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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2006)
Spilyay Tym SCA O r C o ll 75 _S68 v. 3 1 no. 8 A p r il li Coyote News, est. 1976 A pril 13, 2 0 0 6 \A /~ . P.O. Box 870 ings, OR 97761 University of Oregon Library Received on: 04-20-06 ECRW SS Postal Patron Spilyay tymoo. Voi. 31, N o .8 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents 2006 G am ing U pdate Casino discussion at state, federal levels The U.S. Senate and the House are considering bills that would amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) o f 1988. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif. Both the McCain and Pombo bills propose eliminating o f the “two-part determination test” of the Indian Gam ing Regulatory Act of 1988. The two-part test allows the Secre tary o f the Interior to approve trust status to off-reservation land acquired by Indian tribes in recent years for gam ing purposes. T he test determ ines whether granting trust status would benefit the tribe without detriment to the surrounding community. In pursuing the Cascade Locks ca sino plan, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been following the two-part test. The McCain bill includes language, or a “grandfather clause,” that would allow the Cascade Locks pro posal to go forward, as the tribes have already expended much time, effort and money on the project. At a recent hearing on the Pombo bill, Rep. Pombo and several other House committee members also ap peared to be sympathetic to the tribes’ situation, said Howard Arnett, tribal at torney. From statements made at the hearing, it would be reasonable to as sume that the Pombo bill would be am ended to include a grandfath er clause like that of the McCain Bill, said Arnett. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Corey Poafpybitty uses her kupn to dig roots. She and seven other young people w ent on the root gathering field trip last w eek with the O S U Extension 4-H program. Chaperons for the event w ere Minnie Tulalakus, Arlene Boileau, with help from Char Herkshan and N adene Moody. Parents who attended were Joanie W allulatum and her husband, and Corbet Tom. History exhibit arriving soon at museum The Corps of Discovery II history exhibition w ill be at the Museum at Warm Springs starting Saturday, April 22, through Wednesday, April 26. The exhibition features history of the region from the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which happened 200 years ago. The central feature o f Corps of D iscovery II is the “Tent o f M any Voices.” This 150-seat auditorium is a venue for cultural arts demonstrations, folk lore, music, living history presentations, readings from the expedition journals and more. Programs reflect a spectrum of na ture, culture and history topics. The Indian tribes that the Lewis and Clark encountered are featured. In addition to the walk-through ex hibit, Corps of Discovery II has a 25- foot keelboat replica, a 16-foot diam eter Plains Indian lodge and an explorer camp complete with a 25-foot dugout canoe. Local residents will give presenta tions during the five days that Corps II is in Warm Springs. Invited to speak from the local community are the fol low ing people: Pat Courtney Gold, Louie Pitt, T erry Courtney Jr., the Warm Springs 4-H Dancers, George Aguilar, Liz Woody, Arlita Rhoan, Suzie Slockish, Adeline Miller, Roberta Kirk, Fred Wallulatum, Wilson Wewa, Chief Delvis Heath, and Viola Kalama. The exhibition will be in the parking lot o f the Museum at Warm Springs. After April 26 the exhibition will travel to Umatilla. Recording artist performs at youth conference Spring Break is usually a time for kids to enjoy their week-long vaca tion from school, either by getting out o f town or taking a warm spot on the couch. But for several youth from Warm Springs, the week was the perfect op portunity to spend with friends and talk about the issues that affect them. “A New Beginning,” a youth con ference featuring speakers, enter tainment, and activities was March 29-30. The conference included workshops led by several youth-ori ented service workers from Warm Springs. There were also a number o f college representatives from the Northwest, available to provide in formation for those interested in go ing to college. Native American recording artist Jana, of the Lurnbee Tribe of North Carolina, performed a brief set the first day o f the conference. She talked about how she had been the only Native American student at her school, and had felt “left out.” “But I believed in myself,” she said. “If I could advise you on one thing, it would be to believe in yourself.” Recording for the Radikal record Brian Mortensen/Spilyay Jana performs at the W arm Springs Community Center. label, Jana scored a dance music hit on the B illboard charts with her song “More Than Life” in 2001, making her the first female Native American artist to score a Billboard chart hit. She said her record label wanted her to be the next Jennifer Lopez. “There was only one problem,” she said. “I’m not Hispanic.” She told the group that “every one has a special talent,” and asked members of the audience what theirs are. There were answers including “basketball,” “guitar,” and “grass