Siletz: Statement by the Tribe on the veto of SB 215 by Gov. Kitzhaber - We are very disappointed by Gov. John Kitzhaber’s decision on Aug. 16 to veto Senate Bill 215, which would have allowed a school district to enter into a written agreement with the geographically closest federally recognized Indian Tribe in Oregon to use the name, symbol or image of a mascot associated with said Indian Tribe.

Siletz: PowWow Aug. 9-11 - Many Tribal nations will be represented at the annual Nesika Illahee PowWow on Aug. 9-11 in Siletz. Held by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the public is invited to attend the family friendly event, a tradition for the Siletz people and other American Indians.

Siletz: Tribe donates $2,500 to Food Roots for construction of Hoop House - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $363,621.95 to 33 organizations on Aug. 2 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit groups. The checks were presented at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City.

Siletz: Apply for grants from Tribe - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $363,621.95 to 33 organizations on Aug. 2 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit groups, according to a press release.

Siletz: Celebrating the sun - The Siletz Tribal Energy Program is celebrating a newly installed $160,000 solar panel project at the Siletz Tribal Recreational Area. The Siletz Tribe received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in early 2011 to install the solar panels on the roof of the Siletz Tribe’s Fitness Center and the Sprung Structure gymnasium in order to offset part of the power used at the two buildings.

Siletz: When A Language Dies, What Happens To Culture? - Nearly half of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world are expected to vanish in the next 100 years. One of them is Athabaskan, a language of the Siletz tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Bud Lane, vice chairman of Siletz tribal council, explains the importance of language diversity.

Siletz: Tribe contributes to Lebanon district homeless - The Lebanon Community School District’s Homeless Program received a $2,000 grant from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund on May 3.

Siletz: Dedication marks Trails Day in Yachats - The dedication of the new Ya’Xaik (pronounced yäh’ khk) Trail is among a variety of activities scheduled Saturday by the city of Yachats, the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State Parks to celebrate National Trails Day. Dedication ceremonies will be at 1 p.m. Speakers will include Robert Kentta, cultural resources director and tribal council member with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

Siletz: Tribe donates to ABC House - Siletz Tribe contributed $1,538.85 plus gas cards to the Linn County Child Victim Assessment Center, aka ABC House, according to a press release. This grant helped purchase a digital camera and flash, a DVD recorder and gas cards.

Siletz: A Springfield powwow honors the memory of an educator - Virgil Martin wasn’t physically at the Springfield powwow on Saturday. But his presence was everywhere during the annual event at Springfield High School. Over the years Martin, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, became almost like family.

Siletz: Group hopes to open Native Center - The Springfield Public Schools Indian Education Program is working to raise $25,000 to create a Native Center in a 2,000-square-foot space at Two Rivers/Dos Rios Elementary School. The Indian Education Program plays a crucial role in helping Native American students discover their identity and culture, said Shane Martin, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, who helps with crafts, drumming, tutoring and other program activities.

Siletz: Casino celebrates new $1 million escalator - On April 3 at noon, the Chinook Winds Casino Resort management, The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Tribal Council, staff and representatives from the construction team will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony in the casino's main lobby to celebrate the casino's new escalator.

Siletz: Tribe donates to gleaners - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $75,850.03 to 31 organizations on Feb. 1 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit groups. The Lebanon Gleaners received a donation of $2,000. The checks were presented at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City.

Siletz: Tribe elects council members Saturday - Lillie Butler, Alfred (Bud) Lane III and Delores Pigsley were re-elected to the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in elections held Saturday.

Siletz: Chinook Winds plans expansion under new GM - The coming of a new year brings new goals, desires and expectations, and things are no different at Chinook Winds Casino Resort, where new General Manager Mike Fisher has announced plans for a new generation of success.

Siletz: Tribe Appoints Mike Fisher as General Manager at Chinook Winds Casino Resort - Delores Pigsley, Siletz Tribal Chairman, announced the appointment of Mike Fisher as General Manager of Chinook Winds Casino Resort. Fisher has served as Interim General Manager since February of 2012, and previously served starting in 1993 on the start-up Ad-Hoc Gaming Committee.

Siletz: Tribe Surpasses $10.1 Million in Overall Giving - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $114,230.35 to 39 organizations on Nov. 2 as it continued its quarterly donations to non-profit organizations. The checks were presented at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, Ore.

Siletz: Powwow draws former Governor, large crowd to Lincoln City - If you attended the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians annual Restoration Powwow at Chinook Winds Casino Resort Nov. 17 you may not have recognized former Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh. He was one of special guests that marched in the opening ceremonies of the event.

Siletz: Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund Donates $5,000 For Child ID Kits - The Oregon State Police (OSP) Missing Children’s Clearinghouse received a $5,000 grant from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund to purchase Child ID Kits which are useful to police in the event a child becomes missing.

