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About Siletz tribal newspaper. (Siletz, Oregon) 1997-1997 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1997)
B a g *; Letters to the Editor To the Editor and Tribal Members . It has come to my attention that the firing squad is still at it. Now it is the C.E.O., who isnext ? The STEDCO were let go awhile back, Ghinook winds staff are on the list as are Administration employees of the tribe. Tribal council is the board of direction for Chinook Winds, the gaming commission, Siletz Com munity Health Clinic, Tribal administration^ So the only group left is the B.I.A. Agency. W hat a pity, our forefathers are no-doubt turning over in their graves. The only re course I foresee is Recall and a group is work ing on that, so Tribal members you will be called upon. Come forward, voice your opin ions, see what is happening behind closed doors and via cell phones and the telephone between Tribal council members, not all of them but the majority. Check out their phone bills and their credit card expenditures, I will bet they are extremely high. Especially the credit cards. Representatives are sent to Na tional and other meetings and do not attend the full sessions but more than likely receive the full per diem allowance. Our Chairman and her husband ( a council member) went Ito Seattle on Sunday, the H.U.D. Conference did not start until Tuesday, they attended on Tuesday, then. left. She is a board member of our housing authority, another tribal council member was sent to represent this tribe at National Congress of American Indians in Ju neau, Alaska, he was absent much of the time. Who controls credibility and the oaths that were taken upon election to the Tribal Coun cil ? Two women councilors have fallen into the trap of the majority. Our C.E.O. was re tiring December 31st, but was forced out 4 months early.lt looks to me as we tribal mem bers are. not the ones that tribal Council is protecting and caring for. Their personal ideas and wants are more important, right and wrong, is not considered. Elections are coming up in February 1998, you will be con tacted. Recall will be up and going shortly, you will be contacted. Before we loose every thing that has been gained, something dras tic has to be done or we will be right back where we were in the 1950's. Remember Health; Education, Housing, Employment, USDA foods and pride were not here in the 1970's, ittook years of hard work to get where we are today. If anyone needs to call for in formation you can do so and I will gladly re spond. Mary A. Dolly Fisher, P.O. Box 64 Siletz OR 97380 Phone # 541 444- 2691 To the Editor: Hello, I am looking for information on my family history. I was bom on Jan. 16th 1971. I believe in Portland OR. I am a female, and an enrolled Tribal for my Biological family. I also believe my biological parents enrolled me in the Siletz Tribe. If you believe you might have any infor mation on my birth parents or other fam ily members, please send information to: Lisa Norton, c/o Enrollment P.O. Box 549 Siletz OR 97380 Lisa will give me all sealed information sent to her. To The Editor:. I want to thank my Hibdon familiy for assisting me in moving from Portland, and I want to thank the my Cordova Family for putting me up after I got here!!! Love, Lillie Rilatos 1 Dear Editor: The staff end volunteers at the 1997 Nesika Illahee Pow-wow did an excel lent job this year! This year's pow wow went smoothly, I noticed a re markable improvement by security staff members. All remained profes sional and friendly. As a tribal member I would like to thank everyone for their hard work, professionalism, and great attitudes. Pow-wow work, while enjoyable, can also be very taxing and stressful. The efforts of this year's pow-wow staff members and volunteers will be re membered by all who were in atten dance. .A positive event such as this, can be an invaluable asset for our tribe. We as tribal members will have these staff m em bers and volu n teers to thank, as they have made a positive reflection on our tribe. Sincerely, Laurie Brown-Godfrey #1522 Letter to the Editor I can not believe some of the discussion held at our Tribal Council Meetings! We have a multi-million dollar Gaming Center that is obviously in trouble and all they have to ar gue about is who is sitting where at a con cert?? It's obvious that giving council mem bers free tickets to concerts causes more trouble than it is w orth A fair solution would be to go down the tribal rolls and give the tickets to tribal members. That way, no eth ics violations would happen and no family bashing would occur. It is so ridiculous to waste council time on such N it Picking (proper term). We pay our Council to repre sent us, and to work for our benefit, not to squabble over family feuds. Now we are charging non tribal members for copies of the Newsletter, who would pay to read a bunch of garbage? All tribal members need to stand up and say ENOUGH! How can we ever prosper this way? I'm sure as the election time draws near the lies, rumors and gossip will just go wild. I encourage all tribal mem bers, elders as well as the young, to take a good look at where we are as a tribe, where we came from and where we should be go ing and what it w ill take to get us there. O nly we, the Tribal Members can make a differ ence. Do we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution? Rachenda DeVenberg Tribal Member Editor: A personal comment on what is happening to the Siletz Tribe. I Saw the tribe coming apart in 1988 and 89 pertaining to the political economy of the tribe. The politics was out of balance. This was, I think, because of badly written constitution. The needs of a constitutional reform is great. Sp hang together, we are working on changing, or amend ing the constitution, as I write. We need a good constitutional scholar, a honest one. P.S. Remember this all government funds we are fighting over. You gain very little when you win. Pete Downey Chief of Shasta Nation-Rogue
