SpilyayTymoo
Warm Springs, Oregon
March 3, 1995 3
Be informed about gang lingo, dress, activities Father- daughter duo bring chiefs words to life
;' Gang affiliation among young
people is on the rise. To help curb
association with gangs, parents and
;community members should be
;aware of the lino, dress and other
activities associated with gangs,
following is information presented
by the 509-J School district in the
high school newsletter.
, Gang membership makes sense
So youth at first, as it fills an un
conditional need:
; To belong
', To be accepted and cared
about
' To have physical and cco
; nomic security
I To hang out with friends.
'- To have recreation and cx
!; citcmcnt
' To have a set of values and
a behavior code.
' In the end, they join because these
needs aren't met at home. Kids don't
have the tools to successfully com
bat peer pressure and gang intimi
dation, let alone organized and
trained gang recruiters.
There are now more than 5,000
gangsters in Oregon between the ages
of eight and 23. Their main interest
is economic, met through drug sales
and associated crime.
Evidence of gang involvement in
our community includes an increase
in tagging (graffiti) using stylized
letters. The graffiti usually contains
three-letter initials, and signs may
be crossed out and written over.
If a youth's activities include any
of the following, they may be at risk.
Immediate intervention is suggested.
What to look for
Change in preferred clothing,
especially including or avoiding one
color, baggy pants and baseball caps
with graffiti inside the brim.
Beginning to "doodle" exces
sively especially if letters are con
sistently stylized. Watch for nick
names and repetition of three-letter
initials.
A change in slang usage. Be aware
of changes in conversation content
with friends such as excessive talk
about gangs, recruiters, tagging and
assignment of nick-names to friends.
Use of hand signs or signals with
friends.
Change in school attendance, in
volvement and achievement and
abandonment of hobbies.
Desire for tattoos or any form of
self-mutilation.
One thing that has been learned
the hard way in most areas is that
mistaken attachment of a negative
label usually results in negative
treatment by authorities, which
eventually results in loss of self-esteem
and a negative reaction by the
youth.
The primary goal should be to
keep youth in school and involved in
positive activities. Sanctions which
push them out, such as suspension,
will diminish their chances for suc
cess. Educate your children while they
are in kindergarten about gangs. Be
sure they know about gangs and the
personal danger and consequences
involved. Watch news stories about
gangs with them. Share newspaper
articles, explain drive-by shootings.
You can only know what's going
on in your children's lives if you stop
talking and lecturing long enough to
hear what they are and are not saying
to you.
There is no better tool for finding
out what's going on with your kids
than communication.
Statistics show there are in excess
of 3,500 members of "tag crew" in
Oregon. Most are in the Portland
area, but they are expanding their
influence. Being a member of a tag
crew is generally the first step in
joining a street gang. Taggers are
excellent recruits, because they have
already committed vandalism. The
more dangerous tag location and the
longer it stays up, the more prestige
is attached. Taggers therefore like to
protect their "work", sometimes with
guns.
For further information on gang
activity, call the Warm Springs Po
lice Department or the Madras Po
lice Department at 475-2344.
Gang vocabulary
187
BK
Bite
Buff
Buster
CK
Crew
Crippin'
Def
Down
Gangbanger
California penal code word for murder
Blood Killer, what Crips call themselves.
Copy another's tag style
Cleaning a tag area by authorities
Someone who claims to be "down" but isn't
Crip Killer what Bloods call themselves
Tag group (also posse, mob or tribe)
Crips work" Survive any way you can
Really good (also fresh)
Be a dedicated member, accepted by set
Involved with gang activity; gang member
Get up Write a lot of tags
Homies Fellow members of one's crew
Jack Rob someone (also rack)
Kickin' Relax with one's homies
OG Original (or old) gang member
Piece Short for masterpiece (elaborate tag work)
Ranker Chicken, doesn't defend his crew
Tag Graffiti nickname "tuff artist group)
TG Tiny gang member (usually under eight years
of age)
UC Undercover cops (warning: "Do you see what
I see?")
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Willie Selam and his daughter Tonya will bring Chief Seattle's words
to the Capitol Theater stage in Yakima, Washington March 18.
Warm Springs tribal members
Willie Selam and his 20-year-old
daughter Tonya will present "Legacy
and Legend" with the Yakima Sym
phony Saturday, March 1 8. The per
formance, set to begin at 8 p.m., will
be presented at the Capitol Theater at
19 S. 3rd in Yakima.
"Legacy and Legend" is centered
around a speech delivered by Chief
Seattle in 1854. Accompanying the
Selams will be the Yakima Sym
phony and the family drum, consist
ing of Willie's father Jimmy and
brothers Lonnie and Howard. "It is
an honor for us to perform," says
Willie. "Through negotiations, we
were able to get the whole family
involved" in the production.
This production has been per
formed throughout the United States
and has received rave reviews. Dif
ferent individuals has narrated Chief
Seattle's words.
Giving voice to the Chief's words
is important, says Willie, because,
even though the speech was deliv
ered nearly 150 years ago, "they still
ring true today," Selam explained.
Chief Seattle made a strong call
for justice and tried to explain the
differences between Indian people
and their non-Indian counterparts.
