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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1999)
Spilyay TYMOO Old ways from the old By George Aguilar, Sr. Ever since I was a child grow ing up in the Wolford Canyon community of the Warm Springs Reservation, I never thought I would someday attempt to re construct some of the 1 ribal his torical background and genealogy. Although our Chinookan bloodline has been immensely diluted, this short writing is about the last of tine Chinookan speaking peoples of the Lewis and Clark's Chiluckittiqua, Wat-La-La, Wascopum, and other Cascade Chinook Tribes that were dis placed to the Warm Springs Res ervation in the 1855 Treaty with the United States. Nearly 70 years has come and gone of my lifetime since hearing of the sparse historical events from the old timers. It's my turn now. I became interested in our Chinook heritage, while exposing a few glimpses of the past in our local Eaper, Spilyay Tymoo (Coyote tews). Most of my information has come from my grandmother Hattie Polk (1866-1948), and other elders and relatives. Inspiration for this writing has come while reminiscing and chewing on the last of the prior years harvest of dried salmon skins, genealogical information is from the Tribal Statistics Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs Realty Department and the Museum at Warm Springs. I'm reminded of the stories of the once bountiful salmon runs that once existed on the great Co lumbia River. The deafening roar of the Celilo Falls has long been silenced, fishing stations of the dangerous Cascade Rapids, Spear Fish are of the Wu'cxam (Wishram) and the untamed, thrashing, wild boulder spitting of the Five Mile Rapids has been drowned forever. The sound of the Columbia River is now lan guishing with dead and chemi cally polluted waters caused by the salmon murdering dams. The wild salmon runs have paid dearly with their blood and guts. Liter ally; canneries in the late 1890s dumped ofal into Lewis and Clark's pristine wild river that they made mention of in their journals of 1805 A.D. Westerly winds re spond by attempting to breath life into the dead water by kicking up white caps. The only thing that . lives is the yearly warm Chinook Wind, which is written on the . pages of the Coyote Story legends as told and passed down by our ancestors. If our ancient Chinookan ancestors saw the present condition of the Colum bia River, they probably would sing and perform the Chinook Funeral and Ceremony song in the most gut wrenching manner. . "AXAI" He-a-yu: Is the mother of Tribal Council Reservation of Oregon is hereby au thorized to proceed with the expen-' diture of funds for the purpose and amounts indicated in the budget, pro vided that all constitutional provi sions are met. . - . The undersigned as Secretary Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, hereby certifies that the Tribal Council is composed of 11 members, of whom 1 0 Constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof, duly and regularly called, noticed, and convened and held this 23rd day of November, 1999, and that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 7 members, 2 members opposed and the chairman not voting, and that the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. Charles V. Jackson ! Secretary-Treasurer Noted: Approved Gordon E. Cannon, Superintendent Resolution No. 9795 WHEREAS, The Tribal Council has carefully examined the needs and financial requirements of the calen dar year ending December 31,2000 and, WHEREAS, The Tribal Council feels that it is in the best interest of the enrollees that the distribution be paid out at a rate of $100 per month to each enrollee beginning January 25, 2000 through December 15. 2000 and, WHEREAS, Because many en rollees are indebted to the Tribes, it is the feeling of the Tribal Council that tribal creditors discuss the ac count with the borrowers so that all loan agreements, both dormant and active, are current, now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED, By the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reser vation of Oregon that in accordance with authority contained in Article V, Section 1 (t), as amended of the Constitution and By-Laws and Sec tion 8 of the Corporate Charter, that per capita distributions are autho rized for the calendar year 2000 at $100 per month for each eligible member of the Tribe subject to the following conditions: 1. Per Capita payments are to be made to all persons appearing on the official Tnbal roll as of January I, Sta-na-que and great great great grandmother Ka-mi-e-wit. I le-a-ya was possibly in the age group of the mid nineties when she was assigned the No. 457 al lotment of the 1887 Dawes Act. This property is located in tim bered land on the Tenino and Seekseequa Bench of the reserva tion. He-a-yu was a Tenino Sha-hap-tin. Her people dwelled above the eastern end of the Five Mile Rapids. This was the summer fishing camp and base of the Tenino, which they may have not yet migrated to the wintering camp located south and high into the Twelve Mile Creek Canyon. The Lewis and Clark Journals wrote of this group of people be ing spectators of their journey through the treacherous narrows. There is a possibility He-a-vu may have witnessed the arriva fof the very first white peoples to this area. There is no recording of He-a-yu's birth and death. We have to assume that she passed on shortly after the 1887 Dawes Act. Using this information (Dawes Act), He-a-yu's estimated birth is L Bodies were wrapped for burial ceremony to be stacked on top of another body buried before himher inside a shed located on an island. 