PAGE 2 - OCTOBER, 1985, SILETZ, OREGON
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Council
Chairman’s
Report
Delores Pigsley
Chairman's Report:
On September 21, the Tribal Council, for the first time, expelled
a member under the Tribe's Constitution for. gross misconduct. Ver
non Brown, a top vote-getter in the last election, was expelled for
soliciting money from local merchants in the name of the Tribe, and
depositing it into his own account. In addition, he attempted to be
paid for attendance at a Culture Committee meeting which he did
not attend.
A t an open hearing before the Council and numerous tribal
members, Vernon admitted that he solicited over $200 which he
deposited into his own account. In his defense, he maintained the
money was used for purchasing princess tickets from his daughter.
He testified that he only kept 25% of the money, which was allow
ed under ticket sales procedures. Local merchants testified
however, that no mention of princess tickets was made during Mr.
Brown's solicitations.
Sometime back, Vernon submitted time sheets requesting pay
ment for four hours for attending a Culture Committee meeting in
March. The evidence showed that he did not attend that meeting
but never made a satisfactory explanation why the hours appeared
on his time sheet.
In my opinion, the conduct of Vernon Brown constitutes gross
misconduct and I voted for his expulsion without hestitation. If I
stand for nothing else as Tribal Chairman, I want to stand for hones
ty and integrity. I believe that Tribal Council members need to take
their responsibilities as seriously as I do.
W hat also is disturbing is what I have heard to justify Vernon's
conduct. Some expressed the opinion that what Vernon did simply
was not wrong. Some say that, since the Pow W ow Committee did
not have written procedures to govern solicitations, it is okay to
convert money solicited in the name of the Tribe to personal use.
Evidence at the hearing showed we all are bound by tribal laws
which prohibit this kind of conduct.
One individual wrote a letter and testified that, in her opinion,
everybody else does it so Vernon should not be punished. In other
words, in this person's opinion, Vernon's misconduct was not dis
honesty but his misfortune in getting caught. I find this justification
to be particuarly shocking. I also believe the accusations against
other council members are false.
I am proud of our Council for taking a stand and making a clear
statement for all to hear that this kind o f conduct will not be
tolerated. I trust th a t the opinions to 'th e contrary reflect only a
minority of our membership and that most of you agree w ith the
Council's stand.
_ ,
,
Delores Pigsley
Chairman
Regular General
Council Meeting
NOVEMBER X 1985
TRIBAL CO M M UNITYCENTER
—
BEGINNING A T ^ O P.M,
( CALL TO ORDER .
!; IN V O C A T IO N ..
' ROLL CALL
1:00 P.M.
Brovvn
,
7
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
’ APPROVAL OF M INUTES
TRIBAL MEMBERS CONCERNS
TRIBAL CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Delores Pigsley
GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT .. . Phil Rilatos
ANNOUNCMENTS
■I ADJOURNMENT
NO POTLUCK
*
v S S Ç ft 1 « Ci .« • «
Î Letters To
Smoke Screen?
D ear Editor:
Saturday, Septem ber 21,
1985 a t the R egular, monthly
Tribal Council m eeting a
Kangaroo Court w as held
with charges of misconduct
ag ain st a T ribal Council
m em ber. The m isconduct
being, claim ing 4 hours for
the w rong m eetin g and
soliciting in the nam e of the
Tribe for the Pow Wow. The
4 hours issue should have
been resolved by the Chair
m an in M arch 1985. All it
takes is the stroke of a red
pen before the tim esheet
went to the Accounting Of
fice. This has been done in
the past, but, for 6 months
now the 4 hour issue has been
a lengthy topic for discussion
a t e v e ry m e e tin g . T he
soliciting ch arg e is ju st
a n o th e r sm o k e sc re e n to
d iv e r t fro m in f ra c tio n s
elsewhere. The Pow Wow
people have solicited the
businesses as long as Pow
Wows have been held here.
Who kept a record of w hat
was donated and how it was
used? No one kept an ac
curate record of those dona
tions. Did some of that fall
into em p ty po ck ets and
outstretched hands?
O ur Softball team , spon
sored by the Tribe, with
$2500.00 fi-om T im b e r
Revenue, o verspent th eir
budget but they cam e back
to the Council and got $600.00
m ore ($3100.00 altogether.)
they also can v assed the
County for cash donations.
How m uch did they collect?
How is it documented and
who collected in the nam e of
the Siletz Tribe?
In Jan u ary and Septem ber
1984, M arch and Ju n e 1985
Council tim esheets reflected
hours spent at meetings.
This is baloney, but these
persons a re still on the Coun
cil and pointing fingers.
What prom pted these in
sid io u s c h a r g e s a g a in s t
another: Tribal M ember and
C ouncil m e m b e r? Is it
because he speaks from his
guts rath er than the top of
his head, is it because he
m ay have witnessed miscon-
duct and negligence or is it
because he can vote “ No” in
s te a d of fo llo w in g th e
leader?
How m any hours will be
claim ed for tim e spent on
this ridiculous, uncalled for
action? How m any days at
$450.00 a day will the gold
fingered lawyer be paid for
this undercover investiga
tion? How m any hours of
staff tim e will be claim ed for
discussing and perpetuating
this action? How m any hours
will the Chairm an claim for
seconding a motion to sta rt
expulsion action?
•• • • • • •
HIDES
The Editor
You can see the inside job
and vigilante process that
w as
in tr o d u c e d
on
Septem ber 10, 1985 to the
surprised victim. He was ex
pelled from the Tribal Coun
cil on Septem ber 21,1985 and
I p ray he will come back
with a legal counter-attack
to c le a r his n am e an d
possibly indict the ones that
are truly guilty of gross
misconduct and actions not
becoming to Leaders of this
Tribe.
