, SP1LYAY TYMOQ
Warm Springs, Oregon
August 21,1996 5
Deafness not a disability for Jason "Kid" Smith
Editor's Note: Spilyay Tymoo
has had the opportunity to work
with Jason Smith this summer
; through the summer work
'program for college-bound
i students. The 20-year-old has
. added a new meaning to the word
? communication for us all. Most of
" us take our ability to hear and
speak for granted and working
with Jason has caused us to
consider the difficulties a deaf
person must face when out in the
hearing, speaking community.
Jason has shown us that
overcoming disabilities is possible
and that you don't necessarily
have to speak or hear to be
"normal.";
' If you didn't know him, you'd
never know Jason was deaf. He's
just like any other young adult his
age he likes to play basketball,
lift weights and eat. The only
difference he can't hear or speak.
' Jason was five months old when
he contracted spinal meningitis.
The. illness left him deaf and silent
but otherwise "normal." Knowing
that Jason would require extensive
training as well as a special
education to "make it" on his own,
Jason's dad, Lloyd Smith, Jr.,
enrolled him in a deaf school in
Portland at the age of three. Jason
and his dad made twice-weekly
trips to attend the Portland school
to prepare him for preschool at
the Oregon School for the Deaf in
Salem. At the age of four, Jason
was enrolled in OSD's preschool
program, living on-campus five
days a week. Jason spent the next
16 years attending the school and
graduated this past spring.
According to his dad, Jason s
graduation was delayed a year
because he hadn't made up his
mind as to what he wanted to do
in life until he was more than half
way through his junior year. 509
J School District paid Jason's
tuition at OSD because he was a
Jefferson County resident.
Jason adjusted well at OSD. He
found thathe wasnotalone there
were at leastlO to 15 other kids his
own age in similar situations.
Lloyd says Jason "missed home,
but the school made him feel
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comfortable. He always wanted
to come home on weekends but
was eager to go back" when the
weekends ended. As he grew
older, Jason's grandfather, Lloyd
Smith, Sr., who lived in
Independence, spent time with
him.
Jason excelled in sports at OSD.
I le played for the school's varsity
basketball and football teams and
ran and threw the shot for the
varsitv track team while in high
school. During his senior year,
Jason was named MVP offense in
football for the league and was
Ail-American All-Mentioned for
deaf schools. He played in the
Western States Basketball Classic
for the Deaf four years. He also
played in the West-East All-Star
Shrine game in LaGrande his
senior year. Throughout his high
school career, Jason scored a total
of 47 touchdowns, 10 of which
were completed in non-league
p,a , ,
During his senior year, Jason
took college orientation classes at
Chemekata Community College.
This fall, he will attend Clackamas
Community College in Clackamas
and earn a one-year certificate in
auto body. Next fall, he plans to
attend the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf in Rochester,
New York and major in fine arts.
At the NTID, Jason will be able to
earn an associate of arts or
bachelor's degree in three to five
years. A cooperative work
experience program enables
students to become employable.
The school also offers sports. Jason
is already planning to take part in
rugby and lacrosse.
Jason's auto body certificate
will help him earn money during
holidays and other school breaks
and will open the doors to other
careers and educational
possibilities. Lloyd wants Jason to
have a "well-rounded education,"
one that will earn him a living and
be interesting to him at the same
"weak" and
reading what he
has written as
communication is
sometimes difficult
to understand. He
limits his writing to
a minimum,
offering just
enough to get his
point across.
Sometimes it
totally confuses the
reader. Weak
English is a product
of learning and
using sign, says
Lloyd. Signers take
and make
shortcuts to make
communicating
easier. The other
three forms of communication
make it much easier to understand
him.
Jason also reads lips very well.
He learned, he says, when he "was
a kid." He was able to "catch"
words and lip movement. His
teachers at OSD taught sign
language accompanied by lip
action. He says learning sign
language was easy. Age and
experience have made signing
even easier for him.
Lloyd says that Jason's other
senses are keener than a hearing
time. Tuition at NTID is high and Lloyd hopes to obtain
grants and a tribal scholarship for Jason when the time
comes.
Jason will live independently when he attends
Clackamas this fall, an endeavor that would shake
the confidence of many 20-year-olds. Not Jason.
He has said he will be "brave and happy"
living on his own. It's time, he says, to "go on
my way." 'His dad will be taking
landscaping classes at Clackamas
will be able to see Jason occasional!
Communicating with Jason is
easy, for the most part. He either
writes his messages, signs,
uses facial expressions or
body language to talk
with others. He says
his English is
A caricature of Spilyay Tymoo reporter Bob Medina demonstrates Jason's
sense of humor and keen eye.
person's. He can "feel" when
someone is looking at him to get
his attention. He can read other
people's body language and facial
expressions very well.