1 put at approximately 1792 A.D. Her estimated age is anyplace from early pre-teens to early teens when the Lewis and Clark exploratory expedition took place in this area on October 25, 1805 A.D. Burial: Mostly likely the burial customs of old were followed by ! these old ancestors. There is no known burial area or place (cem etery) for He-a-yu, Wau-nup-pa, Kush-i-ht, Klicknilk, Klick-ump and Clo-i-bah. These ancient relatives who were born in the 1790s and early 1800s had known only the ancient customs and therefore, mostly likely abided by the old customs. Another possi- passes Resolutions continued 2000, and persons who are subse quently enrolled. 2. All persons appearing on the official Tribal rolls as of January 1, 2000 shall be entitled to per capita payments at a rate of $ 100 per month . beginning January 25, 2000 and end ing December 15, 2000. 3. All persons enrolled January 1, 2000 shall be entitled to receive per capita payments at a rate of $ 100 per months from the date of enrollment through December 15, 2000 and fur ther, all enrollees living as of 12:00 midnight on the 10th day of the month shall be entitled to receive that month's per capita and upon the person's death, it will be credited to hisher estate. Payments shall be made on the 25th day of each month (except for the month of December which shall be made on the 15th day) except when the regular payment falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holi day, the payment shall be made on the preceding workday. 4. Enrollees who die during the year shall receive no further pay ments after death and hisher estate shall not be entitled to further per capita payments except as provided in Section 3. 5. prior to the payment, the Credit Department shall examine all loan accounts and discuss the delinquent loan with the borrowers who owe the Tribes to determine the amount to be collected and applied on indebted ness owing the Tribes. Indebtedness such as loans, accounts receivable, rent and court fines may be withheld if enrollees have signed an authori zation for such withholding or if the Tribal Court has issued a Court Or der. 6. The funds of a minor's and adults in need of assistance; welfare recipients, and court order support payments shall be deposited in the Individual Indian Moneys accounts for supervised expenditure, if in the Superintendent's opinion, this is the best interest of the people involved. 7. Upon approval of this resolu tion by the Secretary of Interior, or hisher authorized representative, $300 of each enrolled minor's share shall be deposited in the minor's Trust Account w ith the United States Na tional Bank in January and July of 2000 in two payments of $ 1 50 result ing in a monthly distribution of $75 per month with a balance of $25 per month deposited into the Minor's Warm Springs, Oregon days revisited. bility would be that they were buried in their back yards. My Aunt Madeline Mclnturf stated; "In earlier times when migrating to other areas if an individual passed on, the traveling group would stop, perform the ceremony and continue their journey." The purification sweathousing would be performed in the next camp ground which may be by a stream or river. A recording of the old customs could be found in the Spier and Sapir Wishram Ethnography. The ethnological excerpt is too long to use here. However; I will attempt to condense and paraphrase some of it. Other information is handed down through grandmother. Mourning: Parents, relatives and slaves cut their hair very short to show that they were in a state of mourning. Several days after burial at sunset they sing a cer emonial funeral song. It was be lieved hunting, fishing and han dling of food or anything that per tained to normal living activity was altered due to the passing or handling of the deceased person. These normal day activities had to ( be restricted until a purification , rite was performed by sweathousing themselves for 5 straicrM davs. It was believed if this ourification ritual was not adhered to; the hunter or fisher- man would spook the wild'game' or nsn tnev were pursuing, inev same application applies to har- vesting foods or it may just be plain bad luck in all one's activi ties. It was believed that even stepping on the tracks of the pur sued animal would cause it to spook. When attending any fu neral every member in the family ; was made aware or tne puruica-. Trust Account from the date of en rollment. Any minor enrolled by 1 2:00 midnight on the 1 0th day of the month and in the event that any mi nor shall die at any time where there is an advance deposit in hisher ac count the Confederated Tribes shall be reimbursed the sum $25 per month after the death of said minor. 8. With exception of the collec tions of indebtedness of the enrollee owing the Tribes, and subject to con ditions 5, 6, 7 herein all per capita shall be paid directly to each enrollee and shall not be subject to any as signment, levy or attachment; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the amount of $4,896,00 is hereby appropriated for the purpose of per capita payments in accordance with authority contained in Article V, Section 1 (t), as amended, of the Constitution and By-Laws and Sec tion 8 of the Corporate Charter. Certification The undersigned as Secretary Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, hereby certifies that the Tribal Council is composed of 11 members, of whom 20 constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof, duly an regularly called, noticed, and convened and held this 23rd day of November, 1999 and that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 8 mem bers, 1 member opposed and the chairman not voting, and that the saidresofution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. Resolution No. 9796 WHEREAS, The Tribal Council has established the Warm Springs Scholarship Trust Fund for the pur pose of providing assistance to Tribal members in obtaining education; and, WHEREAS, It is the stated policy of Tribal Council that the fund be managed with the objective of being self-sustaining; and, WHEREAS, The Tribal