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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2011)
SCfì O rC o ll Acquisition Dept./Serials Knight Library 1299 University of Oregon Eugene OR 97403-1205 75 Spilyay Tym oo , S68 V. no. 36 ¿ £6 December 28, 2011 f December 28, 2011 Voi. Coyote News, est. 1976 36, No. 26 Spilyay Tymoo Growing up and working on his grand- parents’ ranch in Eastern Oregon, where his first job was feeding the horses, Carlos Smith didn’t even have the opportunity to stay in a hotel. To day, he runs one. His grandparents, Wilbur and Louise Williams, taught Smith the value of hard work and instilled upon him the value that good work is rewarded with more than just a paycheck. “After I graduated from high school,” Carlos said recently, “I moved back to the reservation and lived with my grand mother, Faye, and my great-grand mother, Fannie Wahenekah. I started working at Kah-Nee-Ta in 1994.” The ranch taught Carlos to give his all. He had never worked in a hotel before in his life, but he wasn’t afraid 50 cents to give it a try. “I found that there was always an opportunity in the hotel industry, be cause you’re always going to have both unhappy guests and employees. I threw myself into any door that opened to me, whether it was being a bellman or washing dishes or working the front desk.” His hard work was soon noticed. “A non-tribal member who was hired on as the general manager started up the tribal member management trainee program,” Smith said. “He kept his eye open and several of us were chosen to participate. Scott Moses was one of them. We all know where he is today. Rusty Calica Carlos Smith is another one, and today he’s the head purchasing manager for the new industry. casino.” “He pretty much opened the door For three years, Carlos and the other five chosen were thrown into the duty for us,” Carlos says. “At the time that I of learning every aspect of the hotel was working for the tribe, I was also studying Computer Science. So it really taught me that if you’re will ing to work hard, they will call you in when someone doesn’t show. You’ll become the go-to guy.” After 12 years, in 2006, Carlos left Kah-Nee-Ta. “It was time to move on,” he said, “and my eyes were on the Portland market. I got a good job working for the D oubleTree. They’re the third largest hotel in the state. I worked with them for four years.” Carlos was then promoted to General Manager for the Hilton Garden Inn in Lake Oswego. “After a while, you really become used to the strict rules that they have on how to run a hotel. Everybody plays by the rules. Hilton knows how to run a profitable hotel.” See SMITH on page 6 Cardinals visit A large part of the Warm Springs community was on hand for the Louisville Cardinals vs. Port land Pilots women’s basketball game, Dec. 17. The tribes had 1,500 tickets that were given away to tribal member students-and-their families. The event, at the Chiles Center in Portland, featured a half-time 12- and-under game between the Sa cred Thunder team from Warm Springs vs. Nixaawii of Umatilla (see page 3). Another attraction was the Car- dinals-Pilots game, featuring Shoni and Jude Schimmel, who play for Louisville. The Schimmel sisters are Umatilla tribal members with family and many fans on the Warm Springs Reservation. Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay Shoni and Jude Schimmel at the Chiles Center in Portland. 2011 Year in Review Telco, casino, fires notable stories of 2011 By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo The year 2011 saw a milestone in the effort to bring migrating fish back to the rivers above the Pelton-Round Butte dams, when adult summer steel- head returned to the Pelton fish trap. These were the first fish to accomplish the feat as part of the réintroduction project. In Warm Springs, the year 2011 saw the resolution of Housing and Urban Development complaints about the Warm Springs Housing Authority. And the tribes successfully lobbied the Oregon Legislature to address the is sue of tribal police authority off the reservation. The Wasco people met several times regarding the Chieftainship vacancy. This question remains open as we be gin 2012. The StoryCorps history recording group visited Warm Springs during the summer of 2011; and the Warm Springs Library opened, among the many 2011 news events on reserva tion. Each December the Spilyay at tempts to list the significant events that \ - f • • U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 December - Nch’i-An - Winter - Yiyám Resort welcomes Smith as new GM By Duran Bobb P.0. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECRWSS Postal Patron Tribes approve eel plan By Duran Bobb Spilyay Tymoo The four Columbia River treaty tribes that make up the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission have ap proved a plan to halt the decline of lamprey and reestablish the eel popula tions. The four Columbia River treaty tribes are Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama, and Nez Perce. Eels, also known as asm in the Ichishkiin language, have been harvested as a traditional food by the Warm Springs tribes. The plan laid out by CRITFC seeks to improve passageways for lamprey, restore and protect habitat, and will reduce toxic contaminants and will help to aid in re-colonization of the eels throughout the basin. Some of the gathering places for eels, said atwai Emily Wahenekah in a previous interview, were Sherars Falls, Celilo Falls, and at Willamette Falls near Clackamas. “Willamette was at one time an Indian word,” the atwai said in her interview. “The White man couldn’t say Wilampt, that’s what we called it be fore. That meant Like Blue. In the language, lampt is blue.” Once the eels were harvested, atwai said, they were often brought back to He-He where families had certain ar eas along the river for soaking, clean ing and drying. “That’s one quality about drying,” Neda Wesley said. “Salmon have it, and eels have that same quality. If you bring it home to dry it just won’t come out the same way. You have to dry it by a river, because the water has a re lationship with our food.” Most of the eel was used, including the meat, which was hung to dry after soaking in the water. The oil was also gathered as the eel dried and was good for the hair. The skin was crisped by a fire. And the soft backbone of the eel, called shiyat, was dried and eaten. “The eel tails were given to the ba bies,” aturn Emily Wahenekah said. “It was like a pacifier. It would help them while they were teething, or just kept them busy.” Dried meats such as eels and fish were also used when people would go camping in the mountains, tribal elder Suzie Slockish remembers. “They would come in handy then, because out in the woods after a hard day of work it would taste so good.” See EEL PLAN on page 2 Architect’s drawing of the casino, set to open in February. happened in the community during the year. The year 2011 saw these develop ments on the reservation: W.S. Teleco First, the Warm Springs TeleCo made great progress toward serving the reservation. New staff came on board, and the new teleco office opened at the industrial park were. The teleco will bring high-speed Internet, telephone and video to the reservation: About 1,000 local homes and businesses will have access to the company’s services. The enterprise itself will in time employ 19 people. Board members i i believe the improved telecommunica tions on the reservation will bring new business and more employment oppor tunities. The Warm Springs TeleCo (WSTC) is only the ninth tribally-owned tele communications company in the U.S., out of a total of 565 federally recog nized tribes. The teleco enterprise was funded through a federal agrant and loan. opening is set for February 2012. The new casino will be housed in a 40,000-square foot building beside the plaza. There will be 500 slot machines, and eight blackjack tables; plus a restaurant with seating for 120, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will be a snack bar with seating for 30, and a gift shop. The casino will be open 24-hours, em ploying 280 people. New casino As the tribes face future budget Probably the most visible, if not the cuts, the hope is that the casino will most anticipated, project of 2011 has increase gaming revenue, alleviating been the new Indian Head Casino. some of the budgetary stress. Construction began in early May at the Highway 26 construction site. The See YEAR IN REVIEW on page 2 % • • Simnasho End of Year Dance Friday The End of the Year Round Dance at the Simnasho Longhouse is set for this Friday, Dec. 30. Masters of ceremony will be Ken neth Scabbyrobe and Carlos Calica. Stick man: Colin Chief. All singers invited. Dinner at 6 p.m. Round Dance will start after the meal. Everyone is welcome to join the Simnasho community for this event. Sponsored by members of the Simnasho community. For more infor mation, contact Captain. University of Oregon Library Received on: 01-04-l£ Spilyay tymoo
