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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1978)
DECEMBER 1. 1978 PAGE 9 Treaty This phenomenon could be viewed as evidence that the government’s assimilation pol icy backfired. But more posi tively it may be proof that Indians refused to disappear. And in the treaty context, the government’s obligation to In dian tribes seems to have grown beyond ploughs and dwelling houses to a trust responsibility that transcends treaty specifics. NEXT: Internal and External Affairs Controlled by Treaty. (Continued from Page 8) ■ Indians lost millions of acres in ' this way with the frequent result i of checkerboarded reservations, ' but Warm Springs fared well partly because their land was not in great demand and because of ! wise leadership. Currently about 10 percent of i the reservation is allotted and only a bit more than 1 percent has been alienated, or sold to non-members through the years. References, Part V An attitude working against Felix S. Cohen, Handbook of ; individualizing and civilizing i was commissioner Walker’s 1872 Federal Indian Law - Wilcomb [hope that one day all tribes Washburn, Red Man’s Land, [would be “reduced to the condi- White Man’s Law General Services Admini > tion of suppliants for charity.” At the same time the govern stration Report Re: Petitions of' ment expected Indians and the the Confederated Tribes of the Indian problem to disappear, it Warm Springs Reservation (In Iwas creating a vast, self-perpet dian Claims Commission Nos. uating bureaucracy to service 198 and 198-A), December 1967. I Indians whose dependence on the Minutes of the Treaty Council i government was growing with Atty. Dennis Karnopp Amos Simtustus, Warm Springs every ration. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Chief [exists a century and a half after Nelson Wallulatum Wasco Chief its birth in 1832 providing funds Delbert Frank, Sr. land services to Warm Springs Jefferson and Wasco Counties land other reservations far be- Assessors’ Offices lyond the specific terms of their [treaties. Exchange Enhances Understanding Students from Warm Springs, Simnasho and Madras Elementary Schools have been given the opportunity to ex change ideas, friendship, ways of life and culture. The culture exchange pro gram, as it’s called, is in its second year, and is helping to expose Madras and Warm Springs kids to one another. “Our goal is not to let junior high school be the first time they’re together.” stated Warm Springs principal Mike Darcy. Darcy also said the program will also be instrumental in “breaking down stereotypes that Madras kids have of Warm Springs kids.” adding that kids have even asked if Indians wear clothes to school. Warm Springs kids recently traveled to Madras Elementary to show the 500 plus kids there the various dance steps. And, just prior to Thanksgiving, a group of Madras second graders visited Juanita Curtis’ class and had a turkey dinner. Forest Service Recuitment Begins Application forms for sea- Bsonal employment with the For- ■ est Service will be available ■December 1, 1978, through Jan- luary 15, 1979. Applications will be accept- Ied through January 15. Non-cler- ical positions to be filled include wield jobs as aids and technicians in forestry, range management, physical science, engineering, surveying, biological science, and hydrology. Applicants must - be 18 years of age at the time of availability for employment. Selections fof seasonal jobs will begin in mid-February with jobs starting after May 12 and ending before October 1, 1979. Salaries will range from ¿.57 to $5.05 per hour. About 4,000 jobs will be filled in the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service (Oregon and Washing ton) where more than 16,000 applications were received last year. Firefighting positions re quire the passing of a physical fitness “step test” equivalent to running 1% miles in 12 minutes or less. Applicants may submit only one application to the Forest Service, and may indicate only one location preference. Inforamtion on other season al jobs and specific programs is available at Civil Service Com mission and National Forest Supervisor’s offices. All applicants will be given equal consideration without re gard to race, color, sex, creed, or national origin. Education, availability, and prior exper ience will determine an appli cant’s chance for employment. Budget Meetings, ■(Continued from Page 1) ■increases. This did not happen, Ihowever. Council chairman Gene Greene explained that many of the recent increases were part of the “catch-up” process to bring salaries in line with national standards. Greene said that his own salary as natural resources director was upped considerably Rafter being too low for years. Referring to earlier remarks about loyalty to the Tribes, Greene commented, “Maybe I won’t even accept my raise.” Prunie Williams and others suggested that not only employ ees should undergo merit ratings but that the performance of the Council and committees should also be evaluated. Referendum not needed to approve budget The atmosphere at the first meeting was tense for a few moments while confusion reigned on the budget approval procedure. Rosella Phillips maintained that there were not enough tribal members attend ing the meeting to vote on the budget, but she was informed that a referendum is not called unless the proposed budget is challenged within thirty days after public posting. (At the time of the meeting, 49 days had elapsed). Twenty percent of the enrollment or two Council mem bers may call a referendum to challenge the budget, but if