Jason can put pencil to paper
and create astonishingly beautiful,
and amusing, drawings. His
artistic talent is no doubt a
symptom of being deaf. What
better way to express yourself,
when voiceless, than with a
drawing? Remember the old
adage, "A picture is worth a
thousand words"? Jason is
Jason's senior portrait from OSD.
A "BIG" thank you to those firefighters who saved my
house. There were fire tanks outside my home. And with
their extra efforts I still have a home. Thank you.
J 1 Adeline Miller
unassuming when talking about
his artistic capabilities they're
works that aren't special to him,
but more than special to those of
us who view them.
What has us, at Spilyay, in awe,
is that Jason does not remember
hearing a phone ring, music being
played, a TV chattering
incessantly or a horn honking. Yet,
he maneuvers through life and
around Warm Springs as if he's
totally "sensed." He is not
handicapped by any means. The
word does not, and probably
never will, apply to him.
Mistreatment at Credit department angers client-
To the Editor,
Has anybody, other than myself,
been treated with disrespect and been
kicked out of the Credit Department?
As I've been talking to people. I've
heard a few stories. This incident
happened.
Kamloops leaders visit reservation-
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I received a letter to come in to
take care of a credit matter. So, I
made the time to go down to take care
of it. As I waited to be seen, I sat and
visited with one of my uncles, an
elder. He was waiting to find out
about his loan. Soon, an officer came
out, a male, non-tribal member, and
yelled at my uncle that he wasn't
eligible for anymore loans and dis
cussed his loan problems with him in
a loud tone and in full earshot of
others waiting to see a loan officer.
My uncle was clearly embarrassed
and angry at being treated with the
total lack of privacy and profession
alism as should have been given to
any member of the tribe and espe
cially a tribal elder.
The way my uncle was treated
should have tipped me off about what
awaited me. Sure 'nuf, when it came
my turn, I walked in and this same
male, non-tribal member, was on the
phone and typing on the computer. I
sat down and waited for him to ac
knowledge me. When he did, it was
with the same tone and disrespectful
words and voice he'd used on my
uncle a few minutes before. This
alone made me boil. I informed him
that when he could talk to me in a
more professional manner I'd return.
He got worse mad. He turned on me
with those dead eyes and said, "Hey
Lady! Blah, blah, blah...." I got up to
leave. Just then another officer came
around the corner and kicked me out
of their office.
Now, tell me. With this hostile
environment, in what is supposed to
be a professional tribal office, do you
expect me to ever step back into this
place again?! No way! Now they're
threatening civil action against me.
Make up your mind. I'd be glad to
come talk with you, to make arrange
ments on any matter, but I refuse to
let you talk down to me or yell at me
or treat me with disrespect. I think
the credit department owes my uncle
and me an apology. A little respect
goes a long way.
I'm sure tribal council didn't give
you permission to belittle, harass,
kick out or embarrass tribal member
while you go about collecting, did
they? As a tribal member, I object
loud and clear to such terrible treat
ment of us tribal members. Get pro
fessional and use tact!
A tribal member,
Myrna Frank-Ferguson
Member recalls fire of 1937: Lives altered
Kamloops tribal council came to
Warm Springs on August 6-9, to get
ideas on a variety of tribal and busi
ness topics, such as schooling, water
rights, the mill, education, taxes and
how the Warm Springs tribes deal
with those issues. There were seven
council members along with chief
Manny Jules.
Chief Jules stated "the main pur
pose of this visit was to learn how
other tribes deal with problems." "we
are very similar in many ways such
as you, WS tribe, have a resort, mill,
the forestry, and other small busi
nesses, like as we do.""The Kamloops
have a industrial park with over three
hundred businesses and a resort with
a golf course, also adding with future
developing in the planning, we
wanted to see how a successful tribe
maintained is success." Also adding
"its nice to look at what the experi
ence has been like and get good step
ping blocks on setting our own pro
grams up." Chief Jules stated "we get
taxed 1 8 million per year, so we also
wanted to get more information on
how the Warm Springs Tribe deal
with this problem and to see what we
can use to solve our tax problems, so
we can get some of the money back
to our people." "land is a important
issue for us because we want to re
claim some of the land that belonged
to the Kamloops."
