Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1998)
SpilyayTymoo 8 July 30, 1998 Warm Springs, Oregon Forestry seeking input on road eradication project- The Forestry Department is re questing Tribal membercommenton the proposed eradication of 34.3 miles of road in the Mutton Mountain Area. This area was salvage logged in 1997 to capture the value of timber which was killed during the Simnasho Fire of 1996. Most of the roads which are proposed for eradication were used during that salvage operation. None of the roads will be necessary for fire management, reforestation or pre commercial forest management ac tivities. Road eradication has become a part of most timber sales, including salvage operations. The road eradi cation program follows Integrated Resource Management Plan stan dards and best management prac tices for maintaining a safe and eco nomical system that provides access into the forest without causing undue impacts to natural resources. The goal, to have no more than 4 miles of road per square mile of commercial forest land, will be met. After eradi cation, there will be 2.44 miles per square mile remaining. One of the obvious complaints about the program is that access to the forest, or a particular part of the forest , is restricted. If a hunter or root digger has grown accustomed to reaching a site by means of a car or pick-up, they may object to having their main access route removed from the transportation system. Inconveniences and related ex penditures may be troublesome, but they are generally offset by a wide variety of benefits to natural resources such as water, soil, timber, fish, wild life and cultural sites. Each mile of road in the forest Member says The Sootted Eaele Drum and Dance Group has been in existence for 15 years. It all started when our older children started getting in volved in dancing at powwows. Be side just being in powwows, they were getting involved in other parts of our culture and traditions. The group is now coordinated by me, Tony "Big Rat" Suppah, my af filiation Warm Springs Tribe, and my better half of my life. My wife Lucille F. Suppah "Long House Lucy", her affiliation is Warm Springs, Yakima Piaute Tribe. It takes team work and a lot of public relation contact. Most of my success comes from getting support from my wife and our children Val Redstar, Redsky Walker, and Rosey Twostarr Suppah, They're my life. Big Rat has been involved in vari ous youth programs for 25 years. It started with Pop Warner Football in Los Angeles, California. After he returned from two tours in Vietnam Conflict 19676-68 serving in the U.S. Marines. When returning back home, Warm Springs Oregon continued his involvement with 4-H, Boy Scouts, tee ball, baseball, softball, Pee Wee Rodeos, basketball, and now in culture-traditions starting the Spotted Eagle Drum-Dance Group. Through all his teachings, is giv ing the youth insight on Indian iden tity. That knowing who they are, what they are, where they come from, is half of their success in life. The other two-thirds is their education and life experience. That before they're anything else in this world, their "Indian first" and proud of it. To learn their Indian languages, dances, know the songs, have the ability to work and communicate with others. Teaching that the world is full of, some not good. Its how they accept and deal with them will de cide their success and failure in life. Letting them know that the differ ence between success and failure is nothing less than just one more try at times. That success comes in cans and failures in cant's. That the creator creates bad times, so we may appreciate the good times better. Indian culture is vital and must be kept alive. For not only the white man, but a lot of our own people, don't know or understand our cul ture, traditions and languages. For ,' ... ....,". .. . ....... k ..... - The Spotted Eagle Drum and Dance Group take time for a photo represents approximately 1.2 acres of compacted soil. Compaction de creases the productivity of soil by making it less receptive to water in filtration and nutrient cycling. Com pacted surfaces with little or no veg etation carry water over the surface at accelerated rates which also leads to erosion and soil displacement. Eradicating problem roads through ripping improves conditions by allowing water to penetrate the surface and encourage the growth of vegetation, which reduces overland flows and the rate of erosion. Wildlife receives benefits by eradicating unnecessary roads in other areas. Harassment, particu larly during winter months when animals are stressed or during the reproductive cycle when they are extremely vulnerable, can lead to the death or displacement of animals. It may be more difficult for hunters to access animals where roads have been eradicated, but there is also a greater likelihood of success because wild life tends to concentrate in areas where disturbances are infrequent. Range resources gain similar ben efits through the program. With more moisture penetrating the soil, and more vegetation being produced, the forage available for livestock and wildlife increases. Archeological and historical re sources are protected from manage ment activities through avoidance or project design. They are also less likely to