2
June 1992
L etters . . . . .
DEAR TRIBAL MEMBERS:
Thank-you for crowning me
Little Miss Siletz. Special
thanks goes to Kitti Hostler and
Natasha Kavanaugh for sup
porting me through the'time
that I represented the Tribe. I
would also like to thank Reggie
and Lee Butler, Paul Whitehead,
Sonya Moody-Jurado, Pat
Darcy and Kimberly Thomas and
a lot of the community mem
bers. To the adult advisors of
the Siletz Royalty, I needed you
to defend me and to back me up
when there was unfair
criticism. I needed you to
point out my mistakes and to
help me to correct them. Those
of you who did criticize and
gossip about me, I needed you to
support me in doing a better job
as Little Miss Siletz. I'd like to
apologize for the smart
remarks that I made to. a girl at
the Title V pow wow while I
was royalty,
I would like to
suggest that in the future there
be a pageant coordinator or
advisor with the Little Miss
Siletz Royalty at all events so
that there can be discussions
about their behavior at the pow
wow that they will be at and
other things that have to do
with the Royalty. I didn't give
up my crown, I had it taken
away. I would like everyone to
know that my feelings were
hurt Very badly and I hope that
you can understand how I feel. I
wouldn't like any future Little
Miss Siletz to lose their crown
the way that I did and I hope
that they won't be criticized
like I was either. I hope that
the people who run for Jr. Miss
or Miss Siletz realize how hard
it is. It takes a lot of
responsibility to be Little Miss
or Miss Siletz. I would like
people to know that everything I
have done and all the functions I
have gone to I was on my own.
Thank You for reading my
le tte r.
Love,
Danelle Smith
EMERGENCE OF LOVE
THE CIRCLE CONTINUES
PROTECTING INDIAN CHILDREN
The circle was broken
The Healing Spirit was gone...
The question asked was, "I
didn't know Indians treated
their young like this. She has
such a loving spirit. Why would
someone do this to her?"
On May 2, 1992, I laid my
daughter's Indian ways to rest.
For how long I do not know.
She tried hard and that was
taken away and she said, "I
never want to dance again".
From this I, her mother,
wrote this poem to her.
TO: DANELLE SMITH
FROM: MOM & DAD
A Child Broken...
She carried a heavy load.
A lot’was done...
For her to fall.
The pillars that were to hold
her made themselves
removed.
As she traveled on alone, she
often wondered, " where
have they gone?"
They told me...we will teach
1 you the way, and be there
when ever you need us.
But as she went she reached out
the only way she knew and
was told, " that is wrong".
And once again the pillars told
her,"We are here to show
you the way".
So she said, "Okay!!!" and she
still went on alone.
So as she went alone once again
she reached out the oniy
way she knew.
She tried to ask for help, but
was never heard.
For the ears of the pillars were
closed.
They told her, "we don't have
time right now.
She cried and still went on
alone.
Then the pillars finally looked
and said, "we don't want
you no more".
So, now we have a child that is
broken.
I and her dad told her to not feel
bad;
You did the best job you knew
how.
Be proud of who you are.
Love you very much,
Mom & Dad
OPEN LETTER TO
DANELLE SMITH,
LITTLE MISS SILETZ
(1991-1992):
My family and I would like
to thank you for representing
the Siletz Tribe this past year.
We've seen you and your family
attending many different
functions, throughout the year.
Often we have seen you at a
basketball game, and then on to ‘
a pow wow or an exhibition
dance, with the Siletz dancers.
We feel that your effort to
represent the Tribe with and
without your court or
coordinators present, is a
credit to you.
We hope that this
experience has been and will be
a memorable one for you. We
realize that along with the good
is always some bad, but
unfortunately, sometimes we
don't have any control over
this. AH we could have
expected of you is for you to
have done your best, and you
did.
We hope that you will
continue to dance and be a part
of our cultural heritage.
Sincerely,
Elaine Thomas & Family
Letters to the
E ditor
All letters received
will be printed. Please type or
w rite legible, no profane
language w ill be printed.
LETTERS THAT EXCEED 350
WORDS IN LENGTH WILL BE
EDITED.
All letters must
include vour name and address.
Send letters to, : Siletz News,
P.O. Box 549, Siletz, Oregon
97380.
PLEASE NOTE: The
General Manager of the Siletz
Tribe is the Chief Editor of the
Siletz Newsletter.
A WORD OF THANKS:
Thank you everyone
who sent cards, gave hugs,
food, money, and all the
prayers for my family and 1.
When times are sad and
life must go on, it is so
wonderful to live in a small
town where you know so many
nice people and work with
people who understand what
you are going through and help
you make your days bright and
cheerful.
Thank You Everyone,
Vella Feller/Family
DEAREDITOR:
JH M I
1 wrote this as a tribute to
my Indian friends, both living
and dead, after visiting
Government Hill in Siletz, on
Memorial Day.
INDIAN BURIAL GROUND
1 walked, as others walked,
this weekend,
Across the silent hallowed
abode of the dead,
1 felt the infinite peace, the
tender love,
As the spirits of life and death
communed.
God, how close we are, one
breath away,
From the knowing of life
everlasting.
But there is one cemetery that
is like no other,
It holds a magic that embodies
both life and death,
And the beauty there is not
transitory but eternal,
For it was the spirit of all
things,
That whispered low.
1 would have liked to have
lingered longer,
Just to commune with my God,
For 1 knew that He walked
there,
Among the giant evergreens,
And that His fingers caressed
the tombstones you could
no longer read.
1 looked at the craftsmanship of
genius and
1 looked at the love woven in
beauty.
1 touched the graves, mounded
in Indian fashion,
Blanketed in flowers,
Reverenced by eternal
remembrance,
And 1 felt the magic of the
Spirit World,
And the glory of being alive.
1 walked away in the tender
tw ilig h t,
From this Holy Place, This
sanctuary,
And 1 felt a kinship with earth 1
had never know before.
We are not strangers as we
pass,
We are not alien to one another.
1 grew up among you,
1 loved many of you,
Just as 1 loved my white
friends,
But for the first time on a
beautiful windswept Hill,
1 felt 1 knew your heart,
And 1 cried.
Mary Hall Robb
SILETZ NEWS DEADLINE
June 15, 1992
mail articles and photos to:
Siletz News, P.O. Box 549,
Sliietz, Oregon 97380