Welcome!

Welcome to the site that gives a brief description of the Siletz Tribe which is one of nine federally recognized indian tribes of Oregon. On this website you will find brief summaries about current information, how their location has changed, federal recognition, tribal interactions with the state and government, benefits about being a tribal member, and the education that is offered. ENJOY!

Test Your Knowledge

1.What casino does the Siletz tribe currently operate?

· Sprit Mountain

· Chinook

· Three Rivers

· None of the Above

2. How many tribes are “recognized” in Oregon?

· 7

· 8

· 9

· 10

3. What significant event happened in 1955?

· The tribe opened their casino

· The tribe was terminated

· The tribe moved to Oregon

· None of the Above

4. All but one is a service that is mentioned on this website, which one is it?

· Health

· Housing

· Education

· None of the Above

5.Which program is designed to support Indian students with their intellectual growth?

· Head Start Program

· Supplemental Education Program

· Higher Education Program

· None of the Above

Education

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz strives to provide opportunities for Tribal members to reach full potential, establish independence and improve quality of life through lifelong learning and education. The Siletz Tribes have implemented several educational programs to help ensure that all members have the opportunity to receive an education. The Siletz have a Head Start Program that is dedicated to help young children ages three to four prepare for public school. This early childhood developmental program emphasizes education, health, social services, cultural enrichment as well as parent involvement. The Head Start Program places children in a structured classroom environment four times a week for three and a half hour intervals.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz also have established educational programs for members in grades K-12. The Supplemental Education Program also known as the Johnson O’Malley is designed to support Indian students with their intellectual growth. In addition to this the program can help improve the students physical, social, and emotional growth. The program offers tutoring, recreational activities, college preparation classes, and opportunities for cultural enrichment.

The Siletz offer a Higher Education Program to their tribal members. The program provides educational scholarships to eligible Siletz Members. The Higher Education Program was created to help members have the opportunity to continue their education beyond high school. In addition to the Higher Education Program there are other scholarships available to Siletz Tribal Members such as the Arthur S. Bensell Memorial Scholarship, Pepsi-Craig Whitehead Scholarship, Siletz Scholarship and the Morris K. Udell Foundation Scholarships.

           

           
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Chinook Winds Casino

The Siletz Tribe is currently responsible for owning and operating the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Oregon. Aside from this interesting fact, the Siletz Indians are devoted to allowing their members opportunities to achieve and grow independently through improving lifelong learning education. The reservation contains a healthcare branch that provides general healthcare for all tribe members

Click here for a Demo of the website.

Benefits

There are many benefits in being in the Siletz tribe. They offer many services such as housing, education, health, social and employment. There are some restrictions such as income or residency. Some are just provided.

Siletz Tribal Housing Department's Mission Statement:

"With funds provided by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act and other resources, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) will continue the operation of a housing program whose overall mission will be to ensure that low income Siletz Tribal Members have the opportunity to obtain housing that meets his/her needs, is affordable, and provides a safe, healthy living environment."

Healthcare:

Delivery of comprehensive health care to the Siletz Indian People and their dependants residing within the eleven county service area of Western Oregon.

There are many services that one can get such as:

• Assistance with Medical Care
• Health Education and Safety.
• Diabetes Prevention and Support
• Home Visits to Serve your Needs
• Health Events and Activities

477 Self Sufficiency Mission Statement:

"To assist eligible clients in attaining self-sufficiency. The 477 Self Sufficiency Program will serve the following groups as they work towards this goal: Siletz needy families, Native American, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian participants eligible for services."

Healthy Family - Healthy Child:

This program is designed to prevent abuse and neglect, and to provide families with coordinated services and communit resources.

Elders Program

Tribal Elders are enrolled Tribal members that have reached the age of 55. The Program offers socialization activities, nutrition services, in-home services, caregiver services, financial benefits and referral services to other local and Tribal resources.

