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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2011)
SCfì O r C o l1 E 75 . S68 V. 36 n o . 18 S e p te m b e r Spi lygy Tym 7, 2011 September 7, 2011 oyote News, est. 1976 Voi. 36, No. 18 War o- Acquisition DepUSer,a's Kn\ght Librata f0regon 1299 Un^ 7403-1205 Eugene OR y ' u.ö. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Septem ber- Wanaq’i - Summer - Shatm Fires mostly contained at 107,000 acres By Dave McMechan S pilyay Tymoo Close to 2,400 fire personnel have been on the reservation over the past two weeks, battling range and wild land blazes that burned across more 107,000 acres. At times the flames approached very close to homes, but only one structure, a shed, was lost. More than 300 homes were threatened at different times. Some rural hom es, such as in the Sidwalter and Schoolie flat areas, came close to catastrophe. Defensible space around the homes, and the effort o f the fire crews, are credited with saving the structures, said Dan Martinez, chief of Warm Springs Fire and Safety. Martinez commended all the fire crews who helped, as well as the com munity, which showed great support for the responders. Most of the response teams have arrived from the Northwest region. Protecting the Sidwalter area, for in stan ce, w ere crew s from M arion County. “We’ve met so many great people,” said Woodburn Fire Chief Paul Iverson, whose crew came over with two sup port engines. “We’ve enjoyed being here.” The work was difficult, with teams Fire crew works an area of Sidwalter Flat. working in shifts around the clock. Many slept in tents at the industrial park by the Fire Management build ing. Others stayed near the elementary school, and some at the newly-built Sidwalter Fire Hall. The series o f fires, collectively named the High Cascade Complex, consisted of four main blazes: the West H ills fire, the R azorback fire, the Powerline fire, and the Seekseequa fire. A more recent blaze, the Badger Butte fire, was the most active on the reservation as of earlier this week. The West Hills fire, now 90 percent contained, burned just west of Warm Springs. The Razorback was in the Mutton Mountain area. The Powerline fire was in the Sidwalter-Schoolie flats. And the Seekseequa was in a southerly of the reservation. They started during a lightning storm that passed over the area on the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 24. The four main blazes on the res ervation were among dozens of lightning-caused fires that broke out that night in south and central Oregon. See FIRES on page 7 Dave McMechan/Spilyay Students and parents line up for school supplies at the annual Back to School BBQ. Museum call to artists L Deadline for Cobell claims is Sept. 16 www.IndianTrust.com T h i s Wednesday, Sept. 7 is the first day of school for students at Warm Springs Elementary, and for sixth- g rad ers and new stud en ts at Jefferson County Middle School. Ninth-graders and new students are also starting Sept. 7 at Madras High School. The rest of the students— sev enth- and eighth-graders at the middle school, and tenth- through twelfth-graders at the high s c h o o l- start on Thursday, Sept. 8. The Museum at Warm Springs will present the Eighteenth Annual Warm Springs Tribal Member Art Exhibit this fall. T h e m u seu m in v ite s W arm Springs tribal member artists, age 18 and older, to submit their art work. Works can range from contem porary to traditional, and can include paintings, photography, basketry and regalia, among other categories. This year there will be two top prizes for the Judges Choice Award, one for contemporary and one tra ditional. 50 cents An important deadline is approach ing the C obell vs. Salazar class action lawsuit. All individuals who believe they are entitled to participate in the settle ment— as a member of the trust ad ministration class, and who are required under the term s o f the settlem ent agreement to submit a claim form— must do so by mailing a properly com- * pleted and signed form to the claims administrator postmarked no later than Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. The setdement website contains all of the important information about the case and how to participate. Go to: Students back to school this week School supplies picnic Backpacks and school supplies were given to over 600 students at the Annual Back To School Barbe cue held last Thursday. Over 850 people gathered to m eet their teachers and enjoy a meal. For a special treat 500 ears of corn were donated to the feast by the Community Garden. E ven a few n ig h t-sh ift fire crews were able to join the party to fill up before they went to start their shift. DJ K-9 announced them and the crowd roared with applause and thanks for all their work. P.O. Box 870 Art applications are available at the museum. Additional guidelines apply. Artists who wish for their items to be judged for prizes must submit art on or before 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23. All other art can be sub mitted before Friday, Oct. 7. An opening reception and awards ceremony will take place with an evening reception on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 5:30—7:30, in the museums lobby. Please contact Natalie Moody during regular business hours for ad ditional information, 541-553-3331 ext. 412. Council looking at 2012 budgets The Tribal Council agenda for Sep tember includes a number days dedi cated to the 2012 tribal budget. Budget reviews and presentations are scheduled for Thursday and Fri day o f this week, Sept. 8 and 9, all day. Presenters will be secretary-trea surer Jo dy Calica, and treasury con troller Brandie McNamee. Tribal Council is scheduled to con tinue the 2012 budget discussion on Monday and Tuesday of next week, Sept. 12 and 13, all day. A budget posting date has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 27, ac cording to the recent Council agenda. O ther Tribal Council agenda items for September include: The Sidwalter Grazing Group; Oregon Health Sciences University w ith Dr. W illiam M artin ; and Verizon, with tribal planner Lonny Macy (this Wednesday, Sept. 7). Bridge of the Gods discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Biomass discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The Fifty-Eighth Annual Confer ence o f the A ffiliated Tribes o f Northwest Indians (ATNI) is Sun- day-Thursday, Sept. 18-22 at Tulalip, Wash. Also, if you have questions, call toll- free 1-800-961-6109; or email: Info@IndianTrust.com The settlement The C ob ell settlement agreement creates two classes of Indians eligible to receive settlement money: • The Historic Accounting Class are Indians alive on September 30, 2009, who had at least one transaction in an open IIM Account between October 25, 1994 and September 30, 2009. •The Trust Administration Class are individual Indian beneficiaries alive on September 30, 2009, who have or had IIM Accounts dating from approxi mately 1985, as well as individual Indi ans who as of September 30,2009, had a recorded or demonstrable interest in land held in trust or restricted status. The settlement does not include ben eficiaries deceased as of September 30, 2009. Other eligibility conditions and exemptions for each class are detailed in the agreement. Historical Accounting Class Mem bers will each get $1,000. Trust Administration Class Mem bers will get at least $500. If you own a small parcel of land with many other people, the federal government may ask you to sell it. You will be offered fair market value. If you sell your land it will be returned to tribal control. At least several hundred W arm Springs tribal members, and many have filed their claims. The settlement provides: • A $1.5 billion fund to pay those included in the classes. • A $1.9 billion fund to buy small interests in trust or restricted land owned by many people. • Up to $60 million to fund scholar ships to improve access to higher edu cation for Indian youth. • A government commitment to re form the Indian trust management and accounting system. Long running lawsuit The 15-year legal battle started back in June o f 1996, when Elouise Cobell, a m ember o f the Blackfeet Tribe of M ontana, filed a class ac tion case that included m ore than 300,000 tribal m embers with Indi vidual Indian Money accounts, IIMs, at the time. This $3.4 billion settlem ent is be lieved to be the largest ever against the federal governm ent and dwarfs the combined value of all judgments University 0/ n l T"dian CaSeS " * ? * « < » oyn S p il^V t y n o a L ib r a r y 3 11