Chairman’s Report
Chemawa Indian School –
Graduation
I attended the 2022 Chemawa gradua-
tion ceremony on May 27, which included
20 graduates from various Tribes. Siletz
gave each graduating student a beautiful
glass float. The school provided a great
lunch for all visitors.
On June 11, a tour was arranged at
Chemawa for representatives from the
Keizer Heritage Museum and others
who were interested. For most of them,
it was the very first time they had visited
the school. They were overwhelmed with
the beautiful artwork the students did as
murals and in many other ways.
We are currently working on a plan
to have Chemawa students as well as
Siletz students exhibit their art talents
on Indigenous Peoples Day in October
at the Keizer museum. We may also have
the opportunity to demonstrate some
activities.
Trip to Washington, D.C.
Bud Lane, Sharon Edenfield, Craig
Dorsay (Tribal attorney), Matt Hill (our
lobbyist) and I had three full days of
appointments with Bureau of Indian
Affairs officials as well as our congressio-
nal delegation and other representatives
recently in Washington.
The legislation to diminish our 1980
Consent Decree has been introduced in the
U.S. Senate and the House of Representa-
tives. An amendment to the legislation
will be necessary to advance the legisla-
tion to a full Senate vote. The prospects of
the legislation passing Congress are very
good. The problem is their full calendar
and council is hoping that action takes
place before the end of this year.
Negotiations with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife have been going
very well and the final draft will be pre-
sented at our General Council Meeting in
August. Everyone knows that the Consent
Decree was unfair to Siletz as well as the
Grand Ronde Tribe. Gov. Kate Brown
acknowledged her support to go forward
to eliminate the decree.
start at 10 a.m. for our program and the
pow-wow will begin at 6 p.m.
Council
Tribal Council has been extremely
busy doing interviews for Chinook Winds
general manager, meeting with the U.S.
Forest Service on NAGPRA (Native
American Graves Protection and Repa-
triation Act) issues, interviews for Tribal
Court chief judge, STAHS (Siletz Tribal
Arts and Heritage Society) annual report
and workshop, and a workshop on the
MAT (Medication Assisted Therapy) pro-
gram with the Siletz Community Health
Clinic, along with many other committee
meetings and activities.
Chemawa Station
Restoration Planning
The 7-11 Service Station is open at
Chemawa Station; Chick fil-A is sched-
uled to open in early September, maybe
late August. Several other businesses have
expressed an interest, so good things are
happening there.
There will be a Restoration Celebra-
tion this year on Nov. 19. An agenda will
be out soon. For planning purposes, it will
The Chemawa Station LLC is made
up of three representatives from the Grand
Ronde Tribe and three from Siletz.
Elders Council Meeting
The Elders Council will hold an in-person meeting and barbecue on Saturday,
July 23, 2022, at 1 p.m. at the Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort in Salem, Ore.
Delores Pigsley
Memorial Day
Thank you to all who attended the
Memorial Ceremony on Government Hill.
It was very wet but spirits were high as we
honored those who served.
It was especially nice to honor our
two World War II veterans, Ed Ben and
the late Alfred Lane Jr., who passed just
days before the event.
Legal Aid Services of Oregon and the Oregon Law Center, civil legal
service providers for low-income Oregonians, operate a public benefits hotline
where low-income Oregonians can talk to lawyers and paralegals to get advice
on public benefits, including unemployment benefits:
800-520-5292 • Oregonlawhelp.org.
Additionally, if you are interested in participating in this meeting virtually
from your phone, computer or smart phone, please contact the Elders Program
at 541-444-8233 by Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
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 August issue
is July 11.
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 24 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
•
July 2022
Member of the Native American
Journalists Association