AGE 55 TO 61: $100.00 PER MONTH
AGE 62 TO 69: $200.00 PER MONTH
AGE 70 AND OVER: $300.00 PER MONTH

History

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz is one of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. The Siletz Tribe is made up of 27 bands that originated from Northern California to Southern Washington. The ancestors of the Siletz spoke ten different languages. All the different bands brought their own unique heritage and traditions so the Siletz Tribe had a rich and blended culture.

Starting in the 1770s the Siletz near the coast made direct contact with individuals on the trade and exploration ships. This early contact lead to a series of disease pandemics that plagued the Siletz Tribe members, leading to physical, social, cultural, political and economic devastation for the tribe. These pandemics wiped out 75% to 90% of the tribe population. The Siletz were subjected to the conversion to the “white mans” ways by the federal government, which increased the devastating loss of their distinct culture. In 1955 the United States Government terminated the Siletz Tribe, which basically declared them to be non-existence. Then in November 1977 the Siletz were fully restored to federal recognition. They were the first tribe in Oregon and the second in the United States to regain federal recognition. Finally, in1992 the Siletz gained self-governance. This gave the Siletz control over their tribal programs as well as funding.

Location

The first overland journey into the country was the Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1805. Lewis and Clark spoke of villages along the Columbia River with several hundred inhabitants.

In September of 1850, the Oregon Donation Land Act, allowed about 2,500,000 acres of land would be claimed by settlers.

Previously, tribes lived all along the Pacifc coastline from California through Oregon and up into Washington. The current reservation is located on 3,666 acres along the Siletz River near the Oregon Coast.

The current address of the tribe is :

555 Tolowa Court
Siletz, OR 97380-0549

Federal Recognition

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz in the United States is a compilation of 27 Native American groups, totaling 15,000 people in all. The groups differed in language and culture, and they were forced to move onto a single reservation in 1855; together they formed one unified tribe. All the groups originated from somewhere along the coast of northern California all the way to southwest Washington. The tribe gets its name from the Siletz River, which is where the reservation is located.

The Siletz tribe had been federally recognized until 1956; the Public Law 588 terminated the tribe’s recognition and basically made them non-existent. The tribe had a million-acre reservation and other lands, and all of it was drastically reduced. Most of the land was sold and the rest was reduced to a 36-acre cemetery. The right to hunt and subsistence fishing were also taken away from the tribe and made illegal. As well as losing their land and some rights, the people were now forced to pay property taxes, even though most tribe members couldn’t pay.

After some governmental changes, the Siletz people regained legal recognition in 1977. The Siletz people were the second tribe in the nation to have its federal status restored. In 1992, the tribe achieved the right to self-govern, which greatly helped to improve the spirits of the people and the land. They now had the right to oversee and control tribal funding and programs.

Tribal interactions

Business/Corporation Involvement

The Siletz Indians own and operate the Chinook Winds Casino located in Lincoln City, Oregon at the coast. They also have an investment and financial business called the Siletz Tribal Business Corporation. The small business advises and help plan for financial groups and private members of the tribe in the area. Along with these two main sources of business and income, the tribe also has a few RV parks in the Lincoln City area. In the summertime especially, camping is a popular event at the coast and these RV parks can be quite crowded.

Government Interactions

The Siletz Tribe has its own elected council and own court systems recognized by the state government of Oregon and the Federal Government of the USA. Overall, the intentions of this system are to uphold and protect the rights of the Tribe and all of its members whilst enforcing obligations and maintaining sovereignty of the Siletz Tribe as an Indian Nation. The Tribal Council is made up of nine members elected to three year terms by the General Council of the Tribe. The Tribal Council is empowered to exercise all legislative authority as well as executive authority of the government. This council is also responsible for negotiations with the Federal, State and local governments in the case of conflict.

The Court System of the Siletz Tribe is composed of one Chief Judge, two Appellate Judges, one District Court Judge, one Gaming Court Judge, one Community Court Judge, as well as a few other small court judges with other responsibilities. Again, it is the Tribal Council that appoints judges to each of these courts. Judges in these courts have the power to overturn Tribal legislative and executive actions for any violations pertaining to the Federal Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968.