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