JR. COLL.
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
trials Pi:Jr-
SflCNl', OR 97403
Coyote News, est. 1976
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
News from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
May 17, 2001 Vol. 26, No. 10
35 cents
75
.SB
v. 6
no. 10
May 17, F
tm a
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School b
Supporters of a referendum to build a new
elementary school in Warm Springs were on
pins and needles this morning awaiting re
sults to be brought to Tribal Council for
certification.
"I know people are going to be calling
me today, but I don't have anything to tell
them," said Julie Quaid, director of the Early
Childhood Education program and a key
organizer of the drive to spend up to $8
million on the new school.
Elections officials keep the results secret
until the tally is taken to Tribal Council.
Since most of the council has been in Con
necticut at the National Congress of Ameri
can Indians Conference, certification will be
ackers await election results Deal closes
on possible
gaming site
delayed.
Irene Towe, chairman of the election
board, said she'll bring the results before
council on Monday.
For the election to be valid, 712 voters
needed to have turned out. liven that num
ber is secret for now, although observers re
ported that more than 600 votes had been
cast by 6 p.m. Wednesday, which is in the
middle of the post-workday rush at the polls.
The election concluded at 8 p.m.
If approved, the school for kindergartners
through fifth-graders will be located south
of the liarly Childhood Education Center
on a hill that overlooks the center.
The new elementary school, which has
been in planning stages for several years,
would be designed to accommodate up
to 600 students.!
The current school was built in stages
and holds only kindergarten through
fourth grades.
Fifth-graders from Warm Springs now
attend Jefferson County Middle School
in Madras.
Beginning in fall 2IK.ll, Warm Springs
students will be the oniy fifth-graders in
the district not at theirlown elementary
school.
The sie of the pioposed school
would allow for several ; ears of growth,
and would create a buillJini; that could
Simnasho festivities
give honor to seniors
be used for community events.
East month the Tribal Council and the
509 J School Hoard met at Kah-Nce-Ta and
signed a memorandum of understanding to
make construction and funding of the school
possible.
The agreement calls for the school to be
built on lands designated by the Tribe and
to be owned by the Tribe. The school dis
trict then would make lease payments on
the school for 20 years, after which time the
agreement could be reviewed. The school
district also would pay all costs of upkeep
and maintenance.
The old school eventually may be reno
vated for other uses.
By Selena Boise
Spilyay StajJ
The 11th Annual Honor Seniors Day saw
a different view of the reservation, honor
ees, entertainment, good food and plenty of
entertainment. This year's theme was "Gran
Ol' Opree," and it was held at the Simnasho
Longhouse instead of the Agency
Eonghouse.
Starting the full day of events the veter
ans, both local and visiting, posted the col
ors. Immediately after, an Honor Song was
sung by local drum group, Quartz Creek.
, -ffTheEiitlf-Childhood- Education- Head '
" Start Program had its own grand entry into
the Longhouse for the senior citizens. Due
to the distance from their school, only a se
lect few were able to attend.
The girls performed the butterfly dance
and then handmade gifts were presented to
the seniors citizens from the Head Start chil
dren. These handcrafted items included, fans,
necklaces, hats, and key chains. The chil
dren ended their performance with a round
dance song, and all visitors were invited to
dance. It was a special event for the kids to
show that they are learning their own cul
tures from their teachers.
It has been said from year to year that it
is a good thing to gather Senior Citizens to
have fun and laugh together. Before Honor
Seniors Day was organized in Warm Springs
Senior Citizens were only gathered for fu
nerals or weekly meals. Now they have a
special day to laugh together and have fun.
Honor Seniors Day is held on other reser
vations and in other cities and Warm
Springs' senior citizens travel to have fun
with their faithful bus driver Lawrence
"Kunya" Squiemphen.
The Coeur D'Alenc tribe had a special
giveaway for all the senior citizens in atten
dance. These items were cups, water botdes,
mouse pads, address books, and various
items with their Casino logo on them. Se
nior citizens hold a special place in their
hearts and this was a special day for giving
gifts to them.
During the lunch break, or "half time,"
as Carlos Calica called it, "Marge's Music"
played their instruments for the crowd. This
' group is from LaPine, Oregon. Their music
'was ,p:layed-,with,,the'tht'mc"tn''itiind,'" ai
couples were getting out to dance the two
step, and other types of western style danc
ing. The accordian, keyboard, flute and vio
lin combined provided good eating and danc
ing music.
After lunch the Ladies Auxiliary Vice
President Judy Jackson presented an award
to Hilda Culpus, with the assistance of Iris
Smith and Neda Wesley. Hilda received a
certificate, a Pendleton Coat and a lifetime
membership to the Ladies Auxiliary. With
the recent loss of a strong member of the
Auxiliary, Kathleen Heath, Hilda stepped
forward and continued the efforts to raise
money to pay their dues and did an out
standing job.
The day continued with entertainment
for the senior citizens. The Warm Springs
Elementary School presented Wasco dances
learned by the Indian Language Program.
