Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1986)
lllM,lil,,l,,M,,,Mt,iallMM Wakm simum;s, ohk;on 9776 i September 26, 1986 SlMLYAY TYMOO j Entire tribe stops drinking I I by Michael Zlelrnzigrr Knighl-Kiddrr New Service Alkali Lake British Columbia For years they were known deri sively ai the Indians of "Alcohol l ake." But the 400 Shuswap Indi ans who live on this remote and windswept reservation arc having the last laugh: They have learned to beat the bottle. In a remarkable transformation without known parallel, thedrunken Indians of Alkali Lake, 300 miles northeast of Vancouver, have become stone-cold sober after 15 years of effort. Experts say this tee-totaling tribe, the members of which dried out without massive intervention from outside social agencies, may have pioneered a program that could be used by alcohol-troubled Indians throughout North America. "It's like a fairy tale, really" said Doug Wilson, who runs the Native Alcohol Treatment Center for the province of British Columbia. "They arc the most successful program that exists, absolutely. They are a shining exception to the rule on most Indian reservations, and there's no reason that the lesson they've learned cant be transferred to other reservations." "There's no other (tribe) I know of in the world that has made such a direct and dedicated effort" to become abstinent, said R. Dale Walker, a Cherokee Indian and expert on Indian alcoholism who teaches at the University of Washing ton in Seattle. Throughout North America, alco holism remains the No. I killer of Indians. Census data show that American Indians die from alcoho lism at a rate five times higher than the general population and that life expectancy for an Indian male is 22 years shorter than for a white, primarily because of alcohol induced deaths. Researchers have estimated that eight often Indians are affected by alcohol abuse, either directly or as members of a family in which alco hol is a problem. But the litany of solemn statis tics no longer applies here in the high scrublands of the Fraser River Plateau, where sobriety has become the community rule. "Drinking is not Indian," said Andy Chelsea, chief of the Alkali Lake tribe and a leader in the tribal temperance movement. "We're native people, and native people never did have wine, beer, whiskey, anything before the white people came here. That is what we're going to prove." Phyllis Chelsea, the chiefs wife, is credited with being one of the first to quit drinking in 1971, after her seven-year-old daughter said shedidn't want to live with parents who were drunk all the time. "I was trapped by alcohol, and I didn't like it." Phyllis Chelsea recalled. "There were things that were part of my life and my mar riage that I didn't like, like jealousy and not trusting one another. When I drank, I never had any money, never went to town on my own, never had any self-confidence. I had a great fear of things. Yet I knew there was something I could do with my life; I remember pray ing as a Catholic that something could happen for me. "Things stayed that way until the usual weekend when we went drinking. . .and w hen I went to pick up my little girl from her grand mother and she wouldn't come home. 'I don't want to live with you and daddy,' she said. "It was really hard for me to hear this, because I had grown up with feelings of hatred towards my par ents because of things that hap pened when they were drunk. I didn't want to lose my family over alcohol, and here I was." That was the day Phyllis Chelsea stopped drinking. A week later. Andy stopped, too. "I was one of the worst drunks around," the chief recalled, sitting on the steps of the tribe's new school building, "but I didn't like what was going on around here." In the course of one year, Andy Chelsea said, I6friendsand members of his family died because of alcoho lism. They included his father, who died in a bar. "I saw him lying in his coffin, and 1 said: 'This didn't have to happen, I was so mad at myself, I didn't even go to the funeral. And every time I looked at the bottle, I'd see a picture of my father in that coffin." For three years, the Chelseas and two others were the only mem bers of the reservation who refused to drink. But slowly, almost impercepti bly at first, other members of the tribe stopped drinking, too. "On Monday mornings I'd walk through town, smiling and feeling good, looking healthy, talking to people," Andy Chelsea said. "Other people were stumbling around, feel ing bad, their heads hurting. Even tually, people starting looking at me and wishing they were in my shoes. It was leadership by example." Freddie Johnson, the school prin cipal, remembers quittine October 20. 