Siletz Tribe celebrates restoration of federal recognition

Friday, November 16, 2018  

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are inviting the public to their 41st annual Restoration Pow-Wow on Saturday.

The event takes place at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon. It celebrates the restoration of the tribe's government-to-government relationship with the United States.

"In November 1977, after years of intense lobbying, Congress and President Jimmy Carter approved Public Law 95-195, which reinstated recognition of the Siletz as a federal Indian tribe," a statement from the tribe read. "The Siletz Tribe was the second in the nation – and the first in Oregon – to achieve restoration."

The tribe was one of the many victims of the termination era. The disastrous policy resulted in the loss of the tribe's federal recognition and its land base in the 1950s.

But thanks to restoration of its status, the tribe has rebounded and provides health care, housing, cultural and other services to more than 5,300 citizens. With businesses ranging from the casino to a recreational vehicle resort, the tribe is now the largest employer in Lincoln County.

And the tribe has since reacquired about 15,000 acres of its ancestral territory. A bill signed into law in 2016 makes it easier for the tribe to rebuild its reservation.

Grand entry at the Restoration Pow-Wow is at 6pm on Saturday.