You Won’t See This in the Siletz News, Either!

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1. I found a document on the web. It’s been there since April 2018, freely accessible to the public for years. It was written in March 2018 by Siletz tribal attorney Craig Dorsay. It explains what you’re talking about in your letter.
   https://penzu.com/p/9c10250df12ec520

   MEMORANDUM

   TO: Siletz Tribal Council
   Angela Ramirez, Enrollment Clerk
   Brenda Bremner, General Manager
   Lea Ann Easton, Tribal Attorney

   FROM: Craig J. Dorsay, Tribal Attorney

   SUBJECT: Enrollment: Compilation of Federal Rolls and Records Documenting Siletz Blood
   Quantum for Purposes of Enrollment

   DATE: March 15, 2018

   Recent events involving the eligibility for Siletz membership of Dick Basch and other
   members of the Clatsop-Nehalem group that has legislatively been seeking federal recognition
   has highlighted the need to implement a Section of the Enrollment Ordinance that was amended
   in 2016, regarding the compilation of rolls and records that can be used by the Enrollment
   Committee to determine the eligibility of persons to be enrolled as Siletz members.

   The Siletz Tribe in recent years has been confronted with efforts by a number of groups
   seeking independent federal recognition as a tribe or band that is part of the Siletz tribal
   confederation as defined in the Siletz Geographic Areas of Tribal Interest Ordinance. The Siletz
   Tribe is the (or a) legal successor in interest to those named tribes and bands of Indians. When
   these groups are told that the bands or tribes in question are already part of the Siletz Tribe, their
   response normally is that they are not eligible to be enrolled in the Siletz Tribe because their
   ancestors are not named on any federal roll or record of Siletz members, and/or that they have
   applied for Siletz membership and been denied.

   This situation places the Siletz Tribe in a difficult situation. The Siletz Tribe opposes
   recognition of these splinter groups because the tribes and bands they claim to be descended
   from are already part of the Siletz Tribe. But representatives of these groups respond that they
   are not eligible for enrollment in the Siletz Tribe. This makes it difficult to oppose independent
   federal recognition of these various groups if they can’t be part of the Siletz Tribe. We have
   talked about this extensively; if the Siletz Tribe claims to be the legal successor to these
   historical bands and tribes, it needs to entertain the eligibility of descendants of these tribes and
   bands (assuming blood quantum is met) for membership in the Siletz Tribe. Otherwise the
   attempts of these groups to obtain federal recognition will continue, and at some point may be

   Page 2
   successful. At that point, as we know from current issues with Smith River/Tolowa and the
   Ruffey group, the Tribe will have to deal with claims by the newly recognized tribe to assume
   complete successorship of the historical tribes and bands, and to move into Siletz territory.
   The issue has been what rolls and records the Siletz Enrollment Committee can rely upon
   in reviewing and recommending applicants for membership to the Tribal Council for approval.
   The Enrollment Committee is constrained by the language of Article I, Section 1 of the Siletz
   Constitution, which states that Siletz blood quantum will be determined by “all Indian blood
   derived from a direct ancestor who was named on any roll or records of Siletz tribal members
   prepared by the Department of Interior prior to June 3, 1979.” Until 2016, the term “roll or
   records of Siletz tribal members” had been limited to federal rolls and records of the Siletz Tribe
   and members as settled on the Siletz Coast Reservation. This restriction omits federal rolls and
   records of members of Siletz tribes and bands who never made it to the Siletz Coast Reservation,
   or left the Reservation at some point.
   Tribal Council addressed this matter in 2016 in amendments to the Enrollment
   Ordinance. The intent of these changes was to interpret the Constitutional language quoted
   above to include federal rolls and records involving constituent tribes and bands of the Siletz
   Tribe or individual persons descended from those tribes and bands. The following changes were
   made:
   1. The definition of Indian blood was expanded to include “blood that is from a tribe or
   band of Indians that is part of the Siletz confederation, whether federally recognized or
   not.” STC §2.301(a)(2) n.3.
   2. Compilation of what specific federal rolls and records that would qualify for
   consideration by the Enrollment Committee was specifically addressed: “The Enrollment
   Committee, with the assistance of Enrollment staff, shall compile a list of all records and
   rolls that qualify as a ‘roll or record of Siletz tribal members prepared by the Department
   of the Interior prior to June 3, 1979.’ This list, as it may be amended from time to time,
   shall be approved by Resolution of the Tribal Council.” STC §2.301(a)(2)n.4.
   3. This second provision is repeated at STC §2.304(c)(1)(A), referring to consideration by
   the Enrollment Committee of rolls and records as compiled by the Enrollment Committee
   and approved by the Tribal Council as set forth in STC §2.301(a)(2) n.4.
   These provision have not yet been implemented. As a result, while the Siletz Tribe has
   encouraged members of these groups to apply for Siletz membership as opposed to seeking
   independent federal recognition, these persons have been denied a recommendation by the
   Enrollment Committee for membership in the Siletz Tribe because the rolls and records relied
   upon by these applicants are not currently considered as a federal Siletz roll or record by the
   Enrollment Committee. Until this provision is implemented, it will be difficult to prevent these
   Enrollment Rolls and Records
   Page 3
   groups from continuing to seek independent federal recognition because they cannot become
   members in the Siletz Tribe.
   I therefore recommend that this provision be implemented soon. I am obviously open to
   how the Council wants to proceed, but it seems to me that a first step would be a recommended
   list of additional rolls and records that the Enrollment Committee can use to determine
   membership eligibility, developed by Robert Kentta, Peter Hatch, the Enrollment staff, and the
   Enrollment Committee. The Tribal Council can then go over the list at its next Enrollment
   workshop, and then propose an official list at its next Council meeting. The list doesn’t have to
   be final; it can always be added to. The list should also include all the specific rolls and records
   that the Tribe and Enrollment Committee currently use to determine eligibility for enrollment.
   Let me know how you would like to proceed.

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