1976. after beating his father during a drunken rage. "You know, an alcoholic feels alone, he doesn't understand some of the experien ces he's been going through. Out side people can't really help. "But I knew how Andy used to drink, and he was a friend of mine. If he's talking to me. well I knew he'd been there himself, so when he's talking you're going to listen." As the core group of sober Indi ans grew larger, their tactics grew more bold. White bootleggers were thrown off the reservation. A drunken priest was forced to leave. Andy Chelsea was elected chief, and the white shopkeeper, who sold booe as w ell as groceries, was ordered off the grounds. With the tribe's authority behind him, Chelsea decreed that no mem ber of the band council could drink and that tribal employees wouldn't be paid if they were booing. Those tribal members who still were drinking weren't allowed to cash their government welfare checks; instead, they were given vouchers that were honored by local merchants for the purchase of food and clothing but not booe. Chelsea admits he was something of a despot, but he says the methods were justifiable. "If I hand you a social assistance check (the Cana dian form of welfare) and you drink it all up. who are you sup porting? "If they don't like it. they can leave." the chief added. "If they want to have another leader, they can throw me out. If they want to develop with a bunch of drunks, let them go ahead. But I guarantee that if you try to develop economi cally with a bunch of drunk Indi ans, you're not going to make it." Keprlnlrd wild permiuion from Knight-Rider St Sfrvic Navajo fair set The 63rd Annual Northern Navajo Fair and All-Indian rodeo is set for October 2-5, 1986, at Shiprock, New Mexico. There will be five rodeo perfor mances which starts at 7 p.m.. Ihursday at 7 p.m., on Friday, I p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, with one on Sunday starting at 1 p.m., to wind up the event. A junior rodeo and an old timers rodeo is planned for October I, with the deadline for junior entries is September 30, at 10 p.m. And the Old Timers entries will be accepted on October I, at the rodeo office beginning at 8 a.m. A powwow is scheduled to start on October 3. For anyone who would like to get in contact with th? rodeo office you can call Ms. Martha Charlie, rodeo secretary at (505) 368-4717. Spllny I ymoo Awo y .irr Everyone likes to be a winner, and we 've had several winners this year who correctly identified the locations of our Geo Quiz. Here is another photo for someone to identify its location and win a years subscription to the Spilyay Tymoo. Call 553-1644, with your answer, Mantoservetime Wolfe waives hearing A Warm Springs man. Georee Picard. Jr., was sentenced to two years in a federal prison at Sego villc. Texas on a charge of an ex felon in possession of a firearm. Eighteen months of his sentence were suspended. He will serve two months at the prison. I le also received five year's probation and was ordered to receive counseling, according to B1A investigator Ben Richards. Classes Cont. from page 1 education but will cover the effects of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine; the fourth class will feature the film "My Father's Son" and deal with denial, enabling and refusal skills and the final class will cover choi ces, the law and evaluation. The classes for youth are designed so the youth can build onto each other. If a youth misses classes one' and two, he will be too far behind to start class three and will need to sign up for the second session of classes. Both the adult and youth classes will be held in the community counseling center and will start promptly at 4 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. James L. Wolfe, aka James Armstrong. 35, waived his right to further hearings in Federal Court shortly before he was to appear in court for suppression hearing Sep tember 22. Wolfe had been indicted July 23 on one count of carnal knowledge of a female not his wife under the age of 16 years. He was scheduled for trial September 30. He will appear in Federal court Monday, September 29 to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. At that time the court will set a sentencing date, according to U.S. assistant attorney Bill Youngman. Youngman stated that the sen tencing hearing would probably be held during the month of November. Reminder Spilyay Tymoo is unable to pub lish letters that are unsigned. We often receive informative and inte resting material, but are unable to print it because theauthor has neg lected to sign it. FONSI, EA available to public Notive of availability of: I) Find ing of no significant impact; and. 2) Environmental Assessment for the following Homesite leases: 1 . Elmer G. Scott, Jr 5.00 acres. 2. Sharlyne R. Garcia 5.00 acres. Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs. Action: Notice. Summary: This notice advised the public that: l) A finding of no significant Impact (FONSI); and 2) and Environmental Assessment is available for public review. Address: Comments and ques tions should be addressed to: Wil liam L. Apgar, Environmental Coordinator, Warm Springs Agency, P.O. Box I239, Warm Springs, Oregon 9776 1. Individuals wishing copies of the FONSI for review should imme diately contact the above individ ual. The environmental assessment is available for review at the Warm Springs Agency in Warm Springs. Oregon. Oregon to change driver's license Meeting to be held General Council meetings to dis cuss the proposed 1 987 annual ope rating budget will be scheduled. Look for signs announcing the dates and locations. School attendance compulsory The language, to perpetuate our most valuable and natural resour ces for our future generations, implies more than