Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1978)
4 SEPTEMBER 22, 1978 PAGE 9 Budget 79 Municipal Branch Stressing Accountability and Planning by Sandy Rangila In response to increasing community needs and Tribal Council concern, the Municipal Branch has been involved in a large scale coordinated effort to provide better programs and im proved community services for the Tribes. The intent, as reflected in the 1979 objectives, is to provide better quality services through more effective programs with an emphasis upon accountability and professionalism. More com munity involvement and input is another area the Municipal Branch is beginning to embark upon. Municipal Branch Manager Rudy Clements observed that in previous years, it was basically a m atter of maintaining programs on a year-to-year basis, present ing the same thing to Council with no real accountability or method of measuring the effec tiveness of those programs. With more attention being directed to human needs and the maimer in which service pro grams relate to the community, the muncipal branch has been undergoing some major changes in philosophy as well as man power. Three new programs and 18 positions have been added, 10.5 of these positions to the police department. In terms of requested dol lars, the largest proposed in Treaty, Cont' crease is in the police depart ment and juvenile services bud get. The overall budget increase requested by the municipal branch is 41 per cent. (For focus on Police and Juvenile, see next issue) New Programs New to the municipal branch is the creation of a tribal prose cutor’s office, the movement of the two tribal court advocates from the Tribal Court to the Municipal Branch, and the addi tion of the Culture and Heritage program. Prosecutor Brenda Lee works closely with the police department as prosecutor, she represents the Confederated Tribes in all criminal cases heard in the Tribal court. Until the 1979 budget is in effect.her salary is being paid primarily by funds from the American Indian Lawyers Train ing Program. Advocates John Allen and Daisy Ike were placed outside the Tribal Court into the Muni cipal Branch since they are offi cers of the court but not person nel of the court. “For the benefit of individ uals facing the court, there was a need for a more strengthened adversary role that advocates have to fullfill,” said Clements. He explained that since the police department and the Tribal seasons were left open — in the name of preservation of the that the treaty was “not a grant anadromous fish runs. of rights to the Indians, but a U.S, v. Oregon was continu grant of rights from them, a ed and Judge Belloni still has reservation of those not grant jurisdiction over the commercial ed.” This is the context within fishery in the Columbia River. which treaty rights are viewed 1 There have ’ been numerous today. amendments to his 1969 judg Since that time the Columbia ment in the form of injunctions River has continued to be the site and restraining orders, as fish of conflicts between Indian and ermen and officials were spend non-Indian fishermen, and be ing more time in the courtroom tween tribes and the states of than on the river and in their Oregon and Washington. offices. The m atter of regulating the In 1974 Belloni further de commercial fishery seemed to be fined his term “fair share” by resolved in 1969 with Federal assigning a 50-50 formula to the District Judge Robert Belloni’s Indian and non-Indian catches. opinion in U.S. v. Oregon. Belloni This ruling echoed District Judge stated, “The phrase ‘the right to ; George Boldt’s landmark U.S. v. fish at all usual and accustomed Washington decision, where he places’ may not be qualified by asserted that Indians were en the State. I interpret this to mean titled to 50 per cent of the catch in that the State cannot so manage the State of Washington. This the fishery that no fish remain in very literal interpretation of;the the upper regions of thè stream treaties’ “in common with citi -where the historic Indian places zens” provisions has been an are mostly located. ” extremely unpopular decision The means by which the In among the non-Indian commer dians fish cannot be regulated by cial and sports fishermen who the state except for conservation greatly outnumber the Indians. purposes, Belloni also ruled. The need for more specific Treaty Indians have an guidelines became increasingly “absolute right” to a fishery and evident in Oregon. Belloni had they are entitled to a “ Fair share ordered the state to come up with of the fish produced by the a set of regulations to administer Columbia River system,” said his 50-50 ruling, but nothing wàs Belloni. forthcoming. After the heated It seemed clear that the state courtroom battles of the summer of Oregon was to deal with the of 1976, the judge placed the Indian fishery as distinct from burden on the four treaty tribes the fishing of others and to to come up with a fishery plan. ensure the opportunity of Indians The result was a comprehen to a fair and equitable share of sive management plan for the the fish. Columbia River fishery draft But the subsequent years ed by attorneys for the Warm found the Indian fishery continu Springs confederated Tribes. ally subject to closures while This plan is a 60-40 formula for other , sppxts^anjd . comm ercial. the allocation of spring and fall Court work closely together, the relationship of the advocates to the Tribal Court had to be changed for the sake of credi bility and in the interest of the clients. The Culture and Heritage program has been transferred to the Municipal Branch, and Cle ments revealed that, in addition, the Council has approved the concept of a Culture and Heri tage Board. The responsibility of the board, yet to be selected, will be to review anything being documented about the Tribes. “It will act as a sanctioning or validating board,” Clements ex plained. A New Look At Old Problems Clements would like to see an increased effort in more family-oriented programs. “A lot of programs tend to isolate out some responsibilities that ought to be family responsibili ties,” he maintains. “Programs have had a ten dency to do things for, contri buting to the weakening of the family.” He wants to emphasize through Municipal Branch pro grams strong, independent, competent families, “We need a more cooperative effort in work- ' ing with families as a total unit more than we have.’ Clements stresses the positive and pre ventative approach so people won’t have to utilize the services of the Health Branch so much. Clements feels there is an element of conditioning which has taken hold as a result of programs delivered over the years. ‘‘There is an expectation to have things done for you.” Instead, Clements advocates support to help resolve family problems so they don’t get out of hand. “One must lèarn to cope with those yoürsëlf in order to strengthen self and family.” chinook to non-Indian and Indian fishermen, to be computed after a fixed escapement for upriver spawning. U.S. v. Oregon is still a live case, Belloni having exercised his authority just this week in the closure of the lower river gill- netters season (see story page 1). But with participation of the treaty tribes in planning and management (through the Col umbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission) it is hoped that fewer court hearings will be necessary. TRIBAL NOT INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS Whether it be commercial, subsistence or ceremonial fish ing, hunting, gathering, or live stock pasturing off the reserva tion, the treaty right is a tribal not an individual right. This is also true for the exclusive rights on the reservation. Natural Resources Director Gene Greene never tires of making this point. P art of his department's job is to see that these tribal rights are exercised in an orderly fashion, according to tribal law. Tribal Ordinance No. 38 which offers regulations for off- reservation fishing, states that there are no “vested rights by individuals in fishing sites.” However the ordinance, recog nizes the tradition of members fishing in the same location for a number of years and asks that these informal rights be respect ed by other fishermen. Sites on the Columbia River are register ed with the Tribes. Site squab bles have long been a sticky enforcement problem for the He relates that premise to a Municipal Branch objective — staff development. Each depart ment will do an introspective analysis of staff needs, identi fying barriers to a sound, in dependent program and indi vidual development. Once the barriers are identi fied, ways to overcome the bar riers Can be developed. Then, it will be possible for the program to develop a direction which might best benefit the com munity. “Hopefully, that spirit of strength will be transferred in; how it relates to the com munity,” says Clements. “High staff turnover forced us to take a look at the problem of staff development,” said Cle ments. And he notes that there are still areas to be improved in that respect. “People have been placed in positions who need on-the-job training. When attention is paid to individual problems, morale is better and there is a lot less turnover, generally,” observes Clements. Long Term Problems There is a great deal of concern in the area of education and the Municipal Branch would like to see better results from their education program s. “We’re not happy with the situation as it is, now. Atten dance, grades, dropouts are heavy problems. The results of a community Needs Assessment are forthcoming, and may help shed some light, offering possible solutions in this area. In the area of Natural Re sources, joint planning and a coordinated effort is a very high priority . “Right now there is no real mechanism to do that,” says Clements. “We have to come up with a comprehensive natural resources preservation and de- Tribes, worsening as the river becomes more crowded. Despite the treaty’s provi sion for “erecting suitable houses for curing,” Ordinance No. 38 prohibits the building of permanent structures at fishing sites, except for scaffolds. According to No. 38 and the Wildlife Ordinance (No. 50), every fisherman and hunter must carry tribal identification at all times, to be shown on demand to any federal, state, or tribal officer. Seasons for hunting and fishing are set by the Tribal Fish and Wildlife Committee. In the case of hunting and commercial fishing off the reservation, the Committee acts in accordance with state law. The Tribes and the state cooperate on monitoring salmon and steelhead catches for the purpose of enforcing limits, esti mating run size and gathering biological data. For everything but commercial fishing, records are voluntarily turned over to the Fish and Wildlife Committee. The commercial catch is moni tored by state officials right at the buying stations along the Columbia. No ordinance exists for wild food gathering off the reserva tion but the treaty reserves the rights on “unclaimed lands.” Permission from property own ers is required if tribal members wish to have access to private lands. BLM land is open to root diggers and National Forests are open to huckleberry pickers. Although there exists the right to graze livestock off the reservation, to Gene Greene’s knowledge this right is not exer cised. velopment plan on a coordinated basis.” Forestry practices, the McQuinn Strip, water and range all have to be carefully evalu ated. In The Works Planned for completion in 1980, the proposed Community Learning Center willhouse Day care, HeadStart, Adult Educa tion, the Education Department, Culture and Heritage, Library, and perhaps a media center. The site is now under consideration. Such a facility would open up the community center to more activities for the whole com munity, providing social enrich ment and a less restricted actt- vity area, according to Cle ments. | |S | Another proposed facility af fecting the Municipal. Branch is the New Comprehensive Crimi nal Justice Center. If construc tion begins in the spring of 1979 as planned, the probable comple tion date would be in mid-1980. This facility would help oring the Tribes in compliance with the Indian Civil Rights Act of »1968, and provide a safer environment for those being detained as well as for the staff. The public would also have a separate entrance through which they could come and go while conducting other business. In Summary . . . The increased dollar amount requested in the Municipal Branch budget represents some new tribal priorities in the area of community services, accord ing to management. Community and council con cern for improved and expanded services has required very care ful planning and review with the program heads, Branch Mana ger, General Manager, and the Tribal Council. “We had to do only a minimum of rejecting because of this effort,” said Clements. THE END OF ARTICLE 1 The rather confusing provi sions that follow the fishing and hunting section and bring the long first article of the treaty to an end, refers to payments for the ceded land. If any bands of Indians did not sign the treaty then those who did would still receive their portion of the pay-, ments, which are outlined in the next article. The treaty also states that any Indians having to abandon improvements made, would be compensated for their loss or have equivalent»* improvements made on the reservation. It is not known whether such compensation was ever made. Said Wallula turn with a shrug, “I doubt if they were made.” NEXT: Dollars, Services, and Goods Promised by Treaty- Makers REFERENCES, PART 4 American Friends Service Com- mettee, Uncommon Controver sy, 1970. Minutes of the Treaty. Council U.S. v. Oregon and Sohappy v. Washington, prepared by at torneys for intervenor Confed erated Tribes of Warm Springs William Veeder, “ Columbia River Basin Indian Winters’ Doctrine Rights to the Use of W ater,” 1967. Tribal Ordinances No. 38 and No. 50 Nelson Wallulatum, Wasco Chief Harold Culpus, Fish and Wildlife Committee Chairman Gene Greene, Natural Resources Director Atty. Dennis Karnopp
