3R. COLL.
75
.S&B
v. 26
no. 3
February
Feb. 8, 2001
Vol. 26 No. 3
35 cents
Lincoln Powwow
set at Simnasho
24lh Annual Lincoln's Powwow and Sovereignty Cel
ebration February 9-12, 2001
Simnasho Longhouse, Simnasho. Oregon
Grand entries: Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 1 :30 p.m., Sun
day 2:00 p.m.
Over $16,000 in prize money
Contestants judged on the point system
Schedule:
February 3 Memorials, blessing of the Longhouse, re
joining February 9 New joiners, rejoiners, followed by grand
entry.
Fancy & Traditional dancing
Ages 6-12, 13-16, 17 & up
Specials include: Drumming contest, 3-Hand drum con
test (sponsored by Simnasho Committee and Pierson Mitchell
family), Round BustleChicken Dance (sponsored by Macky
Begay), Sr. Men's Traditional (sponsored by Begay family),
Jingle Dance 1 8& up (sponsored by Ike family)
The Lincoln's Powwow and Sovereignty Celebration
honors: Children, Veterans, LeadersChiefsCouncilmen, Se
niorsElders, Sobriety, Field of Education
This is an alcohol and drug free powwow and will be
enforced.
We ask that all the local drums provide their own chairs.
For information contact Anna Clements at 553-3290. For
vendor information contact Sandra at 553-3601.
Downsizing
closely at operation;
Senior management has been
struggling with Tribal Government's
increasing costs and decreasing rev
enues for the past several years. Unlike
off-reservation communities, the Con
; federated Tribes do not have a tax base
' to help (defer costs) fund expenses re
lated to such necessities as water, sewer,
road building and repair, upkeep on
tribal government buildings, and for
providing services to the community
including senior citizens. At the same
time, as tribal government struggles to
meet rising costs, it is also the largest
employer on the Reservation.
With a decreasing revenue flow,
it has become paramount for Tribal
leadership to make adjustments that al
low the Tribe to continue providing
essential services for its members. In
November, Tribal Council passed
Resolution No 9935, approving the
Tribes' 2001 Budget. The resolution
directed the Tribal Government orga
nization to improve efficiency and be
gin to permanently downsize operations
to better match anticipated revenues
with expenditures during the fiscal year
2001. Tribal Council also directed the
Secretary-Treasurer to coordinate with
the Chief Operations Officer to achieve
an overall permanent base budget re
duction of $1,230,000, including a re
duction in the number of Tribal Coun
cil committees and a reduction of Tribal
Government programs and services.
The resolution also stated that Tribal
Council Committee members will
travel at federal per diem rates begin
ning in 2001.
In a meeting held Dec. 14, 2000,
team looks
Secretary Treasurer Charles Jackson
said, "We are taking the following pre
cautionary actions. First, effective im
mediately, all. vacant positions are fro
zen and no hiring of permanent staff
will be permitted without prior approval
of the ST." Jackson went on to say that
effective Jan. 1,5 percent of every bud
get unit will be sequestered (withheld)
until a permanent reduction strategy and
action plan is implemented during the
second quarter, t '" ".
Jackson arid Chief Operations
Officer Charles "Jody" Calica directed
the formation of three groups to explore
ways to address the revenue shortfall.
The groups include a New Revenue
Team, a Government "Downsizing"
Team and a New Investment Team.
The Downsizing Team has con
centrated on four areas: new initiatives,
vacant positions, consolidation of
Tribal Council committees, and review
ing the possibility of consolidating dif
ferent areas of the Tribal Organization.
The team has concentrated on alterna
tive budget reductions that will not af
fect full time permanent employees this
year. The team has been meeting each
Tuesday since Dec. 14. It made its fi
nal report to Jackson and Calica on Jan.
30. Some recommendations, if ac
cepted, could be implemented within 60
to 90 days, others by the end of the year,
and still other recommendations could
be implemented during 2002.
More information on the recom
mendations made by the Downsizing
Team, New Revenue Team, and New
Investment Team will appear in future
issues of the Spilyay Tymoo.
pilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News)
News from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Dressed in workout shorts and
a baggy sweatshirt with a boldly em
blazoned "Arizona State," Alyssa
Macy looks every bit the thoroughly
contemporary young woman-of-the-world
she is. To reconcile this vision
with the accompanying photo of a
proudly-garbed, traditional Indian
woman might appear difficult. Macy,
however, moves with easy grace be
tween both worlds.
Home to participate in the
crowning of Adrienne Merrificld, her
successor as "Miss Warm Springs,"
Macy reminisced about her year's
reign, Warm Springs roots, current
work in Washington, D.C., and plans
for her future.
A self-possessed and articulate
young woman, Macy is, by anyone's
standards, a success story.
While candidly acknowledging
her accomplishments, she credits
them to family, community and,
above all, education.
It was her father's untimely
death, occurring when she was a high
school senior, that ironically stimu
lated achievements she might not
have otherwise attempted. She recalls
her dad as someone who not only
loved his Warm Springs home, but
also enjoyed studying its history. "He
was always learning, reading, writ
ing." Her love of knowledge was a
natural outgrowth of the home in
which she was raised.
Jimmy Macy also conveyed a
profound paternal pride and fre
quently communicated his dreams for
his daughter's future.
"You're special, you're going
to do something good," he would tell
her. If college had not been one of
her dad's aspirations, Macy believes
she might well have been afraid to
leave Warm Springs and further her '
education. His death, however,
"forced me to grow and go." At his
gravesite, she made a promise. She
would go on to college, she would
"make something" of her life.
After high school, she left
Miss Warm
A commitment one year earlier
than planned has resulted in Adrienne
Merrifield becoming the new Miss
Warm Springs.
