Siletz Reservation Act Amendment

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 2839, which would amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

The Siletz Tribe should be able to freely hunt, fish, and gather on their ancestral lands, just like every other Tribe in Oregon, except one, and in this country.

Today, the Siletz have over 5,000 enrolled members, and they are concentrated in Oregon's Fourth Congressional District, which I am honored to represent.

The Siletz Tribe was stripped of its land and status in 1954 through the Western Oregon Termination Act.

In 1980, the Siletz Tribe was forced to give up their rights to hunting and fishing on Tribal lands in order to have their reservation restored. This restriction is called a consent decree. It is an unjust and racist policy that should have never happened, and it needs to be changed immediately.

This is a bipartisan bill, and I thank my colleagues for their support. It provides the legal ability for the Siletz Tribe to renegotiate a hunting and fishing agreement with the State of Oregon.

While the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission recently approved a historic new hunting and fishing agreement with the Siletz Tribe, the State can choose or be forced by litigation to return to the previous unconscionable agreement at any time. That is why this bill is greatly needed.

The bill is necessary to invalidate the consent decree, and it does not impact the treaty rights of any other Tribe.

The Siletz Tribe has worked in good faith with other Tribes in the region to avoid contested areas, which is reflected in my bill. There was a lot of hard work that went into making this happen and making this right.

I am proud that H.R. 2839 passed out of committee with strong bipartisan support. In fact, it was unanimous. That is pretty strong bipartisan support.

I thank my colleagues in the Oregon delegation for their support of this bipartisan bill. I particularly thank Senator Merkley, who has a companion bill in the Senate and who has worked tirelessly to right this historic wrong.

The Siletz is one of only two Tribes in the entire country that was forced to give up their sovereign rights in order to have Federal status renewed. The other Tribe is the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. I support similar legislation to allow them to renegotiate fishing and hunting rights with the State of Oregon, as well. I hope to see this legislation move forward.

H.R. 2839 is about fairness. Siletz members should be able to hunt, fish, trap, and gather on their ancestral lands as they have traditionally done. They should be treated as other Tribes are.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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