[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SILETZ TRIBE

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                        HON. MICHAEL J. KOPETSKI

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 23, 1994

  Mr. KOPETSKI. Mr. Speaker, the Siletz tribe in the State of Oregon 
was terminated by the United States in 1954. When the tribe was 
reinstated in 1977, it was given 3,600 acres of land on which to 
sustain itself. Today, the tribe has 3,800 acres of land. 
Unfortunately, the land given to the tribe is almost all timberland 
which has been held unproductive by the court system and inaction by 
the Federal Government.
  I am introducing legislation today that gives the remaining Bureau of 
Land Management timberland in Lincoln County, OR to the Siletz tribe. 
This will bring the tribe's land base up to 14,000 acres. The remaining 
BLM timberland in Lincoln County is fragmented and scattered, which 
presents management difficulties for the Bureau. The tribe has 
requested this land as a way to gain revenues and a land base that are 
essential to the tribe's effort of obtaining self-sufficiency. The 
future productivity of the land is not known at this time. However, the 
Siletz have agreed to abide by any management decisions made by the 
courts and the Federal Government. This legislation relieves the BLM of 
their management difficulties while providing important revenue 
opportunities to the Siletz.
  Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government has granted the Siletz tribe their 
independence without giving them the economic opportunities essential 
to self-governance. This legislation takes a step in the right 
direction by providing the Siletz with those economic opportunities.

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