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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2021)
Send in your mailing address updates before annual per capita checks go out The last day to get your mailing address updated in time for your per capita check to be mailed to a new address is Friday, July 16, 2021, by the end of the business day. Any address changes after that date will affect the mailing of the per capita check, causing a delay in receiving it. Please see the information below about address changes and Missing Moc- casins. For the full policy regarding per capita checks, please see the Tribal Mem- ber Distribution Ordinance on the Tribal website – ctsi.nsn.us – under Government Listings > Tribal Ordinances. One of the popular questions is “How much is per capita going to be?” That amount is calculated on July 1, taking in to account the amount to be distributed, the number of enrolled Tribal members alive on that day and postage costs. On Wednesday, July 1, after 12 p.m. you can call 541-444-8224 to hear an automated recording of the amount as well as go to the Tribal website, under the opening page of the member area login, for the written announcement. Address changes If you have recently moved, even if you have a forwarding address on file with the post office, please get your Address & Contact Information Update form in as soon as possible. You can get the form on the Tribal website (go to Government List- ing, Enrollment and it is the first form on the opening page), from any Tribal office or contact the Enrollment Department to have one mailed to you. All address updates must be in writ- ing to ensure that you have requested the address to be changed; this is for your own security. As a note, “General Delivery” is not acceptable as a mailing address as it is only temporary and the post office will only hold the mail for a limited time for delivery. General Delivery mail is not an effective way for the Tribe to get mail to Tribal members. It is much better to rent a post office box if you cannot use a mailing address somewhere else. If this is a concern for you or someone on the Missing Moccasin list, call 800- Please see the Chairman’s Report on page 2 for a brief explanation of the item below. Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 No. 93 Senate TRIBUTE TO THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF SILETZ INDIANS Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, last September, the Echo Mountain Complex Fire swept through Lincoln County in my home State of Oregon. Nearly 300 homes were destroyed. At least 50 other buildings and structures were burned as well. In just a few days, the lives that residents spent decades building literally went up in smoke. These devastated families began looking around for help—for safety and security; for support getting back on their feet and rebuilding their lives. And they quickly found that help coming from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Even as the fire raged and families raced out of its path, leaving their homes and belongings behind, the Siletz worked with the Red Cross to open the doors of the Chinook Winds Casino to provide shelter and safety for their displaced neighbors in need. Sadly that safety and security provided by the Siletz was short lived as the casino itself was forced to be evacuated as the fire made its way dangerously close. And with the loss of power and phones lines and people in their cars on the way to the casino while others were leaving, it was hard getting any clear information. How harrowing it must have been for all those who believed they had escaped the worst, only to be forced once more to run from the path of an oncoming inferno. But the Tribe used the casino’s shuttles to bring evacuees to the Newport Red Cross site, while staff volunteered to help deliver meals to those in need. Fortunately, the casino was not damaged, and everyone who was there made it to safety. And after the fire subsided, leaving a path of destruction in its wake, the doors of Chinook Winds and its hotel were once again opened to those in need. Families and members of the community who could not be in their homes—whether because those homes were completed gone or damage to roofs and other parts made them unlivable—were able to stay for up to 3 months at no cost to themselves until they could return to their own houses or found a new permanent living situation. But all these months later, many Oregonians impacted by the Echo Mountain Complex Fire are 922-1399, ext. 1258, and we will work with you or them to figure out a mailing address solution. Robo calls and emails With the COVID-19 pandemic, the Siletz Tribe has been using the phone numbers and email addresses on file with the Enrollment Department to reach out to Tribal members. If you have not received any bulk, group emails in the last six months, email angelar@ctsi.nsn.us and ask to add your email address to your contact information on file. If you are unsure if the Tribe has your current phone number, call the Enrollment Department at 541-444-8258 to ensure we have your current phone number Missing Moccasins do not receive their Tribal member distribution checks on time! If someone does not have a good address and phone number on file with Enrollment, that person is considered a Missing Moccasin. Please check the list on the Tribal website for anyone you might know. Missing Moccasins do not receive this newspaper, election mail, per capita checks, 1099 forms and other important mail from the Tribe. Are you a parent of a minor Tribal member who did not receive a statement of their minor trust account earlier this year? It could be that your child is a miss- ing moccasin. Where is my per capita check? Per capita checks will be mailed on Friday, July 30, to the current address on file with the Enrollment Department. The Tribal Member Distribution Ordinance requires distribution of checks to be initially mailed ; therefore they cannot be picked up at the Siletz Tribal office. Per capita checks cannot be direct deposited. Mail from Siletz takes as long as 4-7 days to get to an address in Portland, Salem and Eugene. Please allow for the “snail mail” time before calling about your per capita check. If you are a Missing Moccasin as of the close of business on Friday, July 17, your check will be held until a correct address is submitted. If you are a Missing Moccasin and update your address between Monday, July 19, and Friday, July 30, the per capita check will be mailed on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. All other Missing Moccasins who update their address after Aug. 1, 2021, will have their checks mailed when the address update is received and then provided to the Accounting Department. The adult Missing Moccasin list is available on the Tribal website on the member login side under the Enroll- ment Posting tab. Please check there to see if you know anyone who is listed. Policy states you must wait 15 busi- ness days (in the case of this year’s per capita checks until Aug. 20, 2021) from the time of mailing before you can submit a request for a “stop pay- ment” and have the check re-issued. This allows time for the check to be returned if it is “undeliverable” to the address to which it was mailed. If your check is returned as “undeliv- erable,” you must submit an address update in order to have your check re-mailed. still struggling to rebuild their lives. Many still don’t have a place to call home. Fortunately, they once again have the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians looking out for and working with them, in partnership with FEMA, to get them back on their feet. Since March, the Tribe has been hosting FEMA provided trailers on their lands to house Oregonians impacted by the fire until they can find permanent housing—something that could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months in this part of the State that continues to struggle with a shortage of affordable housing. This is the first time in Oregon’s history and potentially in the history of the whole country that FEMA has partnered with the leadership of a Tribe to host housing units on Tribal lands. FEMA was originally working with Lincoln County and Lincoln City to put these homes on another site, but that effort was stalled when the Agency found several problems with the site. Hearing about the problems and recognizing the urgent need to get roofs over the heads of these families, the Siletz jumped at the chance to help out. Thanks to the partnership between the Tribe’s leaders, FEMA, Lincoln City, which had to change a zoning law to help make it happen, and Siletz Tribal Business Corporation staff, this project was developed and completed in record time—a testament not only to the real need for this help but to everyone’s commitment to making it happen. And today, all 25 trailers are fully occupied, and the people living there have developed their own little community to support one another. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians for not only opening their doors and helping those in need in the middle of two crises—the pandemic and the Echo Mountain Complex Fire—but for continuing to step up and help their neighbors in need all these months later. It really speaks to the spirit of the Tribe and to the entire Oregon community to see that, when times get tough and people are in need of help, they can count on others to be there for them. Storytelling Art Poetry Music Modern Traditional Nuu-wee-ya' July 2021 • Siletz News • 9
