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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1997)
AAA Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs JSJSA 1995 and 1996 Annual Report From the Chairman- . V i Mickey Brunoe, Chairman from 1995 to 1996 Nineteen ninety five leaves me with a sense of ambivalence. On the one hand, it seems that the Tribal Council worked long and hard, leaving no stones unturned. That is the sense one gets when boxed in, unable to see out. From the outside, however, it seems that the Council was often spinning its wheels, unable to hit its stride and draw abreast of the many issues that needed attention. I'm not sure of the reason for this, but I suspect it is because the Council became preoccupied with fine SecretaryTreasurer's message: I ( j X . X- sj .!'" 1 ( - ' Ray Calica, SecretaryTreasurer - Nineteen ninety-five was a year of change. Ken Smith resigned as Secretary-Treasurer in May, and I assumed the office upon his departure. My background is one of serving the people. In my . experience I have found that people and family values are more lasting than money. When I took the job, I felt it was time for us to put responsibility and accountability in their proper perspective. It was time for Programs to be held accountable . . i details, rather than concentrating on the big picture. I feel that details are the duty of managers and department heads, while the big picture that is, policy and business are the realm of the Tribal Council. Tribal Council needs to stop micro-managing. Ideally, management should be carrying out the policies adopted by Tribal Council; the Council can then conduct periodic reviews of their performance. But day-today interference only causes a bottleneck that stifles the whole organization. Meanwhile, big issues that are the responsibility of the Council are placed on the back burner, they are tabled. Housing continues to be a major sore point. While driving through the community recently, I noted many problems that are begging for attention. Single family dwellings housing multiple families, for instance. It is not that the people are unwilling or unable to pay for housing. It's just not available. This is an issue that should have the Tribal Council's undivided attention until it for their final products and services. General Managers and Directors can come to the Secretary-Treasurer for direction, but they are . ultimately responsible for their own programs. As an Organization, we need to be less dependent on outside resources (consultants). We have qualified employees on . board in many cases all we need to do is talk to them to ask them what they think or recommend. Since I accepted the position of Secretary Treasurer we have utilized our own people more, and outside resources less. .. . Over the years, Warm Springs has become known as the first in Indian Country to do this.. .the first in Indian Country to do that, and so on. I think that is all well and good, but I think what is more important is that we consider our people first. Our people need to be .self-sufficient. To accomplish this they must have jobs... jobs that allow them to buy a 1 V. 'Hi. is resolved. Jobs are another important issue. Warm Springs has depended on timber revenues for half a century. Decisions made by past leaders have sustained us until now. We cannot simply mimic their actions; times have changed. Timber cannot continue to be our major means of revenue. To make it so would be to risk destroying our forests. So we must look elsewhere for sources of revenue. This is going to require innovation and creative thinking. The Tribal Council should take these basic necessities and treat them as mandates from the tribal members. These are the types of policy issues that the Council was elected to resolve. Whether or not they can resolve them is a gauge by which the Council can measure their effectiveness, or lack thereof. Editor's Note: Mickey resigned Council Chairmanship due to health reasons in April 1996. Seekseequa District representative Joe Moses was selected Chairman by his peers on Tribal Council following Michey's resignation. Irene Wells was selected to serve as Vice-Chairman. hbuse, a nice car, things that their family needs. Let's take care of what we have for the benefit of the people. As we become less dependent on timber, we must find other avenues to lead us to prosperity. Indian Head Gaming and Warm Springs Composite Products suffered growing pains in 1995. By year's end, Warm Springs Composite Products was under new management with an emphasis on controlling production costs. By the end of 1996 Indian Head Casino was under new management with an emphasis on . turning the enterprise around. Even though both enterprises hold promise, it'll take time before they can return the same amount of revenue as that lost from a reduced timber harvest. Trying to change the emphasis from monetary values to people values will take time, because monetary values are very strong and consideration for people values have been very weak. But, I believe the dollar ought not be the driving force here on the reservation, even though we need it to sustain our economy. There are things that are more important to our people than money. As an example, the progress made on our in-lieu fishing sites in 1995 will