006171
, BC
VOL 6 NO 1
p ° Wer bin
signed with
protection
WARM SPRINGS, OREGON 97761
January 19, 1981
ATNI supports Smith for position
.
by Donna Behrend
Delegates attending the most
recent meeting of Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians
(ATNI), in Spokane, Washing
ton, passed a resolution giving
their full support of Warm
Springs General Manager Ken
Smith for possible appoint
ment as Assistant Secretary of
the Interior. ATNI members
also gave their support to Del
Lovato, chairman of the All
Indian Pueblo Council, as
special White House Assistant
on Indian Affairs.
On December 5 President
Carter signed into law the
Pacific Northwest Electric
Power Planning and Conserva
tion Act, a controversial
measure that lo o k its sponsors
four and one half years to
engineer through Congress.
The act is primarily designed to
in c re a s e e le c tric p o w er
generation in the region, but
includes firm provisions for
enviromental protection and
fisheries improvement. These
provisions represent hard-
fought concessions won by the
tribes and environmentalists,
Warm Springs councilman
and can be important means Olney Patt Sr. assured the
for restoring and protecting ATNI delegates that Smtih
trib a l fishery; reso u rces would accept appointment as
affected by dam operations on Assistant Secretary if selected.
the Columbia River and its “We don’t want him to leave.
tributaries.
He’s very important to us. . .if
Continued on page 3 he leaves, we’ll give him all the
support we can. 1 urge all
tribes to give him all the
NOTICE
support you can.”.
For those people who leave
W arm S p rin g s council
cars at the Tribal Garage with
out making any arraingments chairman Delbert Frank said
with the manager; they will be of Smith. “He is knowledge
able, he has a clean slate and
towed away.
r
he’s qualified at the grass.roots
level. We need a policy maker
in D.C., not an administrator.”
He continued, stating, “Some
existing policies are pure
obstacles for us and the BI A
knows that. Any change will
have to come from us.
“We also have a big obstacle
before us with the Reagan
administration. . .we need to
have a good representative. We
need someone who has done
something for the grass roots
Indian people.”
C o lv ille I n d ia n Mel
Tonasket feels that the Reagan
administration maÿ improve
r e s e r v a tio n o p e r a tio n s ,
“Reagan’s administration will
cause trib e s to im prove
accountability and be better
businessmen.”
He also stated that the
incoming administration was
uninformed as far as Indian are
c o n c e r n e d . “ T h e new
administration is full of new
people who don’t know much
about Indians. It would be wise
to have someone, or an
organization, to be there to
inform them . Reagan is
looking for new faces and new
blood. However, old faces and
old blood have been thrown
around already.”
Ip other ATNI business,
delegates voted to send a night
letter to the Energy and
Natural Resources committee
opposing the appointment of
James Watt as Secretary of the
Interior. NCAI Executive
Director Ron Andrade said
NCAI planned to present
written and . oral testimony
during the Watt hearings last
week in Washington, D.C.
Watt, 42, has drawn critical
fire from Indian leaders for his
legal views opposing the
sovereign powers of Indian
tribal governments and from
environmentalists for his pro
development, views concerning
federal lands. '
Another item brought up at.
the three day meeting was
d eleg ate concern of the
c o n tro v e rsia l “ S a g eb ru sh
Rebellion.” Tribal leaders fear
that if the act is put into effect,
tr ib e s w ill lo se r ig h ts
constituted by their treaties.
Our rights “will not mean a
thing if states get a hold of
land” through the Sagebrush
Rebellion, said one delegate.
“We need to plan together as
reservations on the act. If we sit
around and let it happen, it will
be just like termination.”
According to an article
published in the December
issue of the Columbia Inter-
T rib a l Fish C om m ission
newsletter, “ownership control
by the states would open up
these off-reservation treaty
areas to development at the
expense of traditional tribal
uses.”
The sagebrush rebels also
expressed new hope that
President-elect Reagan would
be an ally in their cause.
Inflation has hit ATNI just
as it has m any o th e r
organizations. Many felt that
the $100 annual fee per tribe
was far too low and suggested it
be raised. Action will be taken
on the amount of that raise at
the Spring meeting of ATNI in
St. Ignatius, Montana, March
16-18.
Recreation survey is important Youths charged with murder, assault
Please understand your
Beware! ! Survey people once
again . T his tim e i t ’s a response is very important even
First degree murder charges
if you don’t use the present
récréation needs assessment to recreation facilities. Tell us were filed January 6 against
two 17 year-old Yakima tribal
be taken to all members of the what you do with your leisure members along with three
time.
c o m m u n ity w ho w e re
counts of assault in connection
The survey may be left with the apparent ax slaying of
ran d o m ly chosen to be
overnight or dropped off to you a 20 year old Nez Perce tribal
surveyed.
in the morning and picked up in member and the injury of three
The largest percentage of the evening. We do need a other persons December 29 just
other persons December 29
people surveyed will be tribal speedy responses though.
ju s t east of D a lle sp o rt,
members. Everyone over eight
This survey will help set the Washington.
years of age in the chosen needed direction for recreation
The two, Arthur Cloud and
household will get a chance to on the reservation and will be Warren Cloud are being held
let their recreation voices be confidential. We need your for $50,000 bail each and are
being held in the Yakima
input!!
heard.
County Detention Center.
They are accused of slaying
Gary Frank, a Yakima Tribal
member, and attacking Roy
G eorge a Yakim a tribal
member and two W arm
S p rin g s trib a l m em bers,
Andrea and Jimmy Spino with
what authorities said was “an
ax or a sim ilar cutting
instrument.”
Frank died of multiple
wounds to the head and skull.
The other three are still
h o s p ita liz e d at G ood
S a m a r i t a n H o s p ita l in
Portland and are listed in
“good condition and showing
steady improvement.” All three
injured initially had surgery
after admission and M iss Spino
has had two subsequent
surgeries on her jaw.
A declination hearing will be
held January 19 in Goldendale
which may remand the two
juveniles to adult court.