PAGE 4 April 21, 1989
Warm Springs, Oregon
Spilyay Tymoo
Editorial
E Coosh EEWA
s
(The way it is)
Letters to the Editor
"Spifyay Spenlts" Consider impact of apportionment when voting
A confusing issue
Wc have a "hot one" coming
up. What I refer to is the amend
ment to Article IV, Section 2,
on apportionment. But first, I
would like to address the Con
stitution and By-Laws of the
Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation of
Oregon, approved February 14,
1938.
"Preamble: We, the Confed
erated Tribes of the Warm
Springs Reservation of Oregon,
in order to establish a more
responsible and effective organ
ization to promote our general
welfare, conserve and develop
our lands and other resources
and secure to ourselves and our
posterity the power to exercise
certain rights of self-government
not inconsistent with existing
Federal and State laws, do ordain and establish this Constitution
of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of
Oregon.
"Article I Objectives: It shall be the object of the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, (a) To estab
lish and maintain with the aid of the federal government, a form of
home rule that shall promote the advancement and welfare of the
Indians of the Warm Springs Reservation, (b) To establish and
enforce such rules as may be necessary to safeguard Indian prop
erty and resources for the use of present and future generations, (c)
To obtain for all Indians of this Reservation of the present and
future generations lands needed for homes and livelihood." "
Now the question of apportionment is facing us and we have to
decide whether or not to amend the Constitution and By-Laws,
which would reduce the number of districts from three to two, thus
eliminating the Seekseequa district and placing all voters in two
large districts. The election is set for Wednesday, May 3 1 and asks
whether or not Article IV, sections 2 and 8 of the Constitution and
By-Laws should be changed. '
There are many things to consider and one of the first is the
signing of the treaty. As it has been said, the treaty was signed by
the Seven Bands from along the Columbia River and the United
States government.
Today's tribal member enrollment has Warm Springs, Wasco,
and parts of almost every tribe on the west coast. There are but a
very few who can truthfully say that both of their parents are
fullblooded members of the Warm Springs tribes. The integration
is so strong that it's hard to find any fullblooded Warm Springs
and Wascos.
So now consider Article III, Memberships, Section 1, Member
ship of Allottees "Every living person whose name appears on
the allotment roll of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,
shall be entitled to membership in the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. Provided that the Tribal
Council shall have authority, subject to the approval of the Secre
tary of the Interior, within one year from, the approval of the
Constitution, to make corrections in said roll to the end that it may
be an accurate record of the membership of the tribe."
The more this is mentioned, the more I'm getting confused, so
1 11 cut it off here and think about it some more and hope ends meet
somewhere.
To all tribal member of the Con
federated Tribes of Warm Sprints,
I write to you to express my feel
ings on the issue of apportionment.
I believe many of you have con
cerns regarding what a move like
this will do to our reservation. Many
times, we young people have hear
the words, "Our old people were
thinking of future gcncrations(US)
when they made decisions regard
ing the reservation." Many of their
decisions still benefit us today. I
wonder, are the decisions that are
being made today (without our
knowledge) going to benefit indi
viduals OR the reservation as a
whole in the future? I hope many of
you are aware that all the people on
the board who decided for a small
log mill, are people whose income
comes from logging or forestry
related fields. Where was our repre
sentation as tribal members? I truly
believe that we should be exploring
other avenues in which we could
employ more tribal members and
receive more revenue. Our voices
seem to have come to a stand still
as tribal members of our respective
districts.
These are some of the things that
cross my mind as I think of the
impact apportionment will have on
our reservation and our people. I
want each of you who read this to
know that I had to start research
ing some of the things that worry
me about apportionment.
I have known for some years
Thank you for
care during loss
To the Editor,
I would like to thank everyone
who helped us when my son, Dar
ryl Calica, and my sister, Agnes
Nathan, passed away. To those of
you who attended their funerals,
helped with the meals, sent (lowers,
I say thank you. Your concern and
care are much appreciated.;
Inez Calica
Reward offered
To the Community,
On Friday, April 14, between 6
p.m. and 9 p.m., our house at mile
post 3, Tenino Road, was entered
and burglarized.
Jewelry, (necklaces, rings, bra
celets, earrings), a black ghetto
blaster and Reebok shoes were
taken.
We are offering a reward for the
return of the items taken. If every
thing is returned, no questions will
be asked and all information will
be kept confidential.
Kelly, Pinky, Waylon and Nevada
Beymer
that our sovereignty as individual
tribes, help in protecting our tribal
rights. We have rights which have
somewhat been guaranteed to us in
a number of federal court rulings,
one of which is the Cherokee vs.
Georgia case. Our right as a separ
ate nation is recognized before the
coming of the white man to the
North American continent, aborig
inal rights. Is the apportionment
issue infringing on the rights of the
people who are represented by the
Seekseequa district? In my study
ing, I have found strong evidence
that the more we adopt state and
federal concepts of law and govern
ment, the more we open ourselves
to losing our sovereignty. Appor
tionment is a system used by states
to elect officials according to the
population of areas. It does not
take into consideration individual
tribal sovereign rights.
