Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1994)
OR.COI.L. F, 75 .r.en v. 10 no. flOVfllibr'I Spilyay Tymoo P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Address correction requested U.S. Postage Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 (Coyote News) SERIALS DEPARTMENT KNIGfTDEPT 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OR EUGENE, OR 97403 Nov. 22, 1994 Vol. 19 No. 23 35 Coyote News In Brief NCAI convention held In Denver The 50th anniversary of the nation's oldest Indian organization was celebrated in Denver November 12-16. 2 Healthy Nations welcomes input Plans are in the works for a survey to gather suggestions on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse among community members. Veterans honored A three-day powwow was held at the Agency Longhouse in honor of veterans. Dental staff introduced Additional dentists and larger staff help accommodate the growing need for Improved dental care among patients. Elementarv students i .. . m l attain perfect attendance Mim; mom ctiHante have gone the entire snhnnl vaar without missing a day. Families celebrated Life as a family and family relationships are challenging. Help is available through various sources Hours for the Warm Springs Post Office for December 12-16 and December 19-23 will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Post Office will remain open during the lunch hour for the two week period. Deadline for the next Spilyay Tymoois Friday, December 2 at 5 p.m. M & J J 7wla "mmL'- University D.-r. i ved on .ilyay tymou Ore -j on 12 -06 9-1 Libi m fill f -i i - ' - ; i rr-, - '.LJ. aM 1" ' ; 1 f' " Ia t ' , , t. -;; h , - i 1: ; : . . - r ' " n 1 stt? fi'i. 1 - '.iff ; ' I ' J 1 1 1 ? 417 y. . It' L V ' k t f , V" 4 I I 4t ' i. , I 1 ff ' ; '" ' I ' ' 1 ; , 'i ' -r y . y jf ,m ; Spilyay Tymoo photo by Robert Medina Veteran's Day may have been cold, gray and gloomy, but patriotism among local residents was not at all affected. Mary Miller Smith and two family members wait patiently for ceremonies near Tie tilOu raimer memorial Deiore uie paraae nias iu way iu uie rtyurioy uunynuube. Council establishes Bridge Team In a November 9, 1994 memorandum to BI A Superintendent Gordon Cannon and tribal Secretary Treasurer Ken Smith, Tribal Council Chairman Raymond Calica, Sr. detailed the work of the newly established Bridge Team. The team will provide strategic direction and oversight to the transition process as the Tribe moves toward fulfilling their intent to contract the BIA forestry program. Serving on the Bridge Team will be the first or second vice-chairman of Tribal Council, Ken Smith, tribal SecretaryTreasurer, Charles Calica, Natural Resources General Manager, Ralph Minnick, Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, Dr. Norm Johnson of Oregon State University, a tribal member with hands-on forestry experience and the interim forest manager, who will be selected by Tribal Council. The Bridge Team will provide Tribal Council with forestry organization options and recommendations by December 30. These options may include maintaining the status quo or recommending any other options of operating the Tribe's forestry program under PL 93-638. The Team will also recommend changes to the timber sale and harvest planning process and provide recommendations of any policy changes to the Integrated Resource Management Plan goals, objectives, alternatives or other components that require Tribal Council action. The Bridge Team will work with designated BIA officials to develop options in managing the Forestry program, including the status quo and other options of operating the forestry program under PL 93-638. The Bridge Team will also complete a review of all 1994 and 1995 timber sales. Considering the review, the Team will cause the removal of sales or sale units that do not promote forest health and salvage. Also associated with sales, the Team will design and recommend a new timber sales development process which is consistent with the IRMPand which emphasizes meeting forest health, salvage and WSFPI wood supply needs. The Team will enhance the ERMP by directing the development of a mid-course correction to its provisions, including the annual allowable cut and harvest scheduling. The Team will report to Tribal Council at least once a month. It is hoped that the Team will provide the leadership required to position the Confederated Tribes for future control of the forestry program. Gaming issue set for referendum December 27 On Tuesday, December 27, 1995, eligible tribal member voters will decide the fate of a proposed gaming facility on the Warm Springs Reser vation. Several reason have been given for the decision to explore the possibility of such a facility. A total of 600 votes will be required to vali date the election. Voters must be at least 21 years of age or married to vote in the election. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Community Center. Tribal timber revenues are ex pected to decline sharply due to a reduction in the annual allowable cut. In 1994, the Tribe derived 65 percent of its revenue from reserva tion forests. There is a good chance IRMP II document available After several months of planning meetings, the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) for the non-forested and rural areas of the reservation is available for review and comments. This important planning process is similar to the IRMP I planning of the forest. This initial document cov ers proposed issues, goals objectives, current resource conditions and de sired future conditions. After its re viewand incorporation of tribal mem bers comments, the draft and final plans will be developed (March and June 1995, respectively). Individual copies of the scoping document are being distributed or delivered by mail. Additional copies are available at the Range and Ag Office. District, community, grazing group and family meetings are being planned for December. Concerns raised about intent to contract forestry Many questions have been raised since Tribal Council announced its decision and intent to seek a transfer of the forest management responsibility from the BIA to the Tribes. Council has examined this proposal on several occasions and has already established Tribal forest management functions over the past several years. The protection and stability of the Tribes' resources are a symbol of the Tribes' commitment to maintain a spiritual and sacred trust on behalf of past and future generations. The forest lands help to shape the quality of life, and they are a link to tribal heritage and well being. Timber and water resources provide at least 95 percent of the Tribes annual revenue. The declaration of intent is not intended as a final decision and Tribal Council may elect to proceed with or withdraw the notice. The Tribes must have and deserve to receive the full value of benefits from their forest A clear message must be understood: Tribal sovereignty will be asserted to firotect the welfare of present and uture tribal membership as the need dictates. The most recent decision has arisen from a series of internal and external developments that seriously threaten the quality of tribal forest resources and the Tribes' economic well-being. Internally, there is a growing disappointment and doubt that BIA forestry can deliver an effective program or can provide reliable information for both near- and long- term decision making. Additionally, there are varying levels of resistance andor resentment toward tribal direction or changes, in general. One consequence of this situation is the continued processing of timber sales that reduce the value and condition of tribal forest resources. Externally, the federal government efforts to shrink the size of programs will impact the BIA and the nature of its operations and funding. As this progresses, many tribes are taking action to bring various BIA programs and budgets under direct Tribal management through the use of the Indian Self-Determination Act (PL 93-638). The tribes that choose this course are also taking their portion of the Area and Central office budgets as well. This will shrink the pool of funds and services available to those remaining within the BIA system. Tribal membership has voiced long-standing and legitimate concerns about the method, amount and need for planned harvest activities. Within the Forest Management Plan for 1982-1991, BIA forestry asserted that an annual allowable cut of 103 million board feet could be sustained for at least 25 yean. The Plan was implemented with a 1 10 Mbf annual harvest rate. Tnbal leaders and officials objected to the soundness of the logic and intent However, they did not have good information to formally challenge that direction. BIA intentions were to target the harvest Continued on page 8 that the 1995 annual allowable cut will be closer to 40 million board feet (Mbf) that the 60 Mbf as projected in the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP). The reduction is a re sult of continued over-harvesting throughout the past several decades and poor timber sales decisions. Reduction of the annual cut is synonymous with fewer jobs. It is expected that over 1 50 jobs would be created with the construction of a casino. It is proposed that the gaming facility be built in one of four sites at Kah-Nee-Ta: as an addition to Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge, at the old airport area, across from the Golf Course or at the riding stable area. Proceeds from casino operations would fund tribal programs, such as education, senior citizens, etc. With gaming revenues coming in, the Tribe would be able to let its natural re sources rest and recover. It is esti mated that a gaming venture on the reservation would bring in between $3 million and $22 million a year. It is estimated the nearly 2,000,000 people are within a 100-mile radius of Kah-Nee-Ta. As with all tribal gaming opera tions, Warm Springs would strike a "class III" gaming compact with the state of Oregon. The state would also conduct background check on all gaming employees, as is required by the National Indian Gaming Asso ciation. A compact is a legal agree ment that outlines the gaming op eration, such as the kind of games offered, the size of the facility, bet ting limits, regulations, security etc. Gaming Consultants, Interna tional have been hired to assist the Tribe in planning and setting up a gaming operation. However, the gaming operation would be com pletely managed by the Tribe. Watch for more information concerning the gaming issue in fu ture editions of Spilyay. We're looking for interesting stories and photos (if available) of the 1964 flood. The 30 year anniversary of the "Big One" is coming this winter. Keep Spilyay in mind when remembering the good oV days. Call tis at 553-3274