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NOVEMBER 17, 1978 PAGE 9
At District Meeting
North End Takes A Look At Fishing, Livestock
Simnasho’s
first
district
I meeting in over six months was
I not long enough to give expres-
I sion to all the concerns of the
I community members, as fatigue
I sent people home at midnight
land a follow-up meeting was
I tentatively scheduled for Decem-
| ber.
Fishing problems on the
■Columbia proved to be the
Ifavored topic at the November 7
meeting although council repre-
I sentative
Delbert
Frank
I attempted several times to focus
■ attention on water rights.
Councilman and horse ride
[boss Jacob Frank Sr., was faced
[with an interested but reduced
■audience when it came time for
■his report on the recent horse
land cattle count. And by the time
■Tony Suppah made his off-the-
agenda presentation of the Sim-
[nasho police petition, the re-
Enaining people were eyeing the
[door.
Not on the agenda but also of
■concern was the Simnasho com-
munity development plan appro
ved October 3 which will bring
Enore housing and community
[buildings to the rural area.
Simnasho
representative
■Larry Calica said he was unsure
[whether district meetings could
| be more regular considering the
■difficulty of rounding up consul
tants, councilmen and commu
nity people. The next meeting
[will feature livestock and other
[concerns given short shrift at
East week’s meeting.
I
I
LAW AND ORDER ON THE
COLUMBIA
Pointing to “critical mis
doings” on the Columbia River
this year, Delbert Frank warned
that the four treaty tribes are in
danger of losing their fishing
rights if they don’t devise and
honor a comprehensive law and
order system.
Fights over fishing sites,
violations of state regulations
and the destruction of property
have been some of the ongoing
problems on the river, enhanced
this year by especially crowded
conditions. “Our boys are doing
whatever they please down
there” said Frank, who pushed
for the drafting of a law and
order code agreeable to all four
tribes (Warm Springs, Yakima,
Nez Perce and Umatilla).
Frank also stressed the need
to redefine the meaning of
ceremonial fishing, which at one
time was overseen by the reli
gious leaders. “Now it’s getting
to the point where every Tom,
Dick and Harry has his own idea
of what a ceremony is,” he said.
We have to come back to earth
and decide how to use cermonial
fish.” Fish caught with ceremo
nial permits * have been sold
illegally from time to time.
Warm Springs Superinten
dent Jim Cornett advised those
at the meeting that the Portland
Area Office had allotted a sub
stantial amount of money (later
determined to be $600,000) for
law enforcement in off-reserva-
tion treaty areas. But he felt that
a prerequisite for utilization of
the funds would be the adoption
of a code to be enforced in a
uniform and fair manner.”
Presently the states of Wash
ington and Oregon can regulate
only for conservation ends, the
federal sector has no jurisdic
tion, and tribal police, although
cross-deputized in the counties
bordering the river, cannot spare
the personnel for patrolling.
Each tribe is on its own with
different fishing regulations,
clearly pointing to the need for a
central law & order system, said
Cornett.
One resident who has been
close to the river for years, read
a newspaper article describing
the stiff punishment of non
Indian fishing violators in south
western Oregon and commented,
“I’m wondering if we’re just
playing around with the state by
promising to penalize our viola
tors ... It makes me disgusted to
see our committee sitting on this
for 8-10 years.” It’s time to get
tough, she maintained.
She also suggested that an
underlying cause of this year’s
troubles was the EDA loan
program that made money too
easily available to self-professed
fishermen who are now “driving
new cars and souped-up pick
ups” and not to be seen on the
river. At the same time the loans
encouraged the overfishing of
the river, with fishermen fight
ing for sites, she said.
There was general agree
ment that the treaty right to fish
off the reservation must be
preserved, except for a chal
lenge issued by one district
member. He felt that local tribal
fishing & water rights should be
settled instead of hanging onto
rights that only a few exercise on
the Columbia.
Delbert Frank quickly coun
tered by saying, “When you
begin to give up a little piece of
our treaty rights, we might as
well give them all up.”
A longtime member of both
the law and order and fish and
wildlife committees looked at the
coin from the other side, saying
that it’s no use to fight for rights
to a disappearing resource. We
should,, instead, “join hands”
and work together to enhance the
fishery.
LIVESTOCK IN THE NORTH
END
Horse ride boss Jacob
Frank, Sr. reported on his recent
aerial count of wild horses in the
North End which turned up a
total figure of 1500 head. Of these
horses, 628 or nearly half were
termed “uncontrollable” or
“outlaws”.
“What we’re looking for is
control of these animals,” said
Frank who noted that although a
few dozen strays were brought
back onto the reservation, that
“eventually they’ll drift back
into white man’s land.” He then
posed the question “What do you
think the horse ride bosses
should do?”
Unfortunately most of the
stock owners had already left, so
feedback was minimal.
Frank then offered the ride
bosses’ idea which included: 1) a
fence along the Warm Springs
River from HeHe Mill to Schoolie
pasture, and 2) the leasing of the
Heckler property, a tribal pur
chase on the McQuinn Strip, for
assigned grazing.
