Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1983)
Spilyay Tymoo March 25,1983 Page 7 Agency District Candidates Mike Clements The next decade will bring many concerns our people must deal with on a very common sense basis. My fe e lin g is o ur natu ra l resources will be of greatest concern in the 80s. Our greatest concern will be our water. There are many water users in our region and water resources around us are being used up very quickly. This will place our rese rva tion and w ater resource as a very appealing commodity. A t present our trustee, the Bureau of Indian A f f a ir s , a d v d c a te s a negotiation approach to s o lv in g c o n flic ts w ith outside users and negotia tion usually means you must give up sométhing to gain or m aintain yo u r /p re s e n t situation. This will be a very touchy decision for our people and we must have our best decision makers out front. The other two options of legislation or litigation don’t usually turn out in favor of dur people, with their* thoughts in mind I believe there are going to be some tough decisions on water concerns in the 80s. My next concern is our timber resource. Question, are we overcutting? This goes through my mind as I watch our Forestry Manage ment plan and over-all plan (sustâinéd-yield) unfold. I believe o u r leaders and tribal members working for tribal council in tim ber resource areas need to become more involved in what’s happening. I don’t mean take over the BIA’s responsibility but become better informed, educated, and aware as to what’s happening. We, as tribal member loggers, thinners, woodcutters, Christmas tree operators need to under stand exactly what’s being done to our forest resource. There must be a great re s o u rc e le ft fo r o u r younger leaders to work with and we must be the ones to assure this. My last resource concern at this time is our overall land use deve lo pm e nt package and within, this long list my major concern is rangé development. As some of your may know we a re p r e s e n tly in th e p re lim in a ry sta g e s o f pulling together a tribal range management plan. This is certainly a great resource that we, as users, can and must do a better job with. We must work together to better utilize what we have and yet leave the y o u n g e r g e n e r a t io n s a valuable resource to work with. We need cooperation from current tribal member users to let us know what they believe is not there and what can be deveiopèd in the future for agriculture and livestock users. My second major concern is education. 1 have been the next couple of years. Our court system is also presently going through changes that will ensure our people just and speedy results. However, again we must work together to allow it to become something we respect. We need your help because we know these th in g s w o n ’ t h a p p e n overnight. involved with education programs all my life and feel ihat this is a great advantage for our younger people. What has suffered in my mind is somehow we need to make the link of our c u ltu re , tra d itio n s and heritage values with today’s generation. The people of today need a way to make tribal values of the past and present w ork to t h e ir benefit. We must develop a language program so our younger folks will be able to u n d e rs ta n d th e o th e r culture/heritage values to their fullest degree. There are many other tribal Values that need to be transferred, to be carried on into the future. Where our people came from and the land we now live on need to be a p p re c ia te d I was asked to comment on b e in g a fu ll- tim e e m p lo y e e and T r ib a l Council member. I know there are concerns among our people that a person cannot handle both or it is a co nflict of interest. My feeling is a person can do both and do a good job. The constitution qualifies who can run and we, as m em bers, sh o u ld take advantage if we feel we can help. However, one must first talk to his/her family, job supervisor and people before deciding to jump into such a great responsibility. You must be well-organized confident, and physically able to stand the grind. I feel I have accomplished this and would very much like to c o n tin u e to serve my people. To wrap things up, let me say that being on Tribal Council has, and is in my eyes, the greatest honor to offer each other. Having your people elect you to represent them in all matters means many things. One must be ready to deal with life from start to finish and do it in an acceptable manner. I know there are many in our district capable of doing this and I wish them all the best. If I should not be elected I want you all to know that the past council has my greatest respect. I have learned a great deal from all and wish to thank them publicly. I don’t think there have ever been so many hard decisions to make in one term. Yet, the people came, even when ill, to deal with great concerns that would affect all our liv e s . I a d m ire th e ir dedication because many times these people are actually losing money to represent us. However, I know that they will make it because that is the kind of people they are—dedicated, hard working people who want the best for us. We have made it through a very hard time because of good decisions and we must c o n t in u e w it h g o o d decisions. I urge you all to cast your vote for those you believe will best do the job at this time. May the Great Creator be with you all. and u n d e r stood, by our young and respect what they have. These things can be taught and must be taught to clear and clean the minds that seem to be wandering farther and farther away. However, we must not forget the importance of our present day local school programs and what benefit they bring. I feel we should head in. this direction and look to our elders for their wisdom and guidance. My third major concern is our Law and Order system. I believe this has to be made more acceptable to our people; but not at ih e expense of what we believe to be right and wrong. Our system make us account able for our ways. It must present consequences for our wrong doings. We cannot and must not build our laws and courts to let us down easy. I was taught right was right and wrong was wrong. I also had to accept the actions of the law and respect the people that carried out that action against me. There was no other choice. Enough of that, let’s get back to our present Law and Order code. It is not a state code, it will be new to us and we must work together to make it work. It still has some bugs in it, I’m sure. However, we must sit down together and look it over to take the unnecessary things out. I know we can do this in Election Day Friday, April 1,1983 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ur en Leonard I am 40 years of age. I am m arried and have five children. We are living in the agency area. I have worked for the Confede rated T rib e s o f Warm Springs for the past twelve years. Prior to that I was in the armed forces (Navy). My jo b at the p re sen t is Assistant Planning Director. My job as a planner for the tribe has given me a great deal of experience and insight on individual tribal p e o p le ’s co nce rn s and needs. I have talked to many enrolled members, not only in my district, but the total reservation, on concerns and issues that they feel are important to them. Such as c o m m u n ic a tio n s , trib a l budget, management plan, e d u c a tio n , and s o c ia l services. I feel that priorities that the Tribe sets should come from the people. Pro grams and projects only e x is t b eca use o f th e enrolled members, and the resources we have, which are established by our treaty, constitution and by laws. If we protect these rights now and in the future, both locally and nationally we can look forward to a better tomorrow. It will take all of us to decide and share on what the future will bring our reservation.
