Image provided by: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; Siletz, OR
About Siletz news. (Siletz, Oregon) 1983-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1987)
PAGE 4 — SILETZ, OREGON, JANUARY 1987 I also believe the desires of the majority should control Council activities and plans for development. I believe the results of the last election showed clearly that our membership supports the agenda of the present ad ministration. I will continue to work closely with our Council Chairman to achieve the goals we share for our Tribe. In summary, I support efforts to achieve economic self-sufficiency, to acquire the resources to achieve that end, to develop innovative management systems and to create economic and employment opportunities for tribal members. I believe our present administration has em barked on a well-planned effort to achieve our goals and, with your support, I will remain a part of it. Shirley (Ben) Walker Bud Lane I am Shirley (Ben) Walker, one of Mr. & Mrs. Archie Ben’s daughters, born in Toledo, Oregon on August 1,1942. I live in Wilsonville, Oregon with husband, Russ, and childreh, Angela (age 14), Heather (age 8) andB rent (age 6). ...- ~........ •’ . | After graduating from Siletz High School in 1960,1 at tended Western Business College in Portland, Oregon. Upon completing business school, I went to work. Most of my work experience has been in the insurance industry. At this time I work for an insurance agency in downtown Portland. Raising a family and holding down a full time job is tough. I am fortunate in having great parents to look to for their wisdom and guidance. My parents have always been there when I needed them. The Tribal Council has a real responsibility and must strive to do what is best for our Tribe. Serving on the Tribal Council will be a real challenge and, if elected, I will work for a better future for all of our people. Mary Service Viles The Confederated Tribes of Siletz have come a long way the last ten years since Restoration. Such as the Com munity Center on Government Hill, the annual Pow Wow, employment for Tribal members, the area offices and educational oportunities for the Tribal youth. The future of the Tribe is very important. We need to move forward. I believe the Tribe will become a dominant force in the area and I would like to be able to take p art in the Tribe’s future by being on the Council. For several years I attended a lot of Council meetings and at times I disagreed with what the Council was doing but I also feel that if you are dissatisfied with what is go ing on you just don’t gripe, you get involved and work w ith in the system and that is what I would like to do. I am on the Cultural Committee which is working for a Tribal Museum and a language program and my training as a Tribal Court Judge should both be assets as a Tribal Council member. Mary Sendee Viles My name is Bud Lane and I am running for a second term on the Tribal Council. I now serve as the Tribal Vice- Chairman. I seek a Council seat because I want to par ticipate in completion of the exciting and challenging pro jects that the present administration under the leadership of Delores Pigsley, has undertaken. First, I will continue to be a strong supporter of economic development. When our Council first began serious exploration of economic progress, I visited the M ississip p i Choctaw Tribe in Philadelphia, Mississippi, to learn from their successes and failures. One of the lessons I learned, and one learned by others on similar tripa, is the need to separate business development from tribal politics. That is why the Council created STEDCO. I am proud to say that I actively participated in estab lishing STEDCO, was a member of its interim commis sion and continue to follow its activities by attending its meetings and supporting its efforts. I believe it is the best hope to achieve economic self-sufficiency for our Tribe. I also am a member of the Timber Committee. That committee pushed for an investigation of ways to make more money from our limited timber resource. That ef fort finaUy has resulted in STEDCO entering into a marketing contract that will allow us to sell our timber directly in overseas markets. We now have far moreflexi- bility in selling our timber, which will result in greater profits to us. I am also a member of an ad hoc committee on land ac quisition. I firmly believe our Tribe will not achieve economic self-sufficiency unless it adds to its timber land base. I have learned that the acquisition of substantial public resources is a difficult and time consuming job. I hope to continue with the effort. As p art of our land acquisition and economic develop ment activities, I support the exploration of new and in novative management concepts for tribal resources. Let’s face it, even if our land acquisition effort is successful, we will have limited resources. We need to explore every possibility to maximize their potential for revenue, employment and opportunity. I fully support our efforts to develop a management model that will provide the max imum benefit to tribal members. I am a member of our planning committee, which is responsible to see that tribal activities are coordinated and consistent with the responsibilities delegated by the Council to STEDCO. As part of our planning effort, I have supported the development of Government Hill and the new housing project to be completed next year. In addition, I have served on our Bingo Commission and continue to support its activities for both profit and recreation for the Siletz community. I will continue to sup port the development of our Pow Wow into one of the finest in the Northwest. I commend our Pow Wow committee for the outstanding work it has done. I also am involved in developing fair and equitable employment preferences for tribal members. I believe we need to provide opportunity for our members, not han douts. Bonnie Petersen I am writing to introducé myself, Bonnie Petersen, as a candidate for Tribal Council. While I’ve never served on Council before, I feel my present skills and experience, combined with a “grass roots” approach to politics, will make me an able representative. My interest and concern for the Tribe — for Indian peo ple in general — began long before the decision to run for Council. It’s reflected in over nine years of community service for various Indian organizations. I’ve served on Tribal committees, Indian student councils at Lane Com munity College and the University of Oregon, on Title IV and JOM Parent Committees, and as board member for the Native American Consortium of Lane County. Through my work above and as a tribal employee (Culture Project and Tribal Court), I’ve learned a great deal about tribal members and tribal adminstration. I am well acquainted with tribal law, the rules and regulations governing administration or programs, the service and development needs of tribal members, the goals and ob jectives of the Council, and the process of group decision making. I believe this last item is most important. While an elected body of representatives may make decisions quickly and efficiently it often does so absent input from the general membership. My goal as a Council member will be to improve communication between Council and Tribal members, so that their views are reflected in Coun cil actions. Given adequate and timely information, there isn’t any issue that tribal members can’t comment on. While brief, I hope this letter inspires you to consider my candidacy and I look forward to meeting you at the cand- dates’ fairs.
