian
nominees for federal judgeships. Given the
unique relationship between the United
States and Indian Tribes under federal law,
federal court decisions impact the daily
lives of American Indians more so than
other American citizens.
Despite this, American Indians have
been historically under-represented in the
federal judiciary. In the 231-year history of
federal courts, only four American Indians
have been appointed as federal judges.
Currently, of the 890 authorized federal
judgeships, only two American Indians
serve as active federal district court judges.
If the federal judiciary reflected nationwide
demographics, there would be at least 14
Native Americans serving as federal judges.
John Echohawk, executive director of
the Native American Rights Fund, said,
“Ms. King is a highly respected Native
American attorney whose background and
experience has prepared her well for the
federal bench. We congratulate Ms. King
and encourage the United States Senate to
act swiftly on her confirmation.”
Native American Rights Fund
Founded in 1970, NARF is dedicated
to asserting and defending the rights of
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations and
individual Indians nationwide. It has repre-
sented more than 275 Tribes in 31 states in
such areas as Tribal jurisdiction, federal rec-
ognition, land claims, hunting and fishing
rights, religious liberties and voting rights.
For more information, visit narf.org.
National Congress of
American Indians
Founded in 1944, NCAI advocates on
behalf of Tribal governments and com-
munities, promoting strong Tribal-federal
government-to-government policies, and
promoting a better understanding among
the general public of American Indian
and Alaska Native governments, people
and rights.
For more information, visit ncai.org.