4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| SEPTEMBER 25, 2021
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | CMEYER @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibit-
ing the free exercise thereof; or abridg-
ing the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or the right of the people peace-
ably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” — Thomas Jefferson (1800)
Oregon’s nine tribes ask for voice in water planning
natural limitations of our water con- that our voices will be clearly heard
in all that process might entail, the
sumption, including groundwater.
Our people have seen the changes tribes request the following:
1. By executive order, establish a
to our waters and our lands caused
by mismanagement. There is a very “Tribe-Agency Water Vision Task
real threat of extinction for steel- Force” to include representation
Dear Gov. Brown,
head, salmon, lamprey, suckers and from Oregon’s nine federally recog-
We the nine sovereign tribes of other species in our oceans, streams, nized tribes and the nine state agen-
cies identified in Oregon’s Water
Oregon thank you for your lead-
Re- sources Strategy. The goal of
ership in recognizing that our
Guest Viewpoint
this group would be to fully co-
great state needs a water vision
ordinate the vision and goals of a
with at least a 100-year view. We
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions
holistic water vision.
are all dedicated to improving this
on this and other topics are always welcome
2. Collaborate with each of our
beautiful place that we now call
as part of our goal to encourage community
tribes to develop specific recom-
Oregon.
discussion and exchange of perspectives.)
mendations for the water plan.
We have met as the tribes of
Each of our sovereign tribes may
Oregon to share and discuss our
beliefs, concerns and needs for an rivers and lakes. We have known of have unique, specific interests perti-
nent to water resources and/or water
Oregon water vision. Each of us is these problems for a long time.
a distinct and unique sovereign, but
The extinction of these vital fish- infrastructure within their ancestral
we have all reached agreement re- eries would equate to the genocide of areas.
All of Oregon’s tribes are eager and
garding these issues.
our people and the end of our irre-
Water is sacred. Water is life. Wa- placeable lifeways — because these willing to engage. The inclusion of
ter is the heartbeat of our culture. resources form essential parts of Oregon’s tribal voice in its water vi-
Our understanding of these truths is who we are. The extinction of native sion will ensure its comprehensive
based upon a legacy of survival and fisheries is completely unacceptable commitment to our collective hu-
reliance on our Oregon oceans, riv- to our nations. Whether intentional man and ecosystem resiliency needs.
ers, and lakes. Whether we are plan- or not, we know our state is treading Oregon’s tribes hope your office can
ning for one year or 100 years, any a dangerous path in several water- instruct all affected state agencies to
reciprocate in kind.
water vision must, at its core, restore sheds.
All regards,
and protect cold, clean water.
We have seen many planning pro-
The nine sovereign tribes of Ore-
As modern Oregonians we have cesses come and go. If a plan fails
not done this well. It is time for a step to take on these issues, it will fail gon
to create acceptable solutions. The
forward.
Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Our tribes and their fisheries lived truth is that the state and the tribes
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indi-
together before Oregon existed. Our in Oregon know the main barriers
ans; Confederated Tribes of Grand
ancestors understood that they had to healthy oceans, rivers, and waters.
to live in a balanced relationship We all have known for some time. Ronde; Confederated Tribes of Siletz;
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla
with oceans, rivers, creeks, lakes, What is missing is the will to change
Reservation; Confederated Tribes of
springs, marshes, and the flora and the way we do business. Our water
Warm Springs; Cow Creek Band of
fauna that depend upon them. There and those who depend on it have
Umpqua Indians; Coquille Indian
was, and is, no other way to survive. paid the price.
Tribe; Klamath Tribes; and Burns
As Oregon’s “water vision” initia-
Many modern Oregonians, however,
Paiute of Harney County
act as if there are no consequences or tive moves forward, and to ensure
The following commentary summa-
rizes a letter to Gov. Kate Brown from
the leaders of Oregon’s nine federally
recognized Indian tribes. The letter
was delivered Sept. 21, 2021.
LETTERS
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint
submissions on these and other
topics are always welcome as
part of our goal to encourage
community discussion and ex-
change of perspectives.)
Warning About
Hoax Letters
A friend suggested I send
this to the Siuslaw News in an
attempt to warn others.
