Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 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.…”