Frank was promised prime
time at the next meeting to
insure input from owners.
NOT ON THE AGENDA
A hurried explanation of the
petition for police protection of
the Wasco County portion of the
reservation was made by Tony
Suppah, a Simnasho native who
is on call with the Warm Springs
Police Department (see separate
story this page).
The only other topic raised
was the “blessing or curse” of
the bonus, the programming of
which was felt “to drive parents
to drink because they feel worth
less.”
Petition For
Simnasho Police
I Bolton, Apgar Commended
I For Forest Management
Gathering Signatures
by Cynthia Stowell
SHOP TALK- Bob Bolton and Bill Apgar talked over what they planned to do with the $300 awards they
received for superior performance.
Spilyay Photo by CDS
Two men who assumed the
duties of Acting Forest Manager
while the B.I.A. Forestry De-
Eartment was without perma-
■nent direction have been selected
Ito receive Special Achievement
Awards and checks for $300.
Presentations to Bob Bolton
tend Bill Apgar were made by
Superintendent Jim Cornett No
Eember 8 at the Tribal Admini
stration Building with General
Manager Ken Smith in atten-
lance. “It was a well-kept
jecret,” smiled Bolton after-
ward.
For five months after the
resignation of manager-Gunther
Heeren and the hiring of Ken
Engelbretson, the two foresters
alternated" as forest manager,
dividing their attention between
the time consuming “admini
strative and people problems”
and their regular jobs. Bolton
heads up Timber Sales Admini
stration and Apgar directs Tim
ber Management.
They were cited by Area
Director Vincent Little for main
taining “a high quality of out
put” with a shortage of employ
ees during the forestry pro
grams peak period of operations.
Specifically, they tackled the
problem of cleaning up 33 million
board feet of blowdown , built the
1980 budget, and helped to plan
and develop a $600,000 forest
management contract with the
Confederated Tribes using for
estry add-on funds.
In his letters to Bolton and
Apgar, Superintendent Cornett
said, “You are congratulated on
your contributions which were
effected in a cheerful, construc
tive and efficient manner.”
It was Bolton’s second award
from the BIA. He also received a
superior performance award in
1961 while on the Umatilla Reser
vation, just before coming to
Warm Springs. It was the first
such award for Apgar, who has
worked at' the Warm Springs
Agency since 1964.
A grass roots effort to obtain
police protection for the northern
sector of the reservation is so far
being waged largely by one man.
Armed with a petition and a
penchant for politicking, Tony
Suppah has been making appear
ances at local meetings to plug
his $250,000 idea.
But most of his energies
have gone into door-to-door visit
ing, making “the people” aware
that they have the power to effect
change.
So far Suppah has gathered
signatures from all parts of
the reservation for the Novem
ber 21 budget meeting where he
plans to present his proposal.
The petition’s cover state
ment asserts that full-time cov
erage of the Simanasho district
is overdue. Suppah proposes the
installation of a supervisor and
two patrolmen at “premium
pay,” support staff, two fully-
equipped 4-wheel drive vehicles
and a temporary base- station
until such time as a permanent
fire and police station are built.
The territory to be covered
by the Simnasho division lies
within Wasco County and in
cludes residences at Sidwalter,
Simnasho, Schoolie, Indian Head
Canyon and the lower Warm
Springs River, as well as all the
highway joining those areas.
Suppah feels that the grow
ing popultion of this area war
rants full-time patrolling which
it does not presently receive.
Currently a patrolman resides at
Simnasho and is on call, but his
beat is the Warm Springs area
where the manpower demand is,
according, to Police Chief : Jeff;
Sanders.
Suppah envisions the patrolmen
as also fulfilling a social work
function for the elderly, some of
whom speak little English and
need help with transportation.
With full-time personnel
assigned to the North End,
officers now called to Simnasho
would be freed up to give better
protection to the South End,
suggested Suppah.
While Suppah says he has
“100 percent support” for his
proposal from Chief Sanders, the
chief has indicated otherwise in
communication with Spilyay
Tymoo.
“Economically it isn’t feas
ible,” he said. “We’re trying to
maintain the status quo in the
face of the Council’s 22 percent
cut and tony wants a 33 percent
increase.”
Suppah maintains that funds
can be had through grants,
although he hasn’t pinpointed the
sources yet. Municipal branch
manager Rudy Clements indi
cated that the BIA was a possible
source as it currently supple
ments the Warm Springs police
budget.
Sanders cited arrest figures
that he says would not justify
three full-timers on site. Of 2200
arrests in 1977, only 14 were in
the northern boundary area.
When asked if the low rate was
due to the fact that coverage has
not been available, Sanders said
that Warm Springs already re
sponds to all Simnasho calls and
makes the arrests. The only
change in figures with a full-time
patrol might be an increase in
traffic citations, he said.
Sanders felt that a one-man
patrol might,be^justified at the
present time.