ultimately mean more to our children, Chief Operations Officer- 1995 was an exciting year filled with many challenges, accomplishments, and some changes. The Tribal Council made a change and appointed me as the Chief Operating Officer. It is a position within our Government which I am honored to serve, and will work hard with our people and community. Often, our people wonder what is it that we do. As the Chief Operations Officer, my "mission" is to exercise leadership and authority over day-to-day operations of the Tribal Organization as specified in the Tribal Management Plan. The Branches that report to me are Business and Economic Development, Education, Human Services, Public Safety, Natural Resources and the Public Utilities Branch. These Branches have been directed to implement Tribal strategies and policies in accordance with all laws and ordinances of the Confederated Tribes. In 1995, 1 hired three new management team members who are all tribal members: Education General Manager, Wendell Jim, Human Services General Manager, William Fuentes, and Public Utilities General Manager, Delano "Satch" Miller. They join the existing management team of Economic and Development Manager, Charles Jackson, Public Safety General Manager, and their children, than a yearly bonus. The 1996 Tribal Budget was reduced by 1 1 .2. A decline in the timber market caused a shortfall in our projected revenue. We went to a line item budget as well. This met with some resistance, however it made the entire organization more efficient. The process made people, managers and Programs more responsible and led to the Organization spending tribal dollars in a more prudent way. Managers knowing exactly where they spend their money also enables them to be better planners. We had two disasters in 1996 that severely impacted the Confederated Tribes. The first was the Flood of 96'. It caused substantial harm to the earnings of Kah-Nee-Ta and Indian Head Casino. President Clinton declared a disaster on February 9th. With that declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became available to help. The Village at Kah-Nee-Ta suffered over $10 million in damages. The Kah-Nee-Ta bridge on Highway 3 was damaged, which made alternate routes necessary. The alternate routes were not conducive to attracting tourists to Kah-Nee-Ta or Indian Head Casino in the aftermath of the flood. Some Reservation roads Anita Jackson, and Natural Resources General Manager, Jody Calica. The focus and structure of the management team is important, and is an area that we are all working toward strengthening. I have asked the management team to pull together, and spend more time collaborating on how to coordinate programs to make full use of the available resources. I have also implemented a directive to reduce management travel, including myself, to enable our team to spend more time at home, and focus more attention on how our programs are delivering services. Other areas of accomplishment include being involved in refining communication efforts with Tribal Council Officers, the BIA Superintendent, and the IHS Service Unit Director. I also helped to establish a Finance Team to pace the Tribes' financial health and strategy The year 1995 was a challenging year which yielded the refocusing on areas such as how can we improve communication both in house, and with the people? We want programs to lean toward family services and also sustained heavy damage. The Tribe and FEMA entered into an agreement that provided some financial relief, but a large amount of the cost fell on the Tribe. Needless to say, with over $10 million in damages to the Village, Kah-Nee-Ta and Indian Head Casino felt a severe crunch in income. The second disaster, The Simnasho fire, was the worst in 60 years on the Reservation. It created havoc when it erupted during the week of August 11, 1996. The Simnasho Fire burned across 118,000 acres of rangeland in four days, and burned 10 family homes to the ground. Kah-Nee-Ta and Indian Head Casino, and the town of Warm Springs were all threatened as the fire raged. It took courageous effort on the part of many people, both tribal member and non-tribal member, to bring the blaze under control. We received great support from people outside the boundaries of our Reservation. There was significant cost associated with the Simnasho Fire. Again, the Tribe bore most of the cost, not to mention the loss of business to Kah-Nee-Ta and Indian Head Casino. It is not my ambition that has put me in the Secretary-Treasurer's office. While I'm here, I'll . N - vrvrf needs, rather than just individual needs. In 1996, these are some of the goals we will continue to focus on. May our Creator bless you and your loved ones with health and happiness. try to accomplish the will or wishes of the people.. .to make the tribal organization more responsive to people values versus monetary values. I feel good as we employ more tribal members with our Affirmative Action Program, but I know we still need to improve in that area. We will give them hope with the realization that they have a future working for the people. I feel good that our tribal programs are moving in the direction of accountability and meeting the needs of the people. We recognize the need to make the improvements and will do it as we go. if 1 i 'v. r3 rv - ,,