Council has reviewed the Warm Springs Scholarship Trust Fund and the amounts needed to provide for schol arships for calendar year 2000 and, WHEREAS, The amount of $595,000 is recommended for ex penditure for the purpose of provid ing higher education and R 165,000 is recommended for providing voca tional education scholarships for the Calendar Year 2000; and tion ritual or was instructed of its use. The custom gradually de clined from the late 1930s on. Another mourning custom pertained to the loss of a loved one in warfare or from self inflicted wounds. The widow would slash her left arm in several places to show a profound mourning. This custom is not recorded in the Spier and Sapir Wishram Ethnography report. This was handed down through grandmother to me in the late 1930s. Excerpt: Spier and Sapir: "The burial of a chief was more elabo rate, his body was dressed in his buckskins and spirit outfit added. Chiefs of other Tribes came to view the body. After 5 days and nights the corpse was carried to the burial island.His personal servant (slave) was also taken to the burial place. A few words were said to him (the slave). He was then killed and buried with his master." Note: These are possibly the words said to the slave. "You have been very good to your master. Waiting on him all the time. He thought of you as his own son, fed you the same food he ate, and you thought warmly of him and treated him as a father. Now you see he is gone forever and never again will be seen. You have no one to attend at home, so you may go with him." The slave is then slain at the end of these words: Excerpt from a Clackamas Ceremony. It was be lieved that the slain slave would serve and wait on his master in the spirit world. By observing the headstones of the deceased it will be noticed that most headstones dates had started to emerge in the late 1890s at Warm Springs cemetery and elsewhere on the reservation. Known burial practices from 1855 Treaty signing to the late 1890s are obscure. Possibly,fromthel900s,burial was near pre-daylight hours. I asked my Aunt Dorthy of the par ticular custom, what I learned from my Aunt was the reason is transportation. For the era was horse drawn wagons. There was also no modern methods utilized. Embalming, cremations, etc. Without the modern day treat ment, bodies would quickly be come decomposed and putrefied. The pre-daylight or early morn- ines was to beat the heat of the , day. This early practiced burial Jteiethod has evolved into a tradi- quiuu tusiuui. mqimiaii ywuu funeral customs are now adminis tered mostly be the Washut sect, which evolved from the Smohallah cult of the Priest Rap ids. This sect is flourishing at Warm Springs, Yakama, and Umatilla Reservations. However if the person being buried is of anoiner uieu icugiuua v.ci- WHEREAS, The recommended expenditure of $760,000 from the fund is consistent with the long term objective of the fund, now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED, By the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reser vation of Oregon, Pursuant to Article V, Section 1 (t) of the Constitution and By-Laws as amended, that an amount not to exceed $760,000 is hereby authorized for expenditure from the Scholarship Trust Fund for calendar year 2000. Certification The undersigned as Secretary TreasureroftheConfederatedTribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, hereby certifies that the Tribal Council is composed of 11 ' members, of whom 10 constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof, duly and regularly called, noticed, and convened and held this 23rd day of November 1 999, and that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 9 mem bers, the chairman not voting and the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. Revolution No. 9797 WHEREAS, The Tribal Council has established the Warm Springs Senior Citizen Pension Fund for the purpose of providing payments to Tribal Members who have attained the age of 60; and, WHEREAS, It is the stated policy Of the Tribal Council that the fund be managed with objective of being self sustaining, and, WHEREAS, The Tribal Council has reviewed the Senior Citizen's Pension Fund and the estimated amounts needed to provide for pen sion payments in the future; and, WHEREAS, The recommended benefit payments for calendar year 2000 ranges from $375 per month at age 60, graduated at $10 per month for each year of age to a maximum of $425 per month at the age 65 and above; and WHEREAS, The amount of $973,525 is recommended for ex penditure for the purpose of provid ing such pension payments for the calendar year 2000; and, WHEREAS, The recommend expenditure of $973,525 from the fund is consistent with the long term objectives of the fund; now, therefore emony would be utilized. The modifications of some of the Chinookan speaking peoples reli gion have evolved into the pseudo-Christian sect called Shakers. The Shakers is a revela tory religion that also practiced a Bones from the burial site when space was limited. shamanistic ritual called helping people with their shake. In the early 1800s the sect of Smollah or Shakers was unknown to the Chinookanpeoples of the Colum bia River. On November 21, 1999 I made an inquiry to my Aunt Madeline Mclnturff regarding procedures of the Wasco at the turn of the Century. Here is her answer: "Shakers performed their services in the evening until mid night. After the closing of the Shaker services, a medicine man then performs his service the rest of the night." Madeline said the purpose is to "Control the spirits of the deceased. Children are to be kept under strict discipline and control, it was believed that chil dren running around could be grabbed and taken hold of by the Spirits." Note: Both of the mentioned religions are shamanistic: shammon means controller of spirits. This information was taken in 1928 A.D. from a BIA