appropriations exceeding $25,000 are to be made beyond the approved budget, a popular ref erendum is required. People seemed surprised ¡when informed of this procedure which was approved by mem bers as a constitutional amend ment in 1973. Previously tribal members did not have an oppor tunity to oppose budgets. Peti tion and referendum procedures will be presented and explained in a future Spilyay Tymoo. Police Department Gets Com munity Support Law and order took on special importance in the light of increasing alcohol and drug re lated crime coupled with the Council’s controversial denial of certain police department bud get requests. The first meeting came to an ¿motional end when George Clements called out to the departing Council, “We’re asking for protects n of our children and you’re turning us down!” Council members who voted to cut out the assistant police chief, a juvenile officer, and a narcotics officer and to “hold in abeyance” two patrolmen, one dispatcher, and one Kah-Nee-Ta security man, defended their action by saying past program performance did not justify such increases and that cooperation with other programs might ac complish the same ends without increasing personnel. Police Chief Jeff Sanders described his force of eight patrolmen as “thin” especially when ambulance duty and office responsibilities take them off their beats. Separating the jail ing and dispatching functions was an effort to comply with Council recommendations, he said. Billie Jo McConville of the Alcohol and Drug Program des cribed the police department as “multi-purpose” — providing services ranging from fire and accident assistance to counsel ing. “They really have concern,” she said. Cutting back on servi ces means cutting back on the morale of the community, she observed. Councilman Larry Calica explained that Council hadn’t reduced the department budget from 1978 but had denied the entire increase requested. Administrative improvements are in order for the department, he said. Municipal branch manager Rudy Clements remarked, “I don’t say we have a perfect program but we are trying to upgrade the quality of the pro gram and be more effective.” The assistant chief (Dick Mon- tee) was added to provide _“day to day support,” thus freeing up the chief for overall program planning, he said. “We can’t bottleneck the program by not giving it the administrative sup port it needs,” said Clements. Chairman Gene Greene gave reason for cautious optimism at the second meeting when he said, “The police department will probably get their ten positions —depending on what the Council decides.” Council will be meet ing December 19 to reconsider the matter. Employ members, not outsiders The employment and train ing of tribal members for tribal jobs was, as ever, 'the focus of much attention. Several people felt that qualified Indians with “fistfuls of degrees” were being overlooked for jobs in the tribal organization. Instead, outsiders are brought in who tend to perpetuate the incidence of non Indian employment by hiring friends from the outside, thus blocking tribal members from jobs and advancements. Admini strative branch manager Doug McClelland defended his hiring practices in the accounting de partment by pointing to the “limited number of tribal mem bers trained in a rather complex field who are available for employment.” Some people felt that being a tribal member was qualification enough for many jobs. Said Leroy Bobb, “We don’t need degrees ... to teach us to be robots ... I wear my qualifica tions on my chest and in my heart. I am one of the people.” He said on the basis of this he was qualified to take on the health branch manager’s posi tion. Others felt that even though the Tribes give priority to tribal members’ applications, they should do more to “encourage” such applications, beyond nor mal advertising. Enterprises ripping us off? Kah-Nee-Ta manager Bill Pauli was asked to explain his $94,000 employee training pro gram. The funds, he said, pay salaries and provide training materials and professional assis tance for the purpose of “helping tribal members get and keep jobs.” Some people wondered who would be benefitting from such training when over 65 percent of the employees are non-members and many Indians are only at entry level. Kap-Nee-Ta was acknow ledged by most to be an attrac tive resort with a great deal of potential, but the pressure is on to make it profitable. Ken Smith felt that the appointment of a “new, progressive board” might be a step in the right direction in the “competitive and difficult” resort business. Others felt that putting ener gy into Kah-Nee-Ta was a farce when the natural resources of the reservation were disappearing and there isn’t enough housing for people. Timber Practices criticized Timber harvest and thinning practices were a source of ill feeling as people felt the forest was being destroyed. Council man and logger Z ane Jackson reminded members that timber is responsible for a large part of the Tribes’ income and thinning as well as harvesting makes for a more productive forest. “We’re not out to destroy anything,” he said. “That forest needs to be harvested.” Olney Patt, Sr. summed up many people’s feelings when he advised the council to “sharpen their pencils” and go over the budget again. He wondered whether the tribal organization might be duplicating services and “spinning its wheels.” “It’s one thing to create an empire and surround yourself with people,” Patt said. “But these programs are supposed to do something for us.” He reco mmended more program evalua tion and a better system of “checks and balances.”