"These children arc talented and willing to
learn," says Valerie Aguilar of her students.
Children have classroom time for Indian lan
guage from kindergarten into the next grade.
Continued on Page 3
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Photo by Selena Boise
Youngsters presenting gifts to elders was an important part of the gathering.
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Spring Chinook return
solid, but behind region
Photo by Mike Van Meter
Rancfy Boise, who's worked 10 years at the hatchery, hoists a big salmon.
Things are busy at the Warm Springs
National Fish Hatchery again this year, but
perhaps not as busy as they would be with
out the intervention of an unnatural disas
ter from a couple of years back.
Spring Chinook are
arriving at the same
pace as last year - a
healthy year for salmon
runs. However, other
hatcheries around the
Pacific Northwest are
reporting runs of two
and a half times last
year's pace.
Hatchery manager
Mike Paiya thinks it's
because of a truck spill in Beaver Butte
Creek a couple of years back that knocked
back this year's return of fish.
Negotiations arc continuing over the
damages caused by that spill and this year's
final tally of fish will play into those talks.
"The effects of that are going to go on
for awhile," Paiya said.
liven without the big increases seen at
other hatcheries, Paiya says the Warm
-VVy.v. if
L ;
Springs operation will meet its goals this
year. He expects about 9,000 adult fish will
run through the hatchery's gates this spring.
If estimates arc right, that means that had
the spill not occurred, perhaps 23,000 fish
would be returning.
The final tally won't
be known until after
next month. May and
June are when most of
the spring run comes
back home.
In the Columbia Ba
sin as a whole, fish num
bers are as high as
they've been in decades.
"Ocean conditions
were super (during the time this spring's run
was growing)," Paiva said. "And things are
better in the Columbia than they've been
since Bonneville was put in."
While adult fish are returning to spawn,
fingerlings are getting ready for their long
and hazardous trip to the ocean. Contrac
tors at the hatchery arc tagging the small
fish that were raised hire and clipping their
fins prior to their release.
A $1.5 million land deal that furthers
plans to build a tribal gaming facility just
cast of I food River closed last week.
Tribal attorney Dennis Karnopp said the
purchase of three parcels totaling just more
than 160 acres secures access, parking and
development potential. "There's a number
of advantages to that," Karnopp said.
The tribes bought the property from Jack
Bryant, Christian Futures (a corporation
whose principal is Rick Christian) and
Howard Houston.
Although there have been negotiations
off and on over some parts of the land pur
chase for years, talks became more serious
in the past few months as Tribal Council
directed the Gaming Board of Directors and
other tribal officials to pursue the possibil
ity of the I lood River site.
The purchases all closed on May 9,
Karnopp said.
The 160 acres supplements 47 acres of
trust land overlooking the Columbia River.
Early efforts to build a casino in the Co
lumbia Gorge focused on tribal fee lands
near Cascade Locks. Local residents sup
ported the idea, but Gov. John Kitzhaber
would not approve the project, as required
under the Gaming Act, so Tribal Council
decided to pursue other options.
A gorge casino could generate annual
gaming revenues in excess of $100 million.
The trust land east of Hood Rivef could
be developed for gaming purposes under the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The 40-acre
parcel is located just off the area's most
heavily traveled highway (Interstate 84)
about 60 miles from downtown Pordand.
Some Hood River residents have opposed
a tribal casino, but the property is outside
the city's urban growth boundary and is ex
empt from strict land-use rules specified
under the Gorge Scenic Act. Even more im
portantly, the property can be developed
without the governor's approval.
McQuinn
blowdown
appeal won
The Confederated Tribes has received
encouraging news regarding efforts to re
cover revenue lost during a timber sale that
occurred more than 10 years ago.
Tribal attorneys announced this week
that the 9th Federal Circuit Court of Ap
peals had reversed the trial court in the
McQuinn case. The May 10 decision re
mands the case back to the trial court for
reconsideration of the amount of damages
the tribe suffered from alleged mismanage
ment. The trial court found that the tribe
had suffered $280,000 damages, a far cry
from the $18 million that was sought in the
lawsuit.
"We anticipate that there will be some
discussion with the trial court fairly soon
on how we are going to proceed from here,"
said Dennis Karnopp, a tribal attorney from
Bend.
The Confederated Tribes has been try
ing to recover revenue lost as a result of al
leged mismanagement by the federal govern
ment for nearly a decade. The claim stems
from charges relating to a timber salvage
operation, which took place on the
McQuinn Strip and came to be known as
the 1990 Blowdown Sale.
The tribes' original claim was filed in
1992. The interior secretary initially rejected
that claim, but an amended version finally
went to trial in Portland during the month
of December 1997. The tribes argued for $18
million in damages, but they were unable
to convince the U.S. Court of Claims.
The court issued an Opinion and Order
nearly two years later. The judgment was
for the tribes but the cash settlement was
far below the figure being sought