Spilyay tymoo., October 05, 1979, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
Spilyay Tymoo
October 5,1979
Letters to the Editor
Inmates appreciate donations
To the editor:
The Tribe of Five Feathers
Indian culture group of
Lompoc Federal Prison in
California would like to thank
all the people up there for the
45 pounds of salmon that was
donated and sent here for our
traditional Indian Ceremony
on September 14, 1979.
We would also like to thank
Mr. and Mrs. Kenny Calica for
driving all the way down here
and delivering the salmon.
Thank you very much.
Tribe of Five Feathers
Indian Brothers
(Merlin Branham)
Thanks for being kind
The Leonard Polk, Jr. family
would like to thank the many
people who were so kind and
thoughtful during our sad time,
especially all our relatives who
pitched, right in and made
things go so smoothly.
We would like to thank
everyone who donated food
that was taken to the Indian
Shaker Church in White Swan,
especially the people from
Warm Springs who donated all
the salmon. Much thanks to
whoever helped with the
cooking and clean up.
The flowers and cards were
much appreciated also.
The Polk family
Reward offered for Information
1 am offering a $300 award to
anyone having information
about the break-iri of my house
on September 22. Please
contact me by mail or in
person; please don’t phone.
There mrist be something
wrong when people do this
kind of thing to their own
people.
Alvis Smith, Sr.
Warm Springs
Return wallet, no questions asked
Bunny Werner, who works
for Tribal court, has lost her
beaded wallet. The wallet,
which is black, orange and
turquoise on white back­
ground. had very little money
in it. but it did contain
important documents.
It- the wallet is found and
returned, there will be no
questions asked.
See you later
It's past midnight on the eve of publication. If this was an old
movie I'd be hunched over a manual typewriter, my tie loosened, a
cup of cold coffee at my side, with the cityscape lying outside the
window. But this is 1979 in Warm Springs—I sit at a new-fangled
typesetting machine in my Simnasho T-shirt with a bottle of Diet
Pepsi tucked under my arm and horses munching on the lawn
below. What a delightful set of contrasts!
I can feel the sentimentality creeping up and I suspect III give in
to it. I can always blame the late hour. Butthisis. after all, my 90th
and last issue of Spilyay Tymoo and I guess 1 have the right to
reflect a bit.
There’s no need to dwell on the growth and maturation of
Spilyay in the last 3'Z years. Reading old 1976 issues never fails to
embarrass me—we have certainly come a long way. baby. I feel
fortunate to have been part pf that growth. It has meant a few gray
hairs for me but it has afforded me a closeness to this community
that few ‘'outsiders” experience in four years.
My camera and note pad have enabled me to join in events and
talk to people with an intensity that my natural shyness would
otherwise prevent. (Of course my camera and note pad have also
excluded me from certain gatherings, but 111 forgive the Tribal
Council sooner or later.) So dependent on my paraphernalia have
I become that I intend to continue on in a similar capacity. I will be
covering Warm Springs for The Oregonian and in my spare time
assembling a book about the reservation—my whole reason for
coming here in the first place.
So for those who thought I was going to “take the money and
run.” I must assure you that I’m not leaving Warm Springs—not
yet. I’m just weaning myself from Spilyay. From my mushy
midnight vantage point I salute the newspaper and the tradition of
tasteful, accurate journalism it has established on the reservation.
I commend the Tribal Council for their generous financial
support, to which they never attached strings, and for their
willingness to roll with the punches. And I hope that the
remaining and future staff of Spilyay will be gutsier than I was, a
bit more organized, a lot less wordy—and above all. 1 hope you
will care as much as I did.
Y1KES
Cynthia Stowell
CDS
Legislature ’79
Welfare reform cuts costs
(Editor’s note: This is the third the decline of welfare­
part of a series in which our caseloads.
One of the recommendations
State Senator, Ken Jernstedt of
Hood River, analyzes the of the special committee—one
major action of the 1979 which would have reduced the
Legislature. In this installment, burden even further—was
Jernstedt discusses welfare dismissed out-of-harid by the
federal government. The
reform.)
recommendation was that the
by Ken Jernstedt
state be permitted to require
State Senator
One of the most frequent able-bodied welfare recipients
complaints any legislator hears to accept employment.
concerns our public welfare Our new policy
The federal government
system.
