Page 10
CHURCH RETURNS LAND
TO KLAMATH TRIBE
STATE SENATOR KEN JERNSTEDT HONORED
,, l
M
J'
State Senator Ken Jernstedt
Oregon state Senator Ken Jernstedt was honored
by Oregon Indian tribal representatives on
December 8, 1988 for his service on the Commission
on Indian Services.
The state Senator has been appointed to serve on
the Commission four times and has served seven
years. Jernstedt did not seek re-election to his state
Senate seat. His term expires b January 1989.
The tribal representatives hosted a surprise dinner
in his honor and presented him with a framed
photograph of Celilo Falls, the Indian fishing
grounds destroyed by the Dalles Dam.
Jernstedt will take on new responsibilities as the
mayor-elect of Hood River.
The Commission on Indian Services was created in
1975 and includes ten tribal representatives one
member of the state House of Representatives and
one member from the state Senate.
BILL AFFIRMS TREATY FISHING INCOME NOT
SUBJECT TO TAXATION
On November 10, 1988, President Reagan signed into
law a tax bill that reaffirms Native Americans' rights to
exercise treaty fishing rights without being subject to
state or federal income taxes.
"During the past eight years, the IRS has seized bank
accounts and boats, put liens on property assistance,"
noted Jerilyn DeCoteau, the NARF attorney handling
the law suits.
"It's a significant victory for Native American people
one that's been a long-time coming," said John E. "Now,
finally, hundreds of individuals can exercise their rights
to fish without fear of losing their homes and fishing
boats to the Internal Revenue Service for failure to pay
taxes they don't owe."
The provision specifying the exemption was included in ,
the bill entitled Technical Corrections to the Tax
Reform Act that was adjourned on October 22nd. The
legislation was needed to solve a protracted dispute with
the Internal Revenue Service which, for the past eight
years, has been harassing Native Americans over taxes
the federal agency determined were owed on treaty
fishing income.
"Thanks to this legislation, these people will now be able
to get back on their feet financially, re-establish their
good credit ratings, and get on with their lives. One
Indian fisher told me he will now be able to fish again
for his livelihood as his ancestors had from before treaty
time up until the IRS began its enforcement actions
eight years ago."
Although the legislation affects all Native Americans,
the IRS had consistently targeted tribes in Michigan, '
Washington and Wisconsin. Attorneys representing the
IRS have stated their willingness to insure that liens are
removed, refunds and interests are paid to all those
eligible, and that the misguided collection efforts of the
past are stopped. - The Oregonian
KLAMATH FALLS (AP)-Leaders of the Beatty United
Methodist Church signed papers Sunday giving 110 acres
of land deeded to the congregation by President Warren
G. Harding back to it's original owners, the Klamath
Indians.
About 200 people attended the ceremonies at the church,
located in the tiny community of Beatty, about 35 miles
northeast of Klamath Falls.
The land was once part of the Klamath Reservation,
which once covered 1.1 million acres. In 1924, the 110
acre parcel was deeded to the church by President
Harding. In 1954, the tribe was dissolved by federal
degree.
Restored to tribal status in 1986, the Klamaths
currently have about 200 acres of land, mostly Indian
cemeteries scattered around the area, tribal chairman
Charles Kimball said.
A community center for about 25 tribal members
living in Beatty was among the possibilities being
considered for the land, Kimball said.
He said the tribe was putting together overall plans for
its own economic development. About 60 percent of
the 1,200 tribal members in Klamath County are
unemployed.
The idea for returning the land came from the Revs. . .
Kevin and Carol Seckel, who ministered at four -. ; ,
United Methodist churches in the area a few years
ago, said Patricia Davidson, a former lay minister at
the church and a member of the Klamath tribe. -,
"They (church members) see it as a point of justice for
the church to not be in the land-taking business of the
Indians," Davidson said. "That's one of the reasons
I'm a Methodist, because they emphasize those
points."
The congregation of the church has dwindled, as
people have died or moved away, to the point where as
few as three sometimes attend services, she said.
- From The Oregonian . 1
i
if,4
f V
A.-
1 Tr I $
. , . b
Pete Petite beside the car he owns. Photo from collection presented to the Tribe from ' , iw h t .n.f
the Bureau of Indian Affairs. h oyd R,ggs' Betty Rl' Elfreda RlSgs Marcella Tom' rame Smith, Lloyd
Weaver, Stanford Hudson, Leon Tom, Russell Leno, Delmar Croy, Clarabell Weaver,
TV 1 K lt . .
wean Mercier, uarreu Mercier, Ivan Langley. From BIA collection.