PAGE 2 - SILETZ, OREGON December 1990
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
D ear
E d ito r
Members;
&
T rib a l I
'The Hatfields and the
McCoys;' that is what the
General Council Meeting of
11-30-90 reminded me of.
Feuding, bickering., power
struggling, controlling and
none of you really know why.
It's no w onder I hear 3
comments such as;
” l'm
Siletz Indian, but I'm n o t
proud of it, " or "I'm going to
relinquish my position as a
Siletz Tribal Member, as
nothing gets done the way we
want, so why bother?"
Leave your personal
grievances at home.
The
childish-petty behavior that
was displayed Saturday (11-
03-90), does not belong at a
General Council Meeting.
This meeting provides you an
opportunity to air Tribal
concerns, (as a whole). It is
not the time to be vengeful
and
s p ite fu l
o r § fo r
personality conflicts. If any
of you need lessons on how to
conduct yourselves in public,. <
s ta r t
by
o b s e r v in g
yourselves in public, start
by observing a person that
has earned the name of IRON
LADY-Delores Pigsley. She
always conducts herself in a
very professional and lady
like manner; always a smile,
always composed. IRON LADY-
you betl
Her position
requires iron. I've seen her
'put up' with situations that
would break most people.
(My hat is o ff to you,
Delores. I may not always
agree with your decisions,
but you are one fine lady and
one to be greatly admired.)
Tribal Members, you
are so fortunate and have
come so far-BE THANKFUL.
You have POWER-YOU ARE
THE POWER-USE IT!! STAND
UP-STICK TOGETHER-BE
HEARD.
You, as the General
Council, are the BOSS over
your General Manager and
Tribal Council. No one can
fire you or change your
position as a Tribal Member.
Use your power-BE THE
BOSS. Get those changes
made, get the candidate gf
your, choice on Tribal Council-
VOTEIII Get rid of the people
that are hindering you, go to
the Council Meetings. (Just
rem em ber to leave the
garbage at home!)
TO
BE
Q U IE T
MEANS
MO VO ICE-N O
CHANGES MEANS YOU
DON’T CARE. SO STAND
UP, STICK TOGETHER,
BE HEARD, SHOW ’EM
YOU DO CARE.
D on't be like the
Hatfields and McCoys.
Sincerely,
Susanne Flanary
Wife & Mother of
Siletz Tribal Members
Dear Editor;
For a year now, I have
been following the Andy Viles
saga and have increasingly
become disgusted by the
whole thing. I am also very
concerned that this matter is
serving to disrupt Tribal '
harm ony, som ething the
Siletz have worked hard
toward. Since Restoration,
13 years ago, our Tribe has
a c c o m p lis h e d
m any
wonderful things, including
the building on Government
Hill, housing and education
for our people, food for the
needy, and now a new Health
Clinic;
Our Pow Wow is
regarded as one of the best
and is getting bigger every
year.
However, since Andy's
f ir in g ,
a lm o s t
e v e ry
newsletter has contained an
a rtic le w ritten by Andy,
about Andy. This is getting
old, folks! I would be very
interested about finding, in a
dollar amount, how much of
our Tribal funds have gone
tow ard attorneys fe e s ,
C ouncil expenses, office
expenses, etc., in justifying
Andy’s firin g .
I have a
fe e lin g
the
am ount is
staggering, judging by how
many tim e s -A n d y 's name
appears in the paper in the
C ouncil Meeting m inutes.
Would it be possible to have
these sums to ta le d and
published? I think everyone
has the right to know how
their Tribal funds are being
"wasted".
Andy now has his own
newsletter, Siletz News II.
In this newsletter, (which I
have neither solicited nor
paid a dime for, yet still
re c e iv e
o n e )/
A n d y 's
negativism comes through in
e v e ry article he writes. I
find it very maddening and
g e n e r a lly
th ro w
h is
n e w s le tte r away before
g e ttin g
th ro u g h
it
a ll.
»
The feeling I get from
this whole m atter is that
Andy wants the Tribe to pay
him, although he was fired
justifiably.
Wouldn't it be
nice not to have to work and
have the Tribe pay you?
However, in this world, that
is not the way it works. I
have to work to pay my bills;
so should Aiidy.
'If anyone feels the
same as I do, please write tb
the newsletter. Perhaps if
we show strength, Andy will
find some and give up this
nonsense.
Finally, Andy, do not
send me your newsletter.
There are enough negative
re p o rts
in
my
d a ily
newspaper. I don’t need more
from you.
Sincerely,
Amos B. Arden
Dear Tribal Members:
I agree with Royce
Strong that Tribal Members
deserve to know what's gone
on, (and is qoina on) at
STEDCO. There have been two
investigations of STEDCO.
The Tri.be and STEDCO have
kept the results of both
private. What became of the
stolen computer? How much
fish was missing? How many
dollars were lost or stolen?
Could any of this happen
again?
Is it happening
again?
These are all
questions that need to be
answered. Fast.
. ! wish I could answer
them. But in terms of the
recent past of STEDCO, I'm in
an inform ation black-out.
Despite numerous assurances
from STEDCO officials, I still
haven't received one shred of
the documents I've requested.
When I showed up at STEDCO
with the purpose of going
through the file s, more
important business made the
Executive Director put my
appointment on the "back
burner."
I le ft w ithout
seeing a single-file.
I did however, contact
people involved in STEDCO
last year. When I talked to
Royce Strong, he refused to
be a source of information.
~ - L_ v j
n OÍAUC.. a
rig h t'to privacy. If . Royce
didn't want to talk, that was
his decision. But he shouldn't
blame me for bis "silence.
did the best job I could
covering the STEDCO crisis
last year.
invite Royce:Strong
(and anyone else) to send
information they might have
in the direction of the Siletz
Free press, Inc. 1541 Taft.
Eugene, OR 97402. Or call
me at 688-7116.
The editors at Siletz
Free Press believe that it's
better to go to ja il than
reveal a source. W e a ls o
believe that letters need to be
printed, uncensored,- eVen if
they áre more than 350
words.
t h is is a related
point:
I read in the T.C.
m in u te s
th a t
" it
was
suggested" and Tribal Council
approved a 350 word limit
on letters to the editor. This
is a lousy rule, an obvious
abuse of g o ve rn m en ta l
authority.
What's the problem?
Let Tribal Members' write
letters. Let Tribal Members
read letters.
Keep your
censors scissors to yourself.
Who’s afraid o f a free
and open public forum ?
That's a good question for the
upcoming elections.
Sincerely,
Andy Vilés
To the Editor:
I w o u ld
like
to
Congratulate my son Shawn
Thomas, he was chosen for
Super Kid of the Month at
Lyle Elementary in October