Spilyay tymoo., October 06, 1978, Page 2, Image 2

PAGE 2 OCTOBER 6, 1978
Gerard Briefs Warm Springs
When the Bureau of Indian
Affairs’ top man Forrest Gerard
came to Warm Springs, he was
fulfilling an inaugural promise to
gather input from the 495 tribes
served by the Bureau.
But he was also armed with
information that he felt might
concern tribal and B.I.A. offi­
cials here. The following are
subjects Gerard addressed dur­
ing his Warm Springs visit.
Indian Education
Gerard brought good news
from Washington, D.C. about S.
991, thé bill creating a Depart­
ment of Education. Resistance
from tribes across the country
was rewarded by the Senate’s
approval of the Sen. Stevens
Amendment exempting
the
Bureau’s Indian education pro­
grams from the proposed trans­
fer.
Warm Springs was active in
their opposition to S. 991, having
sent letters to every senator
advising them of the ill effects
the bill would have on the ad­
ministration of Indian education
programs.
B.I.A. Reorganization
Warm Springs has long been
concerned about the effects of
the President’s reorganization
effort on the nine Bureau area
offices, in particular the Port­
land office with which the Tribes
enjoy a good relationship. Super­
intendent Jam es Cornett' has
gone on record as opposing any
dismantling.
Gerard explained how the
Bureau plans to address the
overlaps and gaps in area office
functions. As Gerard sees it,
area offices perform both ad­
ministrative and service func­
tions, a dual role that he feels
should be separated more dis­
tinctly.
The “Service Center” con­
cept would acknowledge the in­
creased emphasis of the Bureau
on technical assistance
and
training especially under P.L.
93-638, the Indian Self-Deter-
mination Act. Administrative
functions could be consolidated
in regional offices, leaving area
offices to provide direct services
in these support areas.
This will undoubtedly mean
the reassignment of certain per­
sonnel, Gerard noted, but the
actual effect on Portland’s area
office is not yet known.
B.I.A. Policy
Gerard noted that the B.I.A.
received the largest increase in
the Department of Interior for
1979 to accomplish its two main
objectives:
management im­
provement and building trust
responsibility. He noted that
Congress had appropriated a
$35-50 million increase enhanc­
ing the Bureau’s fulfillment of its
trust responsibilities.
Some of the
additional
monies will be used to “work
more closely with energy-con­
scious tribes,” Gerard said. He
was particularly interested in
Warm Springs’ proposed hydro­
electric project on the Deschutes
River and said he expected to be
involved in the project as it
develops.
Other ways in which the
trust will be bolstered are in the
areas of community develop­
ment, forestry, water, fisheries
and human resources, especially
tribal court systems.
Water Policy
Gerard traced problems with
the President’s Water Policy
back to the delay in selection of
an Assistant Secretary of the
Interior, which gave the task of
developing a policy for Indian
w ater rig h ts to the Assistant
S ecretary of Land M anagem ent
BRIEFING - B.I.A. Chief Forrest Gerard sat with the Tribal Council Friday morning September 29 and
answered their questions about Indian Education, the reorganization of Bureau area offices, water policy,
and many other concerns.
“by default.”
The next difficulty came
when Indian water rights were
lumped with federal reserved
rights. Gerard became involved
in the policy writing as soon as he
was confirmed, but it was al­
ready getting late. With a joint
National Congress of American
Indians-National Tribal Chair­
men’s Association committee he
worked out “reasonable recom­
mendations” and sent them on to
the White House.
The result was
Carter’s
Water Policy announced last
June, which called for the quan­
tification of Indian water rights
in conjunction with the develop­
ment of water projects.
Gerard said there was only
$10 million in the treasury for the
settling of water claims and he
anticipated that at least $100
million would be needed before
the review of water claims is
completed, supposedly in the
next ten years.
Stressing that “quantifica­
tion should definitely be linked
with project development,” Ger­
ard said he would be pleased to
work with the joint committee
again on implementation of the
policy.
Backlash
Recent congressional voting
patterns have identified a core of*
about 81 members who con­
sistently vote against positive
Indian legislation. This does not
indicate a pervasive anti Indian
sentiment in D.C., said Gerard.
But pressures from constitu­
ents can be powerful, and bills
like those introduced by Cunning­
ham and Meeds of Washington
state “represent the tenor of the
times” and “bear watching,” he
said. Although the bills will most
likely not receive any action in
this Congress, Indian
tribes
should not be “lulled into any
false sense of security” when
such legislation stalls. Meeds
will be gone when Congress re­
convenes, but Cunningham “may
try to alter his bills to make them
a little more palatable.”
Apartment Blaze Under Investigation
The loss of a life and dam­
ages amounting to nearly $100,000
are still unexplained two weeks
after an early morning fire at the
new Tenino Apartments.
Lost in the September 23
blaze was Edgar Yahtin, 25,
whose body was recovered from
the totally destroyed apartment
unit being rented by his brother
Owens Yahtin.
An autopsy revealed that
Yahtin died of asphyxiation due
to smoke inhalation.
The adjoining apartment,
rented by Fred Wallulatum, was
also destroyed and a separate
but neighboring apartm ent sus­
tained about $5-10,000 of damage.
On the day of the fire, state
fire m arshall Bob Nerney sifted
through the charred remains of
Yahtin’s apartm ent searching
for a probably cause. On the
basis of his report, Lynn Hillman
of the state arson squad was
called in Tor further investi­
gation. A cause has not yet been
established.
The Warm Springs Police,
S p ily a y T ym oo
SPILYAY TYMOO STAFF
Managing Editor
Sid Miller
Assistant Editor
Sandy Rangila
Photographic Specialist/Writer
Cynthia Stowell
Reporter/Photographers
Roger Stwyer
Priscilla Squiemphen
Donna Behrend
FOUNDED in MARCH OF 1976
Published bi-weekly by the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs R eserv a tio n of Oregon. Warm Springs,
Oregon 97761. Located in the Old Administration Building.
Any written material to Spilyay Tymoo should be addressed
to:
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P. O. Box 735
Warm Springs, Oregon 97761
.
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Subscription Rate $6.00 per year
Bureau enforcement services,
and the F.B.I. have been con­
ducting interviews for two weeks
to determine the exact circum­
stances of the incident.
The fire was reported at 4:51
a.m. by Noree Langley who lived
in the neighboring apartment.
She had reportedly beèn awaken­
ed by two young men Who profess
to be witnesses to the early
stages of the blaze. When the
Warm Springs Volunteer Fire
Department arrived shortly after
5:00 a.m ., Yahtin’s apartment
was totally engulfed in flames
and Wallulatum’s apartm ent
was also involved.
According to firemen, it took
about forty minutes to achieve a
“black-out” , while
attempts
were also made to save the attic
next door.
While a cause is
being
sought^ local fire officials are
concerned with several other
aspects of the fire. Why didn’t
Wallulatum’s smoke detector
alarm go off? Only one of three
detectors tested afterward were
functional. And why were elec­
tric detectors selected for the
apartm ent complex instead of
battery-operated?
What was wrong with the fire
extinguishers allegedly used by
the two witnesses? One failed to
operate and the other had only a
moment’s worth of foam in it,
according to one of the men.
And isn’t it time to install
two more hydrants to service the
other half of the complex? These
(Continued on Page 5)
INVESTIGATION - State fire marshal Bob Berney scrutinized the
burned out apartment of Owens Yahtin while Sgt. Ray Calica and
B.I.A. Enforcement Officer Mark Werner looked on. The September 23
fire which cost the life of Edgar Yahtin is believed to have started in
the kitchen but the investigation is still underway.
CDS Photo