just forests, fisl) and game and scenic ways accord ing to the tribal prosecutor's office. Our largest and most valuable resource are our children and their preparation for a lifestyle through formal education as mandated by a variety of laws. The interpretation of any of those laws is subject to rev iew and change, but the applica tion of those laws will not change until the law itself is changed, empha sized Gene Smith, tribal prosecutor. The issue of compulsory school attendance responsibility has been shifted between the school district and various tribal programs for too long, says Smith. We are now going to place the responsibility where it belongs and where the most controls are based, and that's with the parents. The school dis trict and the tribal governmental programs are providing the oppor tunity for a formal education but we. as parents, sometimes fall short of our obligations to ensure our children are physically present to share in that opportunity. Tribal la w concerning school atten dance is quite explicit in its lan guage, stated Smith. Children between the ages of seven and 1 8 who have not completed the twelfth grade are required to attend school full-time. Naturally there are and can be exceptions, however, the general rule is that the exceptions must be a mutual consent between the school district, the parents and the tribal council andor council's representative. Those who fail or refuse to comply with those regula tions are subject to judicial sanc tions. Those sanctions are both criminal and civil in nature. The criminal aspects subject the parent or guardian to a fine andor jail sentence. The civil on one extreme can be handled as an informal hearing before the juvenile court and at the other extreme, physical removal and placement of children pursuant to a charge of child neglect. We don't believe that we have an overall serious problem but we do have problems in school attend ance. To minimize that problem we plan on co-ordinating our efforts w ith all education-related programs stated Smith. Effective October I. 1 986 the tribal prosecutor's office will be implementing the following policy: A. Five days absence in any one month will prompt a warning letter to the parent or guardian. B. Ten days absence in any one quarter will prompt a criminal com plaint pursuant to 305.439 WSTC, failure to send children to school. C. 1 5 days absence in any semes ter or expulsion from school will DromDt a criminal complaint nur- r -r-- , suantto J05.418 WS I C, child neg- sneci wnicn explains me cnanges Oregon will change the way it licenses drivers beginning October l , 1 986. After that date, new licenses will be based on the class or types of vehicle applicants want or need to drive. The lowest class license will be Class 5 and the highest class will be Class l . Each higher class grants a greater range of driving privileges. It will take eight years to convert already licensed drivers, driver-chauffeurs or drivers with a motorcycle endorsement to the new classified system. Until you are due to renew your driver's license in-person at a Motor Vehicles Division field office, you may continue to drive any vehicle you now drive with the license you now have. The best thing you can do is stop by the Oregon Motor Vehicles Division field office in Madras for a copy of the new fact probably want to go down to the Motor Vehicles Division field off ice and get a chauffeurs license before the October I deadline so that it can be automatically converted over to a Class 3 license the next time you are due to renew in-person. Otherwise, your regular license will be converted over to a Class 4 license and you will be treated as a new driver and have to be tested to receive a Class 3 license. This would involve taking the truck or pickup trailer combination to the field your . ff" . A oince to tnen De tested on driving of the equipment. Bus drivers need a Class 2 license and large truck-trailers are Class I (18 wheelers). There are special rules for these and they are not automatically converted over unless your license is due for renewal before April 1, 1988 and your emplo yer certifies that you are a qualified and competent driver. Also you will still need to have a motorcycle endorsement to operate a motorcycle. Howlak Tichum ) Lucinda Smith lect The sanctions at first glance appear to be quite stringent, how ever, they are not in excess of the minimum requirements of the school district. The difference being prior to this date, the criminal sanctions were sporatically imposed. Smith went on to say that we are not imposing new sanctions, only what has been available in the past and never consistantly imposed. Smith concluded by saying, "we, as an area of the tribal government, do not want to deminish the authori ty or responsibilities of today's parents. However, those who do not actively share in their respon sibilities will be formally introduced to those responsiblities through the tribe's judicial system." Need a haircut Hair Cutting and Styling $5, call 553-1550 for an appointment. I I I j NAME CITY SUBSCRIPTION TO SPILYAY TYMOO SEND SUBSCRIPTION TO: SPILYAY TYMOO, PO BOX 870, WARM SPRINGS, OR 97761 ADDRESS .STATE- ZIP. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $6.00 PER YEAR IN THE U.S. $12.00 PER YEAR OUTSIDE THE U.S. All members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will receive the Spilyay Tymoo at no cost. Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the ConfederatPd Tribes of v -' t--:s or call the head office in Salem at 37 1 -2200. The change is because all states have been urged by the National Highway Safety Administration and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to adopt classified licenses. A classified licen sing system bases your license on the type or types of vehicles you drive not your occupation such as the drive-chauffeur license. The main reason for the change is for better safety. Trucks are involved in almost twice as many accidents as are passenger cars. More needs to be done to ensure that drivers of all trucks are more experienced, especially beginning drivers of big trucks. , When your next scheduled in person renewal time comes up. and a) if you have a driver-chauffeur license then it will be automatically converted to a Class 3 license. The Class 4 license will it you drive a car. pickup, two-axle truck, a car or other vehicle pulling any type of trailer that weighs 8.000 pounds or less when loaded, any motor home, or a bus or van that seats less than 24 passengers. The Class 3 license will let you drive any of the vehicles in Class 4 and 5 (5 lets you drive only a moped) and any three-axled vehi cle which includes most midsized trucks, it also allows you to tow a trailer with a loaded weight of 000 pounds or less, or tow a trailer that weighs more than 8.000 pounds if the combined loaded weight of the power unit and the towed vehicle is not more than 24.000 pounds (12 tons). Anyone who does not have a chauffeur's license right now and w ould need it to drive their truck or haul a large trailer (such as a goose- necnj aner ineir nexi in-person ! renewal (and this could be anvtime Matriarch and tribal elder Lucinda (Scott) Smith, 85, died September 18, 1986 at Mt. View Hospital in Madras, Oregon. Mrs. Smith was born October 10, 1901 at Warm Springs to Addie (Thomas) and Jimmy Scott. Dur ing her younger days she resided in Stevenson, Washington. In 1918, she married Alfred Smith, who preceded her in death December 14, 1970. The couple made their home on the Smith ranch located at Sidwalter Flats on the Warm Springs reservation. They were of parents thirteen children, five whom preceded Mrs. Smith in death: baby girl in 1929, Jonas Smith in 1930, Sylvester in 1931, Maxine in 1934 and Martha in 1961. She was of Wasco descendency, enrolled member of the Confeder ated Tribes of Warm Springs and a member of the Warm Springs Presbyterian Church. She was known for her traditional Wasco bead work of applique showing animals, flowers and scenes. In recent years she became known to many as "grand mother." Surviving Mrs. Smith are three sisters, Hazel Seyler, Elva Greene and Alice Scott all of Warm Springs; a brother Harvey Scott of Warm Springs; four sons Russell E. Smith, Roscoe Smith, Alfred Smith, Jr., and Sylvester Smith all of Warm Springs; four daughters Louise Langley, Rita Squiemphen and Ginger Smith all of Warm Springs and Delia Smith of Hayward, Cali fornia; over 100 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. . Dressing ceremonies were held at the Madras Evergreen Chapel Thursday, September 18 at 4 p.m. with Nelson Wallulatum and Mar garet Boise officiating. Evening prayer services were held at the Chapel Thursday, September 1 8 at 7:30 p.m. conducted by Pastor Rick Ribeiro of the Warm Springs Presbyterian Church. Funeral ser vices were held Friday, September 19 at 10 a.m. with Pastor Ribeiro officiating. Burial followed at the Warm Springs Agency Cemetery. I 8 I I Phyllis Darlene Charley Robinson in the next eight vears). would Enrolled member of the Confed erated Tribes of Warm Springs, Phyllis Darlene Charley Robinson died September 22, 1986 at Mt. View Hospital in Madras. Oregon. Phyllis was born October 17, 1950 in Redmond, Oregon to Lyda (Frank) and Alvin T. Charley. Her father preceded her in death May 16, 1970. She attended the Simna sho Grade School, the Madras Junior High and the Chilocco High School in Chilocco Oklahoma. She was a member of the Warm Springs Catholic Church. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. She married Raymond N. Robinson April 3. 1976. He pre ceded her in death February 20. 1982. Her special interests were art sewing, cooking and designinf clothme She is survived by her mother. Lyda; a daughter Francine Jones of Vancouver, Washington; three sons, Adrian Charley. Jessie Jones and Azuel Charley all of Warm Springs; five brothers. Earl Char ley, Sr., Alvin Charley, Jr., Byron E. Frank, Olin Charley and Isa dore Charley all of Warm Springs; five sisters, Anita Davis, Minnie Charley, Rachel Charley, Sally Charley and Barbara Poncho all of Warm Springs and; numerous aunts, uncles nieces and nephews. Dressing ceremonies were held at the Simnasho Longhousc Mon day, September 22, 1986 at 4 p.m. with Nettie Shawaway officiating. Tribal overnight ceremonies were held at the Simnasho Longhousc September 22 with burial follow ing at the Simnasho Cemetery Tuesday, September 23 at 9 a.m.