be vandalized or otherwise disturbed if fewer roads exist. Cultural plants benefit from road eradication because more soil is avail able for their growth and production. Piaxi, luksh, waq'amu, sawitk and "Remember who you are" that includes mvself. for I am a stu dent of our cuture and traditions. What I learn I pass on to those young and old who are interested in learn ing. For I'm involved in the tribes three religions; Seven Drum ( Whashut), Feather Religion, and the Indian Shaker Church. All three religions serving a pur pose in tribal culture, reaching out to the one who created all, our Creator. Helping those who need or ask for religious help. Even though they may belong to outside churches. As passed on by the elders, Indian con ception of one God, was later bor rowed from Christianity, and that they had no distinct picture of God. That all tribes had used different names referring to God, just like today different religions have dif ferent names for the creator of all. It is evident in beliefs of all present day Native Americans. They have to some degree been influenced by Christianity, but re gardless of what church they be long, the majority usually turn to one of the tribes three religions men tioned, asking for help, respecting the culture and traditions. I feel it's vital that the younger generation know about the three tribal religions. So when they get older, to make their choice on which to follow, but respecting all. Another important part of our culture is the sweat lodge. A place to talk to Pooshuh in confession prayer, the cleansing of the mind, body, and spirit. Going in three rounds, after you cleanse off with rose bush wa ter, which is used for aroma and purifying. Keeping the evil spirits away. After funerals, unrested spirit disturbances a home is scrubbed down with rose bush water and rose bush is left in various parts of the home. The rose represents the beautiful things in life, rose bush for cleans ing, purifying, the cross represents religion. Knowing something about their heritage and traditional life, how it is different from other ways which people live. For in this world today, things are always subject to change. Cultures stay the same, with out this knowledge they do not have anything to fall back on. I don't see how our people can live in this world k'unch are examples of cultural plants that could be produced on land re claimed through road eradication. Timber production increases through the road eradication program because more acres are available to grow trees. In this case, approxi mately 41 acres will be reclaimed for forest production. Each acre that is brought back into production has the capability of increasing the volume of available timber by 10,000 to 50,000 board feet over time. The average single-family home (2,000 square feet) can contain 16,900 board feetoflumberandupto 10,000 square feet of panel products. Adding more timber volume to the forest increases economic ben efits to the Confederated Tribes by creating more jobs and more lumber for the mill. When the timber ma tures and becomes available for har vest, it could alleviate the need to cut trees in more sensitive areas, or ulti mately increase the annual allowable cut. There is also a savings attached to no longer needing to maintain the roads. While eradication is not the an swer for all roads, it does have appli cations that help to make the forest a healthier and more productive envi ronment. Some of the benefits are immediate and others will become evident years form now. Road eradi cation is a tool that speaks to present and future generations about wise forest management. Public comment will be accepted until August 17, 1998. Comments can be sent to Bodie Shaw, Forest Manager, P.O.Box 1239, Warm Springs, Or., 97761. without the center that is given by religion. That their people have religions that are different from other religions. That our religions were given to us Indian people long before time. They need to know this, and to respect the importance of daily prayer to guide your life I always say my prayers daily thanking the Creator for each new sunrise and sunset given men, for blessings bestowed on my house hold, and the answering of my prayers. When I speak and teach, I pray and hope that my words will penetrate the hearts of the listeners, and that they may know the truth also. With a great sense of pride you see in our dance group, we realize we are part of the sacred circle of life. We as Indian people will endure as long as the sun, the moon, and the starts. Through our most precious resource, our children, and our children's chil dren, tribes tribes future, and future leaders. The Indian way of life has always been adaptable, on-going, continually evolving. You can see that through our Indian dances, using other cultures as well as our own. For back in the '50s there was still a lot of animosity between tribes. You'd never see different tribes sit ting at the same drum, let alone being at the same powwow. But today intertribalism is very much alive. The modern day powwows have brought tribes together, unity. We try prepar ing our dance group with that setting through our songs and dances when they attend the various powwows. There is now single word that will describe a Powwow. For