While in Warm Springs the coun
cil members visited Indian Head
To the Editor,
In 1937, a lightning streak from
the heavens created a fire that was so
devastating it consumed a great por
tion of the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation. The lands that were af
fected were the mid- and southern
part of rangeland, timberland on the
Miller Flat Bench, Upper Shitike,
Tenino and the Metolius Bench. The
fire raced across the reservation,
jumping the Metolius River and
burning the Green Ridge Forest and
Grandview areas south of the reser
vation. The path of the fire lead to
destruction of many homes, cattle,
horses, timber and other personal
property. Judge Jerry Brunoe took it
upon himself to access the aftermath
only to find himself destroying many
animals that were burned, blinded,
starving and suffering.
The consequences of this fire had
many of the residents relocate to the
Agency area. Thus, the creation of
Hollywood. Many of the older people
lived out the rest of their lives in this
make shift little shanty town. Most
never returned to their ranches or to
rebuild. The Wolford Canyon com
munity of several families never re
turned. To this day, the canyon re
mains desolate.
In a recent visit to the canyon,
where I was raised, there was only
silence. The memories linger, but the
echoes of the canyon are quiet. No
children to play in the small spring
water pools. So sweathouse fires to
heat the rocks. No deer hides soak
ing. No buckskin tanning. No gar
dens. No wheat or hay growing. The
only remains found were my
grandmother's hid scraping pole,
maybe a rusted farm harrow plow
and a busted canning jar deteriorat
ing from a half-century of weather
ing. The only survivors of this can
yon are five huge ponderosa pine
trees. When the wind blows, their
needles seem to whisper "we're still
alive."
After the fire, some of my horses
returned to the ranch, starving and
rail. I reached into the last pan full of
wheat and gave each horse a handful,
while under my breath I whispered a
painful goodbye. Never to return to
our Wolford Canyon Ranch, my
childhood dream of becoming a
rancher and a fur trapper of mink,
river otter, martin, coyote and beaver
had vanished with the fire.
Our way of life was completely
altered. The yearly treks to the
Brittenbush huckleberry fields, root
digging areas, wood gathering, etc.,
ceased. Even the fluent speaking of
the Sahaptin language fades into ob
scurity. The only method of trans
portation for two years was on foot
because we had no more saddle and
workhorses. In the 1937 fire, we had
no place to go. There was no Red
Cross and Longhouse to evacuate to.
There was no outside assistance and
no modern equipment to suppress
the fires. You were considered very
fortunate if someone gave you a used
flour sack full of straw for a pillow or
mattress or a piece of half rotted
canvas to cover up with when it came
time for sleep.
For those who were victims of the
Simnasho Fire, we console you in
your loss of property. My son Easton,
also a victim, lost his entire automo
tive body and fender repair shop along
with construction, framing, concrete
and reforestation equipment, as well.
Many of you are still young enough
to rebuild and start life anew. My
prayers for you ascend onto our God:
The Creator of all good.
George W. Aguilar, Sr.
PS: I'm again saddened to hear
that the area of Wolford Canyon has
been considered for a garbage dis
posal site. My main concern is the
unpolluted spring streams cascading
down this canyon. What will hap
pen? Will it become unfit for livestock
and wildlife? Does it include pollut
ing the Shiuke Creek? What are the
other consequences?
Landowners workshop scheduled for November
gaming, Kahneeta, Fish
Hatchery.Economic Development,
WS Forestry Products. DE project,
TEC International, WS apparel. The
Museum, WS Plaza, Health and
Wellness center, ECE, Culture and
Heritage and Natural Resources.
The Indian land working group,
along with the Fallon Paiute
Shoshone, Walker iver, Pyramid
Lake tribes and the Intertribal Council
of Nevada will co-host the 6th annual
Indian Land Consolidation Confer
ence. The conference is scheduled
for November 13-16th at the Fla
mingo Hilton in downtown Reno.
Special focus will be given to
problems faced by tribes and Indian
landowners related to allotted lands.
As in the past, the conference will
also provide participants with a
unique opportunity to learn about
tribal models and activities in the
area of Indian probate, land ownship
data collection, tribal inheritance
codes and land acquisition opportu
nities. A revised "draft legislative pro
posal" developed by the Indian land
working group will be presented. The
proposal includes provisions for es
tate planning services; trust lands
records management: Removal of
barriers to real estate transactions; a
tribal and individual Indian land ac
quisition fund; and a federal probate
code.
Policy issues impacting land
ownership and resources will be ad
dressed. These will include the im
pact BIA downsizing on real estate
and probate services related to In
dian land as well as the class action
suit which was filed by individual
Indian landowners over mismanage
ment of their IIM (Individual Indian
Money) monies which are derived
from trust funds.
Tribal representatives will ana
lyze the opportunity tribes may have
to negotiate the return of federal lands
in light of the disclosure earlier this
year that documents verifying $2.4
billion worth the tribal trust funds
transactions cannot be found and it
appears that the government will not
provide a full monetary compensation.
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