II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1286 

To amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, 

and animal gathering activities of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz 

Indians, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, 

fishing, trapping, and animal gathering activities of the 

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SILETZ RESERVATION ACT AMENDMENT. 

4 Section 4 of Public Law 96–340 (commonly known 

5 as the ‘‘Siletz Reservation Act’’) (94 Stat. 1074) is 

6 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, AND ANIMAL GATH2 ERING. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) CONSENT DECREE.—The term ‘Consent 

5 Decree’ means the final judgment and decree of the 

6 United States District Court for the District of Or7 egon, in the action entitled ‘Confederated Tribes of 

8 Siletz Indians of Oregon against State of Oregon’, 

9 entered on May 2, 1980. 

10 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

11 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

14 ‘‘(3) SILETZ AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Siletz 

15 Agreement’ means the agreement entitled ‘Agree16 ment Among the State of Oregon, the United States 

17 of America and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz 

18 Indians of Oregon to Permanently Define Tribal 

19 Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Gathering Rights 

20 of the Siletz Tribe and its Members’ and entered 

21 into by the United States on April 22, 1980. 

22 ‘‘(b) HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, AND ANIMAL

23 GATHERING AGREEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Siletz Agreement shall 

25 remain in effect until and unless replaced, amended, 

26 or otherwise modified by 1 or more successor govVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1286.IS S1286

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1 ernment-to-government agreements between the 

2 Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the State 

3 of Oregon relating to the hunting, fishing, trapping, 

4 and animal gathering rights of the Confederated 

5 Tribes of Siletz Indians. 

6 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS.—The Siletz Agreement or 

7 any successor agreement entered into under para8 graph (1) may be amended from time to time by 

9 mutual consent of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz 

10 Indians and the State of Oregon. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF NEW AGREEMENT OR

12 AMENDMENTS.—The Siletz Agreement or any suc13 cessor agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

14 shall not provide for exclusive or primary Siletz take 

15 opportunity outside the exterior boundaries of the 

16 1855 Executive Order Siletz Coast Reservation (as 

17 described in section 7(f)(1)(A) of the Siletz Tribe 

18 Indian Restoration Act (Public Law 95–195; 91 

19 Stat. 1418; 130 Stat. 1364)) relative to any other 

20 federally recognized Indian Tribe, and shall not pro21 vide for new or expanded take of fishery resources 

22 in the Columbia River or in the Willamette River 

23 from its mouth to the top of Willamette Falls. 

24 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—In any action brought in 

25 the United States District Court for the District of OrVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1286.IS S1286

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1 egon to rescind, overturn, modify, or provide relief under 

2 Federal law from the Consent Decree, the United States 

3 District Court for the District of Oregon shall review the 

4 application of the parties on the merits without regard to 

5 the defense of res judicata or collateral estoppel. 

6 ‘‘(d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section enlarges, con7 firms, adjudicates, affects, or modifies any treaty or other 

8 right of an Indian Tribe.’’. 

Æ 


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