Sincerely,
M ary “Dolly” Fisher
Siletz, OR 97380
Pow-Wow Thanks
D ear Editor:
I read the com ments m ade
by Don P ig sle y in the
Septem ber 1985 Siletz News.
I s h a r e m a n y of M r.
P igsley’s observations and
concerns.
I, too, was honored when
asked to serve as m aster of
cerem onies for a portion of
the celebration. I, was asked
by a tribal m em ber who
num bers among those who
hold m y deepest respect. I
served to the best of my
ability, without com pensa
tion, even though I would
have desired to spend more
tim e visiting friends and
relatives.
I thank the grandchildren
and greatgrandchildren of
m y parents who returned to
Siletz to participate with and
honor my father and mother.
I am aw are of the great dis
tance some of you traveled
and your dem onstration of
re sp e c t and devotion is
appreciated.
I thank Pauline Ricks for
her unlimited participation
in coordinating a successful
celebration. A casual and
uninformed observer of the
m ultitude of problem s and
quest ions fielded by h er d ur
ing the celebration could
come to the conclusion that
she was the chair m an .
One of the highlights of the
celebration for m e was the
display of pride and dignity
dem onstrated by our Indian
People who served as flag
bearers in the parade, grand
entries, and the retiring
ceremonies. The emotional
im pact on the heart of this
Indian cannot be described.
I thank the contest judges.
We can count ourselves for
tu n a te to h a v e ju d g e s
capable of rendering fair
decisions coupled with the
w illin g n e ss to s a c r if ic e
visiting and socializing in
favor of serving our people.
One cannot fully appreciate
the level of service provided
until you have observed
other celebrations.
;
If you a re interested in
purchasing a tanned deer or
elk hide for the cost of the
tanning, you can contact
I thank Paul Whitehead for E verett Butler. E v erett has
his participation, especially a num ber of hides he has had
for the services of Whip tanned and a num ber of
Man. This celebration arid green hides. The hides that
m any others I have attended a re tanned can be purchased
would su rely be lacking for the cost of the tanning,
without P a u l’s participation. and the green hides can be
We Siletz People can be pro picked up for nothing. He
ud to count him among our can be contacted in Siletz at
444-2301.
supporters and friends.
M any p eo p le w o rk in g
b e h in d th e s c e n e s a r e
deserving of thanks. One
such person comes to my
recollection in the person of
D elbert Bell. I observed
Delbert working with pre
cision calculating the results
of the contest judging to
ca rry out the wishes of those
trib al m em bers who ex
pressed a desire to retain
contest dancing as a p art of
the Pow Wow.
Carlene E aster holds the
Carmichael
respect and love of my fam i
ly t h a t w o rd s c a n n o t
M r. & M rs. Je ff C a r
describe. Her participation
in th is c e le b ra tio n w as m ich ael a re the proud
equaled by no one. Carlene p a re n ts of a new baby
d u g in to h e r lim ite d boy born S eptem ber
resources to purchase ball 14, 1985. His n am e is
caps and proceeded to bead
S c o tt R ic h a r d C a r
each one. At the conclusion
of the parade, without fan m ichael, an d he w eigh
fare and alm ost unnoticed, ed 7 lbs. 4 oz. He w as .21
she honored the particpating i n c h e s
lo n g .
H is
v e te ra n s and o th e rs by m o th er, Cheryl, is a
presenting them with a bead
trib al m em ber.
ed ballcap. I know I speak
for each person Carlene
chose to honor in extending
Thompson
our appreciation for her
dem onstration of love and
P a m T hom pson is
respect.
th
e
proud m o th er of
Carlene has provided me
A
p
o
llo n ia M o n iq u e
m any opportunities to be in-
b o rn
dian proud and to count my T h o m p s o n ,
blessings. One of m y pro A ugust 7, 1985 in Cor
udest experiences happened vallis, Oregon.
m any years ago. Carlene
She w eighed 8 lbs. 10
was attending Camp E aster
Seal, a sum m er cam p for oz. a t birth. W elcom ing
crippled children. Our danc A pollonia’s a rriv a l a t
ing ‘‘for’’ them was short- hom e w ere h er th ree
liyed b ec au se C a rle n e ’s b ro th e rs
J im m y ,
p a r tic ip a tio n m o tiv a te d
W
illiam
and
Joseph
—
those beautiful children to
dstoee» With us. Th$ entire a n d tw o s is te r s —
group, some with braces, Heather and Rosie.
some with crutches, some in
wheelchairs, and some with
the assistance of counselors
Ip ? ■:
danced the afternoon to thé"
singing and drum m ing of my
C la y to n
L ew is
.father. I reflect on this ex-
• p erien ceeach tim e 1 get the Austin was born on
opportunity to dem onstrate August 24, 1985 to
-my »Indian, P rid e through P a u la ' an d R a n d y
dance.
Austin? of San Deigo,
In closing, I thank my peo
ple for the opportunity to California. He weighed
se rv e
as
M a s te r
of 8 lbs, 0 oz,, and was
Ceremonies. I tru st my se r born in Chula Vista,
vices m et with your satisfac California. His grand
tion. In the event, during the
parents are Alfred and
course: of serving, I caused
em barrassm ent or feelings Clarice Lane of Na
of disrespect to anyone by tional City, California-,
act op omission, I apologize.
and Bill and June
Sincerely, Austin of P ortland,
Baby News
Ed Ben
1075 Sharon Loop SE
Salem, Oregon 97306
Oregon. C ongratula
tions Paula and Ran
dy!!