Realty tran script. The charge by a minister for a funeral was "A blanket and three yards of calico cloth.". The estimated cost for this material of that time was approximately $9.00. In the 1940s if there was a known pregnant woman in the congregation, it was a custom to tear a strip of the blanket that wrapped the body of the deceased. This strip of material was worn around the waist until the child was born. It was believed if this custom was not adhered to the BE IT RESOLVED, By the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reser vation of Oregon, pursuant to Article V, Section 1 (f) of the Constitution and By-Laws as amended, that an amount not to exceed $973,525 is hereby authorized for expenditure from the Senior Citizen Pension Trust Fund for Senior Citizens Pension for calendar year 2000. Certification The undersigned as Secretary Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon , hereby certifies that the Tribal Council is composed of 11 members, of who 10 constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof, duly and regularly called, noticed, and convened and held this 23rd day of No vember 1 999, and that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 7 mem bers, 2 members abstaining and the chairman not voting, and the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. ftesolution No. 9798 WHEREAS, The Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Or egon has considered the economic conditions of the community; and WHEREAS, Current economic conditions, and especially on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation have resulted in economic hardship for many families and individual members of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and, WHEREAS, Such economic con ditions necessitates the Tribal Coun cil provide for a special per capita distribution to the enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Or egon without any withholding for financial obligation to the Confeder ated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; and, WHEREAS, The financial posi tion of the Confederated Tribes will need extremely careful management in the years to come to accomplish specific goals of economic develop ment, community facilities, housing and credit needs; now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED, By the (2 1 st) Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reser vation of Oregon that in accordance December 2, 1999 9 child would be born with the de ceased persons distorted image. The practice is still used to mis day. Potlach: A type of potlach cer emony has come into existence of the custom and traditions of the burial procedures. In the Spier and Sapir Ethnography: The giving of the Chiefs' possessions was dis tributed only the sake as agesture to remember the Chief. The cur rent practice is when an individual passes on all his or her posses sions are disposed of. This is called "giveaway. The give away in cludes personal heirlooms, dia mond rings, necklaces, etc. In some instances, an entire household property is involved. This cer emony sometimes leaves the deceased's survivors in a desti tute situation, especially a widow with small children or a family with a limited source of income. This activity mostly involves min istrants of the funeral. Some of the survivors of the deceased are forced into this custom against their will. Even though they are not traditionally active. After a year has elapsed of the funeral ceremony, there is another ceremony. It is called the "Memo rial giveaway." Through out the year material is saved up, which include: Pendleton blankets, shawls, beaded bags, handker chiefs, and in some cases, old cornhuskbags, etc. These are given in the remembrance of the de ceased. And then finally, there is a cer emony called "Stone setting." I'm not familiar with this type of cer emony, therefore, I will not com ment on it. with authority granted in Article V, Section 1 (t) as amended of the Con stitution and By-Laws and Section 8 of the Corporate Charter, a special per capita distribution is hereby au thorized in the amount of $500 dol lars for each eligible member who appears on the rolls of December 10, 1999. The amount of $951,750 is appropriated to cover such payments; with the balance of $996,250 previ ously appropriated in the 1999 bud get resolution number 9647. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this special per capita be dis tributed on December 15, 1999 and be directly to all members, with the following conditions: a. Individual members that need their money programmed; such money shall be deposited into their Individual Indian Moneys account for supervised expenditure if in the Superintendent's opinion, this is in the best interest of the people in volved. b. Those members that are delin quent in their indebtedness to the Confederated Tribes shall receive a memorandum reminding them of such delinquency and urging them to voluntarily take action to bring such indebtedness current to preserve the overall economic health of the Con federated Tribes. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That any future special dividend pay ments are clearly expected to be re duced in order to protect financial status of the Tribe and relieve the dependencies created by the special dividend payment. Certification The undersigned as Secretary Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, hereby certifies that the Tribal Council is composed of 11 members, of who 9 constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof, duly and regularly called, notices and convened and held this 23rd day of November, 1999, and that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 8 members, the chairman not voting; and that the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. Charles V. Jackson, Secretary-Treasurer Noted: Gordon E. Cannon, Superintendent 1