Using information gathered from
our elders and documents once
belonging to my grandfather, Sam
Wewa (who was on the first Tribal
Council), I know our districts were
set up to represent three distinct
tribes and not according to appor
tionment. Our elders took into considera
tion, three individual sovereign
tribes with vested interests within
the newly formed confederation.
In 1967, the solicitor's office was
in agreement with a letter which
was addressed to the superinten
dent of Warm Springs.
"While not specifically stated
in the treaties entered into by
the Warm Springs Tribe, the
United States has continually
reserved the right to place
Indians other than those for
whom reservations were ini
tially established on any
reservation. Since the settle
ment of the Paiutes on the
reservation occurred after the
date Congress set forth in its
plenary powers in Indian mat
ters, it is our determination
that the placement of the
Paiutes on the reservation,
and their acceptance by the
Indians of the Warm Springs
Reservation constituted the
investiture of mcmbcrshipand
tribal rights to those Paiutes
who settled on the reserva
tion and affiliated themselves
therewith. Therefore, these
Paiutes become invested with
the full incidents of tribal
membership as of that time."
It is with this in mind that I ask
each of you, who have the power to
vote, ask yourselves these questions:
Who will benefit by apportion
ment? How will apportionment affect
our sovereignty?
Who is giving the initiators of
the apportionment petition legal
advice?
Are there conflicts of interest
within our tribal organization and
outside organizations?
Will apportionment push us
toward P.L. 280 and its jurisdic
tion on us? We are now exempt!
Will this have an impact on the
future?
There are many other questions
we need to have answered and I feci
we need a General Council meeting
as soon as possible to have the
initiators of the apportionment
petition and our tribal attorneys
answer us on the foreseeable impact
this could have on us should the
apportionment referendum pass.
Many of you know that there are
allegations that lies were used to
persuade people to sign the appor
tionment petition. I truly do not
know the answer to this but, if you
signed the apportionment petition
and were misled, you still have the
right to vote against the appor
tionment referendum.
In the Constitution and By-Laws
of the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation of Ore
gon, the preamble starts, "We, the
Confederated Tribes..." this means
all of US Warm Springs, Wasco
and Paiute. It is our right to be
members of this reservation and we
can exercise our rights to assemble
and get answers, before we vote!
I pray that each of you will think
this through and seek answers to
your questions before you vote.
The Bible says, "A nation divided
against itself cannot stand."
Please, take the time to think
about it!
A fellow tribal member,
Wilson Wewa, Jr.
Seekseequa District
Family appreciates help during funeral
Economic development important for future
To the wonderful friends & rela
tives of LIT Chief: - :;
We thank the Lord for all of you.
Without your loving support, it
would have been next to impossi
ble to bury our beloved son. To
Chief and Joann for taking care of
him in his final months with us. To
Kogie for being with Aaron when
he needed a friend. Our spiritual
parents from LaConner, Merle &
Rose Williams, officating the ser
vice with love.
To George Aguilar, Sr. for build
ing his casket & outer box, Ella for
praying us thru. To Larson &
Danny McGee for "bringing him
home" and taking him to his final
resting place. To Bridget for the
use of her pickup to make this possi
ble. To our supervisors & co-workers
for being so understanding & car
rying our share of work.
To the many relatives & friends
that traveled so far to be a part of
the funeral, just your presence at
the dressing, church and cemetary
touched our hearts and helped ease
the pain. Those that couldn't be
with us, we know were here in
spirit. Thank you for your prayers.
Special thanks to Paula and Eraina
for being with us from the begin
ning to the end. To Pebbles for
staying with us until she had to
return to school. To Myrna Walk
ing Eagle for loving him, to my
sister Val for arranging the paper
work to be processed f rom Olym
'pia for his final trip home.
My aunt Edith for his wampum,
Maxine for his moccasins, the grave
diggers for getting up so early to
dig his grave. To Nadine Williams
for being with Paula, Michael Wil
liams for being here for Easton. To
Gram & Orin for the use of the Full
Gospel Church, Bobbie James & Margo
Boise for the good meals, Romaine
and Sandy Miller for the beef, the
tribe for the salmon and deer meat.
To all of you for loving him. If we
failed to mention anyone, it isn't
our intent but in this time of sor
row it can easily be overlooked. We
love you all in the name of the
Lord. May He bless you and keep
you always.
Tina, Easton, & Aaron Aguilar,
Perry Kalama, Jr.; Paula Smith &
"Max" and the rest of the family
Community encouraged to get
involved in AFS visitation 422
Dear Agency District voters and
tribal members,
On April 25, 1 989, you will go to
the polls once again to vote for
your third representative in the
Tribal Council. I would like to
thank the people who voted for me
in the last election making it possi
ble for me to be able to run once
more for this important seat in our
Tribal government. Also, thank
you Rita for your good luck wishes.
I return the same to you.
