Siletz news /, April 01, 2022, Page 13, Image 13

Delores Ben – 1932-2022
The Siletz Tribe lost a friend and supporter Feb. 18 when Delores Ben, wife of
Edmond Ben, passed. She and Ed were married in 1948 and lived in Siletz, Ore., until
termination time when they moved to Salem, Ore., to raise their family.
Married for almost 74 years, Delores supported Ed in the effort to regain federal
Tribal recognition. She traveled with the Archie Ben dancers, helping preserve cultural
connections and preparing food for the meetings held by the group working toward
restoration.
After restoration, she would attend meeting with Ed and participated in any activity
she was asked to help with, including working with the Restoration Pow-Wow Com-
mittee stuffing goodie bags or whatever was needed.
Delores is survived by her husband, Ed; her sons, Gerald and his wife Jackie, and Ed
Ben Jr. and his wife Alice; grandkids, Christopher (Virginia), Crystal (Justin), Brandy
(Jai), David, Jennifer, Michael, Channel (Andrew), Leanne, Fawn and Brook (Shawn);
great-grandkids, Isaiah, Spencer, Cori, Crystin, Khloe, Mason, Kody, Faith, Hope, Jai
Jr., Lennon, Livia, Clara, Evelyn, Destiny and Carley; and great-great-grandson, Bryan.
She was preceded in death by her son, Rod (Cheryl).
Tribal employment information is available
at ctsi.nsn.us.
Pilcrow Foundation awards grant to
Siletz Library, Tribe helps with books
The Siletz Public Library was recently awarded the Children’s Book Project grant
award from the Pilcrow Foundation, which provides quality children’s books to rural
public libraries through a competitive grant process to encourage active engagement
within the community and lifelong learning. Forty-two small and rural libraries across
the United States were selected for the latest grant distribution.
The library received 121 children’s books with a focus on diversity, American Indian
authors and illustrators, STEM and health. The books have a value of more than $1,600
and include picture books, board books, fiction and nonfiction.
The grant was made possible by Pilcrow Foundation supporters Dr. Bill Straw-
bridge, Dr. Meg Wallhagen, Mr. and Mrs. Hal Berenson, and Mrs. Laura Ackerman.
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians donated an additional 14 books.
The local match of $400 was made possible by Siletz Valley Friends of the Library.
The Pilcrow Foundation books will greatly enrich our children’s book collection.
These are critically acclaimed titles, well-recognized by librarians and educators. We
are very grateful to the Pilcrow Foundation, its supporters and our local donors.
All of the new books have been added to the collection and Siletz Public Library
invites our patrons and local residents to visit and borrow from the collection.
Interior Department announces next steps to remove “sq___” from federal lands
WASHINGTON— The Department
of the Interior has announced a list of can-
didate replacement names for more than
660 geographic features with the name
“squaw,” which was officially declared a
derogatory term as a result of Secretary’s
Order 3404. The department has initiated
Tribal consultations and an opportunity
for public comment to recommend and
review proposed replacement names.
Secretary’s Order 3404 established
the 13-member Derogatory Geographic
Names Task Force, which includes repre-
sentatives from the department’s Bureau of
Indian Affairs; Bureau of Land Manage-
ment; Bureau of Safety and Environmen-
tal Enforcement; National Park Service;
Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil
Rights; Office of Surface Mining Recla-
mation; and U.S. Geological Survey. The
Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest
Service is also a member.
The task force’s first action was to
finalize a decision to replace a full spell-
ing of the derogatory term with “sq___”
for all official related communications.
“Words matter, particularly in our
work to make our nation’s public lands
and waters accessible and welcoming to
people of all backgrounds. Consideration
White House Council on Native American Affairs discusses
effort to protect, increase access to Indigenous sacred sites
WASHINGTON – The White House
Council on Native American Affairs
(WHCNAA) convened an engagement
session with Tribal leaders and Native
Hawaiian organizations on March 9
focused on implementing a new inter-
agency initiative to improve the protection
of and access to Indigenous sacred sites
through enhanced and improved interde-
partmental coordination, collaboration
and action.
Eight federal agencies signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
during the 2021 White House Tribal
Nations Summit to increase collaboration
with Tribes to ensure stewardship and
access to sites, and incorporate traditional
ecological knowledge into management,
treatment and protection procedures.
The listening session was led by
WHCNAA Executive Director Morgan
Rodman, who was joined by the Depart-
ment of the Interior Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland and
representatives from the U.S. Departments
of Agriculture, Transportation and Energy;
Environmental Protection Agency; White
House Council on Environmental Quality;
Advisory Council on Historic Preserva-
tion; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
During the session, government
officials encouraged traditional cultural
practitioners, Tribal elders and those
with traditional ecological knowledge
expertise to provide comments and share
their perspectives about the MOU and its
implementation, including how to improve
the protection of and access to Tribal,
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian sacred
sites. Newly identified goals also include,
but are not limited to:
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Establishing an interagency working
group to enhance interagency col-
laboration and coordination
Integrating consideration of sacred
sites early into the decision-making,
regulatory and consultation processes
to ensure that agency actions acknowl-
edge and honor the importance of
sacred sites
Enhancing public outreach that
focuses on the importance of main-
taining the integrity of sacred sites
and the need for public stewardship
to protect and preserve them.
of these replacements is a big step forward
in our efforts to remove derogatory terms
whose expiration dates are long overdue,”
said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Through-
out this process, broad engagement with
Tribes, stakeholders and the general public
will help us advance our goals of equity
and inclusion.”
Prior to the implementation of the
task force, changes to derogatory names
for geographic features were submitted
as a proposal to the Board on Geographic
Names, which then worked through
its deliberative process. The BGN has
received 261 proposals to replace geo-
graphic features with sq___ in the name
in the past 20 years.
Under SO 3404, the task force will
recommend replacements for more than
660 geographic features to the BGN in a
matter of months, starting from a list of
five candidate names for each individual
feature. This process stands to signifi-
cantly advance and accelerate the name
change process across the nation.
The Tribal consultations and public
comment period announced in the Federal
Register on Feb. 22 will give the task force
the chance to seek additional candidate
names and feedback from Tribes and the
public. The task force will prioritize these
names in its review and provide a final
recommendation for the BGN to vote on
when it convenes later this year.
April 2022
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Siletz News
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