LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — The rhythmic drumming pulsated through the air, causing the floor of the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City to vibrate while the harmonious singing resonated within the walls of the conference room. Hundreds of participants, adorned in striking tribal regalia, moved gracefully in a vibrant circle, embodying the spirit of community and celebration.
Celebrated annually for the past 47 years, the powwow organized by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians serves as a poignant reminder of their journey towards regaining federal recognition. This year’s gathering held particular significance, arriving just two weeks after a federal court finally lifted long-standing restrictions on the tribe’s rights to hunt, fish, and gather—rights that tribal leaders had fervently opposed for decades.
“We’re back to the way we were before,” expressed Siletz Chairman Delores Pigsley with palpable emotion. “It feels really good.”
The Siletz represent a diverse confederation of over two dozen bands and tribes whose ancestral territories stretched across western Oregon and into parts of northern California and southwestern Washington state. The federal government’s imposition in the 1850s forced them onto a reserved area along the Oregon coast, where they were unified under a single, federally recognized tribe, despite their rich and varied cultural backgrounds and languages.
During the troubling era of the 1950s and ‘60s, Congress enacted a policy known as “termination,” which resulted in the revocation of recognition for more than 100 tribes, including the Siletz. The consequences were deeply felt, as these tribes lost vast expanses of land, federal funding, and crucial services.
“The goal was to try and assimilate Native people, get them moved into cities,” stated Matthew Campbell, deputy director of the Native American Rights Fund. “But also I think there was certainly a financial aspect to it. I think the United States was trying to see how it could limit its costs in terms of providing for tribal nations.”
Losing their lands and self-governance was a painful chapter in the tribe’s history, leading the Siletz to engage in a decades-long struggle just to regain their federal recognition. In a landmark moment in 1977, the Siletz became the second tribe to successfully achieve this milestone, following the restoration of the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin in 1973.
However, to recover a mere fraction of their ancestral land—approximately 3,600 acres (1,457 hectares) out of the original 1.1 million acres (445,000 hectares) set aside for the tribe in the 1855 reservation—the Siletz tribe was forced to accept a federal court order that imposed restrictions on their hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. They were uniquely among just two tribes nationally, along with Oregon’s Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, required to make such sacrifices in order to reclaim tribal land.
The previously established settlement severely limited where tribal members could engage in fishing, hunting, and gathering for ceremonial and subsistence purposes, enforcing harsh caps on the number of salmon, elk, and deer that could be harvested annually. This period was marked by hardship, as Pigsley poignantly recalled: The tribe found itself unable to provide for its own salmon needs for ceremonies, often compelled to buy fish instead, and members faced arrests for violations regarding hunting and fishing.
“Giving up those rights was a terrible thing,” lamented Pigsley, who has been at the helm of the tribe for 36 years. “It was unfair at the time, and we’ve lived with it all these years.”
After decades of struggle, both Oregon state officials and the U.S. government eventually recognized that the prior agreement subjecting the tribe to restrictive state hunting and fishing rules was inherently biased. Their acknowledgment led to a joint recommendation to the court to lift the restrictions.
“The Governor of Oregon and Oregon’s congressional representatives have since acknowledged that the 1980 Agreement and Consent Decree were a product of their times and represented a biased and distorted position on tribal sovereignty,” noted attorneys in a joint court filing.
In a monumental victory for the tribe, a federal judge granted approval for the lifting of the constraints late last month. An additional agreement with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has further empowered the tribe, affording them a more significant role in regulating their hunting and fishing practices.
Pigsley reflected on the legacy and memory of those who passed before experiencing the restoration of rights. She expressed optimism for the next generation, emphasizing the importance of passing down essential tribal traditions. “There’s a lot of youth out there that are learning tribal ways and culture,” she said. “It’s important today because we are trying to raise healthy families, meaning we need to get back to our natural foods.”
Among those participating in the powwow were Tiffany Stuart and her three-year-old daughter, Kwestaani Chuski, wearing traditional ancestral garments. Stuart expressed that the restoration of rights made this celebration incredibly powerful for her children. “You dance for the people that can’t dance anymore,” she remarked, reflecting the deep cultural significance resonating throughout the event.