dancing.” She emphasized the importance of education, and said she had set aside money for “AAA,” which stands for athletics, artistic ability, and academ ics for Native American students who would like to go to college. She sang three songs, including two popular hits, “I W ill Always Love You,” ‘You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.” Thursday’s portion of the con ference included talks from Jillene Joseph, the executive director o f the Native Wellness Institute, a member of the Gros Ventre Tribe o f Fort Belknap, Mont. A group o f dancers from the Chemawa Indian School from Sa lem also performed during the first day of the conference. — — B y B ria n M o rte n se n x w iz m s fim Political debate The Cascade Locks casino proposal was the topic of discussion during a recent debate among candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor of Oregon. Gov. Kulongoski, considered the fa vorite to win the nomination, has sup ported the Warm Springs tribes’ eco nomic development plans, including the Cascade Locks casino. During the recent debate, a chal lenger to the nomination, former state treasurer Jim Hill, criticized Kulongoski for his support of the Cascade Locks proposal. Kulongoski defended his de cision, reminding his opponent that the tribes had been prepared to build on tribal land in the scenic tourist town of H ood River, and w ould have been within their rights to do so. TV ad campaign Meanwhile, the Confederated Tribes o f the G rande Ronde — owner o f Oregon’s largest casino, Spirit Moun tain - has launched TV ads blasting Gov. Kulongoski for endorsing a com peting casino, the Bridge o f the Gods at Cascade Locks. The ads mark the most concerted effort ever made by one of Oregon’s tribes to influence the outcome o f a statewide political race. W arm Springs gam ing enterprise representatives say the latest Grand Ronde ads are significant because they take aim at the incumbent governor for going against the wishes o f the Grande Ronde tribe in approving the compet ing Cascade Locks casino. “This is the politics o f punishment,” said Len Bergstein, o f the tribes’ gam ing enterprise. “Never before have they set out with the sole purpose in mind to punish a policymaker who had the audacity to oppose them.” (The A ssociated P ress contributed to this article.) IHS says meth use is at crisis point on reservations (AP) — Methamphetamine use in Indian Country has reached crisis levels, an Indian Health Service official told a congressional panel last week. An administration survey found that 1.7 percent o f the American Indian population was using meth in 2004, said Robert McSwain, deputy director o f the agency. Meth use has steadily grown since 2000, he said. “It is a crisis for individuals, families, communities, agencies, and govern ments across the country,” McSwain told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Kathleen Kitcheyan, chairwoman o f Arizona’s San Carlos Apache tribe, broke into tears as she described her tribe’s high suicide rate and babies born addicted to drugs — much of that due to high meth use on the reservation. About half o f babies born on her reservation test positive for alcohol or drugs, she said, and about a quarter o f patients tested in the tribal hospital’s emergency room have meth in their systems. “For too long, this problem has been neglected,” she said. “We have the great spirit of our ancestors in us, but I am afraid the spirit of our ancestors will die.” Tribal and government officials at the hearing said the reasons for escalating meth problems on reservations are many — long distances to treatment centers, poverty, boredom and high rates o f alcoholism. They also said it is hard for law enforcement to penetrate reservations because many people know each other and are often suspicious of undercover agents. Witnesses argued that agencies need to be better coordinated to deal with the problems, Congress needs to authorize more substance abuse dollars for Indian Country and reservations need to step up efforts to educate tribal members about the meth problem. “My great fear is that we don’t have nearly enough resources dedicated to this,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the top Democrat on the committee. Dorgan said treatment should be prioritized along with enforcement. Karrie Azure, a coordinator for a North Dakota Indian drug and alcohol initiative, said at the hearing that only about 3 percent of addicts in her state recover from the drug because treatment does not last long enough. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said recovery is difficult because treatment centers are scarce. “We’ve seen greater attention paid to meth, but the resources available to Indian Country have been limited, and the nationwide approach has been less than cohesive,” Burns said. “This fractured approach and lack o f resources has a direct effect on the rapid spread of meth throughout our Indian reservations.” Burns and Dorgan are the chairman and top Democrat, respectively, on the Senate Appropriations interior subcommittee, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Both said Wednesday that they have introduced legislation to help bring more dollars to reservations for meth prevention.