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September 26, 1986
SlMLYAY TYMOO
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Entire tribe stops drinking
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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-
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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.
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CITY
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cost. Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the ConfederatPd Tribes of v -' t--:s
or call the head office in Salem at
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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.
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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.