powwow is an Indian celebration of life. A place to enjoy family, friends, meet new acquaintances, to compete against one another in contest. Just happy to be alive. I really express the importance of education, to move with the times. Yet still keeping within our culture and traditions to succeed in life to day. The group has been fortunate to have numerous other dancers, some now having their own groups. The dancers may assist other groups with their programs when invited, but they usually stick with their own dancers and drummers. Ourdoors are always open to those who wish to participate, right now we outside The Museum At Warm Springs Mutton Mountain proposed road eradication - js" f have mostly young dancers with great family participation to get them to the programs, giving the group suc cess in our shows. Drumming for the 1998 group now are; the lead singer Greg Arquette, Timothy Kalama, Chips Kalama, Anson Begay, Big Rat and Curt Jim. The elders of the group are Big Rat's; Uncle Tom Begay 65 years, and Aunt Fern Begay 60 years, who love and respect very much. Tom still does the Hoop Dance, Clown Dance, and sings the Southwest Eagle Style Dance. Fern along with Lucy at times helps in the drumming. Other members of the dance group are; Barbara Poncho 45 years, Val Redstar Suppah, Red Sky Walker Suppah, Rosey Twostarrs Suppah, Blain Begay, Atcitty Begay, Destry Begay, Pearl Jack, Celestine Charley, Brandon Thompson, Tereyl Florendo, Miranna Blueback, Kelly Blueback, Rosey Tom and Preston Tom. Indian culture is not dead or dy ing, its keeping alive by groups like this, and today's pow-wow circuit. One of the best ways to under stand a people is to know what makes them laugh. Indians have found a humorous side of nearly every prob lem and experience of life. Indian identity helps the people to take pride in themselves as individuals, family and tribal members and as a race. People are gradually returning or turning to their tribal cultures, in search of positive identities. The old ways are being remembered and taught to the younger generation to be carried on. Growing up with their values will ensure that future genera tions continue to identify as Indian. We should tap the wealth of knowledge in our elders and use what they give us. They are a great re source and we should use them more. For we wouldn't have or be what we are today without our elder's wis dom. The values of friendship, of our elders, and their wisdom. Remem bering who you are you can not be something you're not. Lose that per spective and you lose your life, as Indian, as a person. Tony "Big Rat Suppah Lucile "Longhouse Lucy" Suppah Simnasho Oregon SJ Proposed Road Block Corrals A Proposed Road Eradication Lj sections Current Road System Third Annual Huckleberry Harvest August 7 and 8 Fundraising event is in support of The Museum At Warm Springs and is tax deductible. Call 553-3331 for more information Win a Car! Proceeds to benefit Mid Oregon Special Olympics Tickets $2.00 each Ticket includes $2.00 off a Giant (an additional $1.00 donated by Abbys when coupon reaeemea.) Tickets may be purchased at Abby's Legendary Pizza 413 SW Glacier Avenue, Redmond Look for this car at local Central Oregon events throughout the summer. For more information contact: Mid Oregon Special Olympics, 541 -388-3965; Brett Mills, 541-548-6935; Dale Williams, 541-923-6004; Marie & Eldon Tom, 541-553-5436. Drawing held August 25, 1 998 at Abby's in Redmond The Museum At Warm Springs Calendar of Event for 1 998 Changing Exhibit Schedule July U-Sevtember28: "Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!" Opening Reception July 11, 12 p.m. October 2-December 28: "Traditional Baskets" Opening Reception October 2, 6 p.m. T.iving Traditions lulu 3-5: Dry Creek Dancers 11-12: Stick Game 18-19: Root &Cornhusk bags 29-30: Traditional Foods September 5-7: Craft Fair Culture Class 1998 Sign up now July August 13: Wingdress & 17 thru 21: Beadwork 20: Leggings & September 27: Moccasins 8, 15, 22 & 29: Cedar Root Bkt October November 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29: 2 thru 6: Ribbon shirts Mask Mkg Come to Thp Museum At Warm Springs Third An pual Huckleberry Harvest Our very own unique fundraising event!! August 7-8, 1998 The following activities are sponsored through a grant from the US West Foundation and are FREE to the public: July 17 6 p.m.: LillianPitt, lecture & presentation on her art. September 12 2 p.m.: Ed Edmo, story-telling "Grand mother Chokecherry". October 3 2 p.m.: "Bridge of the Gods" Native Ameri can legend, a play by The Tears of Joy Theater. November 7 1 &3 p.m.: Mary Dodds Schlick, author lecture (coincides with Traditional Baskets Exhibit) December 11 6 p.m.: Jane Kirkpatrick, author lecture Also made possible by US sion) to 1 he Museum. Saturday, uctoDer j, iyyo, rnudy, Mnvpmhpr 27. 1998 & Saturdav. December 5, 1998. For more information on rail fUH wv31. Keen member or give a gift of membership to The Museum At warm springs Pizza at Abby's Legendary Pizza iwa ii a.m. to j P.m. August 1-2: Heritage Importance 8-9: Cedar Bark Baskets 8: Spirit Walker Dancers 15-16: Cedar Root Baskets 22-23: Quilts 29-30: Traditional Foods West: Free Days (free admis- this calendar of Events, please the Culture alive! Become a J pi