My position and concerns is the
future economic development of
the Tribe, all of which includes
employment for our unemployed,
education and training for the youth
and young adults, and housing for
Tribal members. If we had more
economic development, we could
give more benefits to enrolled mem
bers. Some of these benefits would
be improving Senior Citizens pro
grams, unemployment and capital
for other economic projects.
I have much concern for subsid
izing our economic projects (Kah-Nee-Ta,
mill, gift shop, tribal gar
age, etc.). These existing problems
have to be corrected within the
enterprise so that the enterprise
can operate on their own and bring
capital back to the Tribe n terms
of profit.
I have 12 years' experience work
ing for the Tribe, so I have had
many years of first-hand, day-today
experience. On the other hand,
much of my personal experiences
in these past years has made me
realize the problems that many of
our people are facing dailv and
much of the frustrations and con
cerns they feel.
It is not a dream to be stating the
following because it should be a
reality for the future of our Tribe
that there will be employment and
housing on our reservation for all
our enrolled members.
I cannot make promises, but I
will represent our people in the
matter they expect me to if I am
elected.
If you voted for me in the main
election, I would appreciate your
vote again, but if you did not vote,
I ask for your vote now on April
25.
Thank you,
Uren Leonard
EDITOR'S NOTE
Spilyay Tymoo welcomes articles and letters from its readers. All
letters, preferably 300 words or less, must include the author's
signature and address. Thank you letters and poetry will be published
at the editor's discretion.
All letters are the opinion of the author and doiiot reflect in anyway
the opinion of Spilyay Tymoo. Spilyay Tymoo reserves the right to
edit all copy OR refuse publication of any material that may contain
libelous statements.
Smith's GM
selection unfair
To the Editor,
I'm writing this letter to express
my unhappiness with Ken Smith's
selection of the new general man
agers. I think it was unfair the way Ken
sprung his selection on us and
unfair to spring it on my son Ray
mond that his chief of police job
was taken. Raymond resigned his
job the same day. Two of my sons
got new jobs, but Raymond re
signed. Also, it seems to me that
the ones who were kept on have the
-same titles.
As a young boy in grade school,
Raymond was called names and
made fun of by the other kids. I
encouraged him to stand up for
himself. He stood up for other
kids, as well, when they got picked
on. He would fight their battles for
them.
Raymond came back from the
Navy to be a policeman. He didnt
want to drag others down but
wanted to help them. These expe
riences make him qualified for the
chief of police position.
I think the selection was unfair.
Inez Calica
To Parents, Students and Com
munity Members,
Well, April is here and it came
upon us fast! As you know, in
April, the Education Committee
hosts the annual AFS visitation
(foreign students). Each year we
get together with Betty Wallan and
Madeline Patchen, who are part of
the group from Madras that spon
sors this activitiy, to plan and make
preeparations. The foreign students
who are placed in Oregon gather
annually to visit the Warm Springs
reservation.
We have scheduled this event for
April 22. The students will be arriv
ing on Friday evening. On Satur
day morning, around 10 a.m., we
do a cultural and an historical
presentation of our reservation.
This will be done jointly with the
museum staff and the Culture and
heritage department. Many students
are unaware of how we live today.
They think that we still live in tee
pees and ride horses or buggies! It's
with enthusiasm that students see
and hear what Warm Springs has
done to strive and to advance in the
world today. They have been very
interested in this presentation.
After lunch the visitors go to
Kah-Nee-Ta to spend the afternoon.
They return to the Agency Long
house for a salmon dinner. All sug
gestions, donations, or volunteers
are welcome. Please give us a call.
After dinner is the powwow, where
we show our traditional dances
and some of the students do their
dances or songs.
We are inviting the community
to join us at welcoming and hosting
these students. The Warm
Springs people, through history
and presently, have been known
for their hospitality and friend-liness-j-so
let's graciously receive
and entertain our guests tradition
ally at the powwow. A little re
minder that this is a drug-free event
as we have been encouraging not
only our community events, but
our workplaces as well.
Parents and students, get your
regalia on and dance with us.
Drummers, bring your drums and
best songs for social dances.
We encourage our students to
visit with the foreign students. They
generally have "hundreds of ques
tions", so don't be afraid to mingle.
Continued on page 8
Tribal Council Agenda
Monday, April 24 Tribal Council Meeting
9 a.m. Business
9:30 a.m. Enrollments
10:30 a.m. Union Pension Plan Law Suit
1 :30 p.m. Integrated Resource Management Plan
(IRMP) and 10 Administrative Fee Budget
Tuesday, April 25 Tribal Council Meeting
9 a.m. Business
9:30 a.m Education Committee
11 a.m. Minutes
1:30 p.m. Realty
Wednesday, April 26 Tribal Council Meeting
9 a.m. Invocation
9:15 a.m. Business
10 a.m. U.S. West Communications
1:30 p.m. Invocation
2 p.m. To Be Scheduled Items
To Be Scheduled items include Columbia River Gorge,
Tribal Garage RFP and Water BoardAir Quality Recommendations
h