Selam and his daughter are currently
living in the Yakima Valley. Tonya
"Your religion was
written on tablets of
stone by the iron finger
of an angry God, lest you
might forget it. The Red
Man could never
remember nor
comprehend it. Our
religion is the traditions
of our ancestors the
dreams of our old men,
given to them by the
Great Spirit, and the
visions of our Sachems,
and is written in the
hearts of our people.
has two children, daughter Aja, three
and son Anthony, two. She attends
Yakima Heritage College, working
toward a degree in accounting. She
graduated from Wapato High School
in 1993 with a cumulative grade point
average of 3.25. Tonya has been de
veloping her leadership and creativ
ity skills since she was a young age.
As a sixth grader, she attended 1988
Explorations in Creativity and as an
eighth grader, she attended the OMSI
science and fisheries camp. She has
been leader and performer of the
Wapato Indian Club for five years.
She enjoys participating in volley
ball, basketball, track, softball and
running. As she has gotten older,
Tonya has attended many leadership
conferences, including one in Denver,
Colorado and another in San Jose,
California. She is the newly-elected
treasurer of AISES.
In addition to his regular job as a
warehouseman, Willie volunteers as
cultural director for the Wapato High
School Indian Club. This, in itself, is
quite an accomplishment. Selam says
the club meets regularly and has or
ganized numerous presentations, in
cluding a 10-day trip to Atlanta,
Georgia and Tampa, Florida last
summer. In Atlanta, the tour group
attended and performed for the
DcKalb International Folklife Festi
val. In Tampa, the entourage was one
of 54 groups representing 22 nations
to perform. The honor was astound
ing. "We were among the best of the
best in the world...Our dancers ex
celled," says Selam. Noting that a
majority of the club's members are
middle-school age, Selam says,
"People couldn't believe how young
our group was."
Selam says belonging to the In
dian Club has positively changed
many youth. "Members come in shy,
bashful and maybe in trouble with
their grades. They become ambassa
dors," he says proudly.
Selam brought members of the
Indian Club to Warm Springs in 1 99 1
and he would like to do so again. He
adds that he is thankful to the Con
federated Tribes of Warm Springs
and particularly Irene Wells for
helping find funding for his and his
daughter's trvels with the club.
To obtain tickets to "Legacy and
Legend" contact the Capitol Theater
at (206) 575-6264. Tickets range from
$9 to $25. '
Scott shares fond memories of the past
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Elmer worked forthe tribe as a school bus driver during the day , in the
evenings he was a night watchman of the school n Warm Springs, for
many years.
Information compiled by Bob Medina
Story written by Saphronia Katchia
At his home in Simnasho,
Warm Springs elder Elmer
Scott, Sr. sits in his chair
reckoning his birth in Log
Springs, March 23, 1903 to Joe
and Grace (George) Scott. At
age ninety-one he
enthusiastically shares his past.
He and his brother Wallace
who was a year older, lived in
Log Springs with their parents.
His mother passed away in
January 1907 when he was
three. He recollects an influenza
sickness going around and
many people dying, due to no
doctors around at that time. His
grandmother Lizzy George
took care of him after his mother
died. He remembers then when
he was around eight or ten years
old his grandmother passed on
too. His father worked the Ferry
on the Columbia River near
The Dalles. He was a delivery
man.
When he was seven or eight
years old he went to school in
Simnasho for a week before
being transferred to Warm
Springs Boarding School,
because he had difficulty
learning the English language.
He only spoke his Warm
Springs language up to that
point. Transportation back then
was merely by horse or
walking. He was about ten-years-old
when he first learned
to ride a horse. His father
worked outside the reservation
so he and his brother went to
Chemawa School by train.
They stayed there for four
years, because they had no
place to come home to. When
he returned from school he
remembers people having
wagons.
They moved around a lot
staying with different relatives.
He began participating in
rodeos when he was about thirty
one years of age. He traveled to
different rodeos with "some
w hite boys", he recalls. He rode
bulls and bareback horses,
making pretty good money.
Scott used to do some fishing
at the Columbia River. He did
some net fishing on a tribal
boat for about a year, and he
says he preferred fishing the
"hard way". He also drove
school bus picking up children
who lived way outside the
Agency area and took them to
and from school. At night he
was a watchman until 2 a.m. at
the old school building, which
no longer stands. He stated he
worked there, "a good many
years".
He mentioned his brother got
married so he had to also, he
married Goldie Wainanwit,
they divorced December 1935.
He then married Lei a Puyette
on December 1, 1938. His
brother Wallace passed away
December 10, 1938. Elmer and
his wife Lela had eight children.
Larry James Scott died of
pneumonia January 22, 1943, a
baby girl passed away February
8, 1942, Daniel Scott, Gordon
Scott, Delcie Marie Scott, an
unnamed baby boy died
September 26, 1948, Elmer
"Buzzy" Scott, Jr. and
Rosemary Scott Smith was the
youngest.
His dad died April 20, 1958.
And his wife passed away April
22, 1977. He has a lot of
grandchildren, he stated, "I
can't count em'". He proudly
mentioned that he is a great-great-grandfather.
When asked how he felt
about the comparison of the
past and now, he enjoyed the
days in his youth when they
lived on roots, dried deer meat
and salmon. He doesn't think
change is very good. He often
craves food he used to eat in his
younger days. He also
comments, "Things were
respected more in the younger
days. Intermarriage is what
spoiled everything, too many
outsiders; different Indians."
When asked about the new
casino, he commented, "I was
never much of a gambler."
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He enjoyed participating in rodeos. Above he rides Shaniko Red in
Molalla, Oregon.
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Simnasho is where ninety-one year old Elmer Scott calls home.