Recently, I received a letter
after the death of my husband
asking for personal and billing
information.
This is a cruel hoax hap-
pening here in Florence and
all over the country. They are
trying to get personal information
from people and bilk them out of
money they don’t owe.
When I read the letter, it up-
set me and all I could think was,
“How much money will it cost me
to fight this?” because I knew there
was nothing owed, having handled
all the finances for 27 years.
Thankfully, I Googled it before I
did anything else.
People should not respond or
contact the letter writers — mine
was from “Phillips & Cohen Asso-
ciates, Ltd.” — in any way.
Thank you in advance for any-
thing you can do to protect others
who are grieving.
— C.B.
Florence
End of Summer
and Remembrance
Last weekend’s rain threatened
the end of summer on Sweet Creek.
Autumn is descending upon us.
In Eastern Oregon, the golden
carpets of wheat blanketing the
rolling hills have been harvested.
The Pendleton Round-Up is the
big celebration of this area and
culminates with the ever-popular
Bronc Busting competition, which
occurred last Saturday. It remind-
ed me of a story of past systemic
racism. It is not a sad story, like
George Floyd.
This is the story of George
Fletcher and Oregonians’ refusal to
accept racism over fairness. George
Fletcher migrated with his family
from Kansas to Northeast Oregon
during 1890. Though the Civil War
provided freedom to Black people,
the Oregon legislature stubbornly
refused (for 58 years) to remove
their laws forbidding them from
owning property or residing in the
state. The penalty was severe whip-
pings, which were no longer car-
ried out by the state; rather, Ore-
gon’s 25,000 Klan members upheld
the spirit of the law.
Young George tried to attend the
local school but was scorned, so
he went to the nearby Nez-Pierce
Indian Reservation. They schooled
the young boy in their ways, teach-
ing him their language and horse-
manship. He became an extremely
talented horseman and, at 21 years
old, George entered the world
champion saddle bronc event at
the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up.
The grand prize was the coveted
E.L. Powers & Sons saddle, with
silver trim.
George easily worked his way to
the finals where he so easily broke
the first horse, Del, that the judg-
es ordered he ride another bronc,
Sweeney, the meanest of the bunch.
The animal bucked wildly with
a limber George scratching and
spurring the beast into a frenzy.
The crowd screamed “Let’ Er Buck”
until they were hoarse, knowing
they had witnessed the clear win-
ner. When the jury awarded the
win to John Spain, who “pulled
leather,” the crowd erupted with
displeasure at the clearly unfair ra-
cial pick.
Many spectators booed and
heckled until George reappeared.
That’s when the crowd start-
ed chanting: “People’s Champi-
on! People’s Champion! People’s
Champion”!
The director of the Round-Up,
Sheriff Til Taylor, approached
George Fletcher and snatched his
hat from his head before disap-
pearing into the crowd. Sheriff
Taylor had cut the hat into pieces
selling them to George’s supportive
fans. Soon the sheriff reappeared
and presented George with over
$700 cash and officially declared
him the “People’s Champion.”
George Fletcher was able to pur-
chase a prized silver laden saddle,
with enough money left over to
buy a new hat!
Back then, as with today, even
when the authorities embrace rac-
ism, the Oregon crowd rejects it.
— Bill Shepard
Mapleton
USPS# 497-660
Copyright 2021 © Siuslaw News
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WHERE TO WRITE
President Joseph Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TDD: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
Email: Sen.DickAnderson@
oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
State Rep.
Boomer Wright (Dist. 9)
State Sen. Dick
Anderson (Dist. 5)
160 State Capitol 900 Court St.
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Salem, OR 97301
Message Line:
503-986-1409
503-378-4582
Email: Rep.BoomerWright@
www.oregon.gov/gov
oregonlegislature.gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244 | 541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
Lane County Dist. 1
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
Email: Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750
Florence City Council
www.merkley.senate.gov
& Mayor Joe Henry
Florence City Hall, 250
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Highway 101, Florence, 97439
(4th Dist.)
541-997-3437
2134 Rayburn HOB
ci.florence.or.us
Washington, DC 20515
Email comments to Florence
202-225-6416
City Recorder Kelli Weese at
541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 kelli.weese@ci.florence.or.us
www.defazio.house.gov