Adrienne, daughter of Dinah
and Wilbur Merrifield Jr., turns 1 8 on
Feb. 10. She was thinking about run
ning in 2002, but decided last week
to enter the competition. Since then,
reality has set in.
"I think about it a lot," said the
Madras High School senior, who will
finish courses required for graduation
in March. "Now I have to work at a
lot of things too that I didn't before."
There is also the matter of in
creased responsibility that comes with
the honor.
"I know that people look at me
in a different way," she said.
While Adrienne was carried
away in the changing of her outfits
by her aunts backstage and the pag
eantry onstage, her mother was swept
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Change Service Requested
n
J
; Alyssa Macy Js .curenthjworking
Warm Springs for Arizona, the home
of her mother's family. She eventu
ally enrolled at Arizona State Univer
sity from which she graduated last
May with a bachelor's degree in Jus
tice Studies. She did not return to
ft
I
V
V
Springs steps into spotlight
up in nervousness and emo
tion. "I was nervous all
day," said Dinah
Merrifield. "I was all that
... and she seemed so calm
and cool."
The memory of
Adrienne's older sister
brought an added emotional
element to the event.
Benita, who passed away a
couple of years ago, had
dreamed of becoming Miss
Warm Springs.
"I cried when
Adrienne danced, because
I hadn't seen her dance in
three years," said Dinah.
For Adrienne, the
title is a chance to honor her
sister. "I'm doing this for her because
she didn't get to do the things she
wanted to."
"JoBfe IPoBmifi iral
Paving would
Residents in the Wolfe Point
area could be accessing their homes
via a paved road by the end of the
summer. The BIA Branch of Roads
is proposing to construct a newly
aligned road near Wolfe Point be
tween Highway 3 and Culpus Bridge.
The natural-surface road that
residents have grown accustomed to
traveling has several drawbacks. It
has a number of curves and can be
difficult to negotiate when the surface
is wet. The current road is very ex
pensive to maintain.
BIA is proposing the $2.5 mil
lion project to alleviate these prob
lems. Their plan calls for a realign
ment that would provide safer and
better access into the area. The re
alignment would straighten much of
the roadw ay and provide better drain
age over its surface, which should
make for safer travel. The design also
calls for two 15-foot wide, asphalt
lanes, approximately 25 percent
wider than the existing road.
si-rials Dnrr.
KNICiirr LIBRARY
IJWlJNIVIKSITYOFOWiCON
EUGliNE, OR 97403
V
in Washington, D.C.
Warm Springs for seven years - until
her decision to participate in the Miss
Warm Springs pageant.
As introspective as she appears
outgoing, Macy used the time to ex
amine herself - her strengths and
V
Adrienne Merrifield at
the pageant, above,
and after school.
ft
! : i. ;
help safety, maintenance
Construction
enterprise,
Page 5
Officials hope these features
will reduce the number of traffic ac
cidents that occur on Wolfe Point
Road, a benefit to residents and thru
traffic, as well. The issue of safety is
extremely important because Wolfe
Point Road is part of a school bus
route.
When the road is completed it
will provide an alternate paved route
to Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, which Could
become the primary access in case of
emergencies. If Culpus Bridge is re
placed within the next couple of
years, as officials anticipate, the en
tire loop connecting Highway 3.
Wolfe Point Road and Highway 8
University of Oregon Library
Received on: e-15-l 7
Spilyay tyioo.
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Gil
weaknesses, her goals, and the work
she needed to do to achieve them.
Building on the self-confidence im
parted by her father and some "hard
headed stubbornness," she decided
that with a strong work ethic and a
solid education, she could achieve
whatever she wished.
She returned to Warm Springs
in December 1999. In her absence, it
appeared that "the mountains had
grown more beautiful, the rivers pret
tier and the people nicer." The wel
come she received from the commu
nity was heartwarming. She renewed
ties with family and special elder
friends like Amelia Colwash and
Daisy Ike who she says have
"grounded me in reality." She discov
ered a newfound curiosity, a desire
to learn more about the place she had
formerly taken for granted. 'The best
thing about coming home to be Miss
Warm Springs was coming home."
As Miss Warm Springs, Macy
believed she could share her emerg
ing skills and strengths with the com
munity; and, in typical fashion, she
took the opportunity seriously. Macy
believes strongly that each Miss
Warm Springs can adapt the role to
fit her own personality and strengths.
At various Indian conferences and
pow-wows Macy thought of herself
as an ambassador for, and a reflec
tion of, the Warm Springs commu
nity. However at non-Indian events
she was a representative of all Indi
ans - a responsibility she refers to as
a "glorious burden." A person who
is "comfortable about speaking out"
and, like her father, holds strong opin
ions, Macy took advantage of oppor
tunities to present her views on edu
cation, tribal sovereignty and other
issues of concern to her at the events
she visited during the year of her
reign.
Macy is working in Washing
ton, D.C, on a Mark Hatfield Fellow
ship as a legislative assistant to Con
gresswoman Darlene Hooley.
Continued on Page 2
plainiDUGGO
along the Warm Springs River would
accommodate two lanes of traffic
over asphalt surfaces.
The project is subject to review
by an interdisciplinary planning team,
so natural resources will be protected
in accordance with tribal codes and
ordinances. Impacts to cultural re
sources, water, soil, fish, wildlife,
forage and scenic values will be as
sessed before the project gets under
way. Any significant impacts will be
mitigated.
During construction, access to
local residences will be maintained,
but thru traffic is likely to be detoured.
Whenever possible, the road
will be relocated away from private
allotments and onto tribal lands.
Abandoned sections of road w ill be
eradicated and reseeded.
Anyone wishing to comment
on the Wolfe Point Road realignment
project should contact Tom S human
at 553-2432 or Doug Dunlap at 553-2416.
ft 1 - M