Siletz: Caroline Louise Easter - Caroline Louise Easter, 61, of Siletz, Ore., died Oct. 25, 2012 in Corvallis, Ore. She was born July 1, 1951 to Walter Jake and Esther Delores (Bell) Easter in Toledo, Ore. Caroline was a graduate of Springfield Senior High School and later graduated from the A Arts Beauty College. She was a beautician for 15 years and then worked for 12 years for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, retiring in 2009.

Siletz: Three local nonprofits get grants - Three mid-valley nonprofits are among the 39 recipients of $114,230.35 given by the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund. The checks were presented Nov. 2 at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City. The Siletz Tribe has made contributions through employment, monetary donations and cooperative measures to the Siletz community, Lincoln County and the state of Oregon. The seven-member charitable fund advisory board has distributed more than $7.8 million since its inception in 2001.

Grand Ronde-Siletz: Donald Gene Hudson - Donald Gene Hudson, 65, of Siletz, Ore., died of cancer on Oct. 7, 2012. Don was a member of the Grand Ronde and Siletz tribes. He was dedicated to the service of Native American people and worked as a program developer to assist other Native Americans in finding employment and developing job skills. He was a member of several Native American honor guards, NIVA (Northwest Indian Veterans Association), and Siletz VFW.

Siletz: All the dots have been connected - The location of the Battle of Hungry Hill, the largest clash in the Rogue River Indian Wars of 1855-56, has been discovered after being lost in the dust of time for more than a century. The site was located this month by a team led by Mark Tveskov, director of Southern Oregon University's Laboratory of Anthropology in Ashland. The site is important because it will undoubtedly shed light on the short-lived war, he said. No detailed, contemporary firsthand account about the battle by an Army officer had ever been found. Until Robert Kentta, historian and member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, discovered a front-page article in the New York Herald that was dated Nov. 12, 1855, from Crescent City, Calif., that provided precise information that only an Army officer who was in the battle would have known, Tveskov said.

Siletz: Community raising funds to support its ‘grandmother’ - On Tuesday, Agnes Baker Pilgrim will turn 88. Grandma Aggie, as many know her, is the oldest living descendant of the Takelma people and serves as an American Indian spiritual elder and indigenous stateswoman. She has been written about or videotaped for countless local stories. But while she might be widely known in the region, few know that she struggles to pay her rent and bills each month.

Siletz: Run to the Rogue relay recalls Tribes' 'trail of tears' in Oregon - The winter of 1856 and the forced relocation of thousands of Native people remains a bitter piece of history for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. But it's a piece they want to remember. About 100 runners and walkers will commemorate the infamous move in the 234-mile, three-day Run to the Rogue relay that starts Thursday.

Siletz: Nesika Illahee Powwow highlights tradition - Since the 1960s, many tribal nations have participated in the annual Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow in Siletz. This Friday through Sunday, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians continues the tradition. “It’s a chance to become familiar with the Siletz Tribe and its traditions. It’s an opportunity to learn about how and why the tribe does things,” said Diane Rodriquez, public information officer for the Siletz Tribes. “The powwow is a tradition for the Siletz people and other American Indians.”

Siletz: Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction - Local native languages teeter on the brink of oblivion all over the world as the big linguistic sweepstakes winners like English, Spanish or Mandarin ride a surging wave of global communications. But the forces that are helping to flatten the landscape are also creating new ways to save its hidden, cloistered corners, as in the unlikely survival of Siletz Dee-ni. An American Indian language with only about five speakers left — once dominant in this part of the West, then relegated to near extinction — has, since earlier this year, been shouting back to the world: Hey, we’re talking. (In Siletz that would be naa-ch’aa-ghit-’a.)

Grand Ronde-Siletz: County backs Grand Ronde in tribal dispute - The Siletz sought support for taking land into trust anywhere in the long-dissolved Coast Reservation, established in 1855 for all of Western Oregon's tribes. That would open up 1.1 million acres in six counties -- Tillamook, Lincoln, Yamhill, Lane and Douglas. However, the Grand Ronde Tribe also lays claim to former Coast Reservation lands, as does the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Tribe. The Grand Ronde deliberately omitted the contested lands from their bill, recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, and felt the Siletz should have done the same with its legislation, being carried by U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader. Comment: Let's not forget that the Grand Ronde leaders are also trying to claim all of the Cowlitz and Chinook territory in south west Washington State, too.

Siletz: Tribe donates funds in Waldport - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $126,729 to 48 organizations on May 4 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit organizations. The checks were presented at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City.