If it’s been heard once,it’s blocked the way to that path—
been heard a thousand times: but the idea remained on the
“Why don’t you do something' back burner, and this session,
Senator Ken Jernstedt
about those deadbeats and eight years later, the
Legislature
has
embraced
the
welfare cheats?”
There is no shortage of
Well, one thing we should policy—even though it may available employment. There
immediately understand is that mean a loss of federal largesse'. were an estimated 85,000 new
The res'ults, this time, were jobs in Oregon in July alone—
the cheats arid deadbeats are in
a decided minority. Most of just as instant as the. results in through expansion, new
those who seek public 1971
business and turnover. The
On July 1st, some 5,000 jobs run the range from low-
assistance are in genuine need:
The blind, the aged, the recipients were dropped from skilled to well paying high-skill
disabled. The majority of these Oregon’s welfare rolls and jobs.
people turned to public another 15,000 recipients saw a
The savings in taxpayer
assistance as a court of last sharp decrease in their benefits. dollars over the next two years
The
new
policy
is
simple:
It
resort—and many of them had
is estimated at more than $30
to swallow their pride to do it. requires that one parent in a million and, in the long run, we
It’s important that we not household with two able- may be saving more than
confuse the legitimate areas of bodied parents be required to dollars.
public assistance with those get a job.
- We may be saving in
No one was tossed out into another sense,; because the
programs which have been
abused by those who seek to the streets on July 1. The State, Legislature said something else
prior to the deadline, stepped- with this new policy—
cheat the system.
Our welfare system began up its counseling and job something which perhaps has
out of necessity, during the placement efforts for those needed saying for quite some
dark days of the great who would be affected.
time.
An estimated 20 percent of
depression. It was a system of
The Legislature said that the
those
to
be
dropped
from
the
temporary aid to people who,
individual has the major
through no fault of their own, rolls had been placed in jobs
Continued on page 5
were unable to meet their own before the cut-off.
needs and the needs of their
families.
There’s nothing wrong with
that. But somehow, without
our quite knowing how it
happened, this system of October 8 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. Pelton Negotiatiohs-Qwen Panner '
temporary aid has reached the
2. 2:00 p.m. -Insurance/Deferred Compensation—
point where we now have third
Dick Hoy
and fourth generation welfare
families populating the public October 9 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. Local Housing Authority-Elton Greeley
assistance rolls.
2. 2:00 p.m. Gold Case-John Weddle, BIA, Portland
There are people to whom
3; 3:30 p.m: Housing-Ed Manion
living on public assistance is an
ingrained way of life, not a October 15 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. Contracts:
temporary hand-up to get back
Attorneys
on their own feet.
Rankin
Past efforts
Dibble
What to do to solve this
1st National Bank
problem has been with the
2. Mill Resolution
State Legislature for a number
of years, but we’ve generally October 16 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m Charley Canyon/Indian Head Canyon
been frustrated in our reform
water system
attempts by the federal
2. 2:00 p.m. Enrollments/Adoption/Resolution
government, which provides
October
17
Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
much of the money and most of
1. 10:00 a.m. Field Trip-Dam Site
the say.
The Legislature, nonethe­ October 22 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
WSFPI Board Meeting/Kah-Nee-Ta
less, makes a serious run at
welfare reform about once October 23 Tribal Council Meeting
1. 8:30 a.m. Field Trip/Forestry
every three or four sessions.
Prior to the recent sessions, the October 24 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. 509-J- Darrel Wright
last time was in 1971—and the
2. 1:30 p.m. Realty
results were immediate.
3. 3:00 p.m. Credit Union-Bob Finch
A special House Committee
at that time issued a report October 29 Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. Education Needs Assessment
which scathed the administra­
2. 3:00 p.m. 1980 Administrative Fees Budget-Ken
tion of the State Welfare
Englebretson
Division, and caused a general
October
30
Tribal Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m.
tightening-up in all programs.
1. 10:00 a.m. Management Report
The year prior to the
committee’s report, Oregon fell To be scheduled: Veterans Memorial & Committee Task Force
just shy of leading the nation in Report (November)
the growth of welfare caseload. General Councils to be scheduled:
The year following the Fish & Wildlife
report, Oregon led the nation in Health & Welfare
N.C.A.I. Delegates Reports
Tribal Council Agenda