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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1980)
Spilyay Tymoo Page 2 March 21,1980. Housing survey shows what people want By Sandy Rangila —There is interest by some to With the completion of the return if housing were available 1979 Warm Springs Housing here. Survey, the C onfederated — H ouses a re th e m ost Tribes have taken the first big desirable. step in documenting informa —Most would not have a place tion on how much and what to build. type of housing, is currently —Unemployment was high at needed on the reservation. The 20 percent plus. completed survey findings were —The average income came presented to the Tribal Council out to $12,300. on March 12. —Few are eligible for veteran’s The survey, which was begun benefits. last summer, dealt only with trib a l m em ber h ead s-o f- The 19-25 year age group h o u se h o ld s who do not had the highest percentage of currently have their own returned survey question housing. The survey inter naires. It was also the age group viewers were successful in most in need of housing o b taining responses from according to the survey figures. nearly 70 percent of on- In that age group, which reservation people without totaled 160 without housing, housing, and about 25 percent 117 answ ered the survey of th o se living o ff the questions and added comments reservation. of their own as to their A lth o u g h the steerin g particular housing needs and com m ittee conducting the preferences. A whopping 91 survey fell short of their goal to percent of that group indicated reach 85 percent of those a desire for their own housing, identified as not having and half of those said they housing, there were enough wanted apartments. Only 33 responses to draw some valid percent of that group said they conclusions. were interested in having a Among those living on the house right now. r e s e r v a tio n , th e r e p o r t Comments included, “They concludes: don’t need to be fancy” and “I’ll — It is evident that those ta k e a n y t h i n g .” O th e r without housing want their suggestions included, “Tribal units that tribal enrollees could own homes. —Rural housing was deemed purchase at cost,” — “Keep a the most desireable across the number of rentals for people board, but financing would be who do not qualify for their own. Build more townhouse a problem. —There is an interest and need type for young people that for apartm ents (especially could share costs.” Although the majority of the among singles and young 19-25 year age group want marrieds). —The lease/purchase option apartments or townhouses for concept is most likely not rental, some wanted to be able understood as a large number to have other options such as affordable rural homes or indicated non-interest. —A majority of these people lease/purchase option homes built out in the country. do not have a place to build. T h e h o u sin g p ro je c ts —Unemployment is high at 20 approved in last Fall’s $6.6 percent plus. —The average income came million referendum election out to nearly $10,000, which will come close to meeting the would indicate a possible $204 needs expressed in the survey, I according to tribal Program payment or lease cost. —A large majority indicated Planner Mike Clements. But he they would like housing for said that the survey findings are for now and today. $150 or less. — Few are eligible for veteran’s “Perhaps (these projects we’re building) will offset the needs benefits. for now and a little of the Among those living off the future,” he said. reservation, the survey reports: But he stressed that this —Most have accomodations, information gathered in the however, those 15-20 percent survey should not be put on the living with friends or relatives shelf and forgotten about. will need options on their “Follow-up will be crucial. The next step will be to develop return to the reservation. —The average payment or housing projections for the future,” he said. “It’s already lease indicated was $202. People want their own homes, whether they can afford it or not. Last Fall’s housing referendum will come close to meeting the needs expressed In the survey—-for now. . 1980. How many houses will be needed next year and five years from now?” Clements noted that the survey dealt ohly with those without houses, and that the unemployment rate in that group was very high. “Perhaps that’s one reason they don’t have a house, but there are other reasons those people d o n ’t have h o m e s ,” he commented. Clements said that he thinks if those people did have houses, that other social problems, character and responsibility would im prove. “ A high percentage of those people want housing—whether they can afford it or not,” he added. “We have to have housing available before we can start on financial acountability. People need that experience (of home ownership).” Councilman Larry Calica m e n tio n e d d u r i n g th e presentation that perhaps a method of subsidy should be considered for those who are perhaps $50 a month or so of getting into their own home. It was suggested that the Tribal Council send a memo to General Manager Ken Smith that future projections and housing needs be followed up with further study. Also, the mem o may c o n ta in the proposed concept of some kind o f su b sid y p ro g ra m so everyone who wants to can get into a home owenrship role. The message on the survey’s cover letter said, “This survey is only the first step to identifying and resolving housing needs. It will give us some guidance in meeting tribal member needs today and hopefully in the future. “It is important that the information and recommenda tions included have a thorough follow-up process. An example would be priority lists be developed for age groups and identifying people without housing rather than following a “first come-first serve” concept. “There are many unan- sw e re d q u e s tio n s an d unidentified problems yet to be ad d ressed . A lth o u g h our priority effort should be to address tribal member needs, we must recognize an effort to resolve our total reservation housing needs. This would in c lu d e a r e a s su c h as com m unity d evelopm ent, la b o r fo rc e , p o p u la tio n projections, etc. Our future planning efforts would benefit a great deal if there were more solid information to work from . O th e r in fo rm a tio n needed at this time is: 1. Identified follow-up process on this surveys findings and recommendations. 2. Projection of future tribal member housing needs. 3. Identify total reservation needs and incorporate with tribal needs. 4. Address the limited housing income need (federal and/or tribal subsidy, etc.) “These are thoughts that will hopefully get us down the road to a better way of life.” Local census takers sought The Confederated tribes are urging local people to sign up as 1980 Census takers here on the Warm Springs Reserva tion. The census count begins April 1, and with that date growing near, the tribes are falling short of local people to help conduct the census. For those interested in working on the 1980 Census, it would be a paid part-time job re q u irin g a th re e -m o n th commitment. The information gathered in the census will be valuable to the tribes in terms of grant allocations which are awarded according to the census numbers collected. The Tribal Council and mangement are asking fo r the p e o p le ’s coôperation in giving out good-, quality information. Some of the questions in the census survey are rather p e rso n a l in n a tu re , but cooperation and honesty will be important to the tribes. That is one reason the census organizers think people would feel more comfortable with local census takers. C onfidentiality and the Privacy Act will be strictly enforced. Not even the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) or the President of the United States will be allowed to look over individual census forms. The final census results will be fed through a computer which is programmed to remove individuals’ names, making the data regional information only. If you are interested and willing to work on the 1980 C e n su s lo c a lly , c o n ta c t M ayann G ab riel in the Personnel Department, or contact Nathan Jim, Sr., local census crew boss. Sp ilyay Tymoo Coyote News * * * * * * * i SPILYAY TYMOO STAFF * * * * * * * ' MANAGING EDITOR ............................ .............................Sid MMar ASSISTANT E D IT O R ............. .................................. Sandy Rangila PHOTOGRAPHIC SPECIALIST/WRITER................. Olney PattJr. REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHERS Donna Behrend Roger Stwyer Martha Shewezyk TYPESETTER , .................................................Priscilla Squiemphen FOUNDED IN MARCH OF 1976 Published bi-weekly by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs R eservation of Oregon. Warm Springs, Oregon 97761. Located in the Old Administration Building. Any written material to Spilyay Tymoo should be addressed to: Spilyay Tymoo P. O. Box 735 Warm Springs, Oregon 97761 Phone 553-1644 or 553-1161, Ext. 274 Subscription Rate $6.00 per year Let the wind blow Latch-Key students are working on developing their kite launching abilities. Brisk March winds provide the perfect atmospheric conditions for cultivating that skill Spilyay Tymoo Photo by Shewezyk