Siletz: County Receives Grant from Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund for 7th Annual “Striking Out Meth in Marion County” - A grant award of $1,000 from the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund was presented to Marion County for the 7th annual “Striking Out Meth in Marion County.” The grant will support a drug abuse prevention event centered on a professional baseball game set for Friday, August 10, at Volcanoes Stadium.

Siletz: Indians may get the axe - In the wake of the ongoing controversy surrounding schools’ using Native American symbols and names, the Scappoose City Council is looking for guidance from both the school district and area residents. The subject first surfaced six years ago when Che Butler, a Siletz Tribal member and then senior at Taft High School, was angered by a halftime show where a bare-chested American Indian boy was depicted with a target painted on his skin. Butler has since then testified several times before the board of education calling for an end to using Native American mascots.

Siletz: Digital Technologies Give Dying Languages New Life - Members of the Native American Siletz tribe in Oregon say their native language, also called "Siletz," "is as old as time itself." But today, you can count the number of fluent speakers on one hand. Siletz Tribal Council Vice Chairman Bud Lane is one of them. The tribal council was determined not to let that happen, so Lane brought in help from outside. He worked with a group of National Geographic Fellows to record 14,000 words and phrases in his native tongue. The word translations are now available online, along with lesson plans, as part of a so-called talking dictionary hosted by Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Siletz: Secrets of a Tribal Energy Auditor - On a tiny, rural reservation 10 miles east of Newport, Oregon, Fawn Metcalf gets to work. Adorned in pink overalls and polka-dotted work boots, Metcalf prepares to crawl under the home of a family in Siletz. Metcalf is focused on her goal of helping modest-income families save money and stay healthy and dry.

Siletz Tribe distributes grant funds - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $114,911.28 to 49 organizations on Feb. 3 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit organizations. The checks were presented at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City.

Siletz: Community Helpers donations as of Feb. 19, 2012 - The Siletz Tribe awarded $114,911 in grants this month. The larger donations include: Food Share of Lincoln County, $15,000; Olalla Center for Children and Families, $5,470; and Canyon Gleaners, Fair Share Gleaners, Lebanon Gleaners and Mid-Valley Gleaners, $5,000 each.

Siletz: 'Talking dictionaries' document vanishing languages - Digital technology is coming to the rescue of some of the world's most endangered languages. Linguists from National Geographic's Enduring Voices project who are racing to document and revitalize struggling languages are unveiling an effective new tool: talking dictionaries. The talking dictionaries are produced by National Geographic's Enduring Voices project and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. Other support for the efforts has come from Swarthmore College, the National Science Foundation, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and National Geographic's Genographic Legacy Fund.

Siletz: Three Re-Elected To Tribal Council - Reginald Butler Sr., Sharon Edenfield and Jessie Davis were re-elected to the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in elections held Saturday February 4th.

Siletz: Sister Francella Mary Griggs, tribal elder and longtime teacher, dies at 91 - Sister Francella Mary Griggs, the Siletz tribal elder who petitioned lawmakers to restore the Western Oregon tribe's federal recognition, has died. She was 91. The longtime teacher worked throughout the 1970s to help the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians regain its federal status, a symbol that guaranteed health services and social programs for the tribe's members, which now number 4,500.

Siletz: Richards steps down as Chinook Winds manager - The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians announced Dec. 28 that Sar Richards is stepping down as general manager of Chinook Winds Casino Resort, after discussions with the Siletz Tribal Council. He will remain with Chinook Winds as director of operations. Richards, 43, said he has experienced personal loss during the past 18 months and wants to spend more time with his family.

Grand Ronde-Siletz: The long fight for 'our country' - Part 1 - The slaughter of Indians at Little Butte Creek in October 1855 launched the nine-month Rogue River Indian Wars.

Grand Ronde-Siletz: Speaking out for American Indians - Part 2 - John Beeson risks his life to speak out against violence toward Indians: Beeson spoke out against the poor treatment of Indians by his fellow settlers after he and his wife, Ann, and their son Welborn arrived in Talent in 1853.

Siletz: Robert Dodd, 81, died Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 - He was an Honored Elder in the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, having descended from the Chetco Tribe.

Siletz: Praying all ways

Siletz: Tribe tops $9 mil in giving

Siletz: Breakthrough in police talks between Siletz Tribes and Toledo?

Siletz: Crow’s Shadow using grants for art workshops

Grand Ronde-Siletz: City pays tribes for tax overpayment

Siletz: Eugene area honors Veterans Day "vets" with lots of love and respect

Siletz: Pigsley receives Indigenous Leadership Award

Siletz: Tribal grant will buy defibrillators for shelter

Siletz: Schools to recognize Native American Heritage Month

Siletz: Willamette Women: Our History is Our Strength

Siletz: Indigenous Leadership Awards from Ecotrust honors Delores Pigsley

Siletz: November is Native American Heritage Month in Oregon Coast Town