Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2001)
OR. COLL. E 75 .S68 V. 26 no. 16 August 9, Jf7 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 i-i Coyote News, est. 1976 U.S. Postage Bulk Rato Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 35 cents News from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation August 9, 2001 Vol. 26, No. 16 yrooo Celebrating the Feast Tribal members gathered Sunday, July 29 at the He He Longhouse for the annual Huckleberry Feast. The early part of the day saw some rain, but the showers had passed by the afternoon. The food preparers arrived at the longhouse early, and the Washut service started in mid-morning. The Huckleberry Feast this year was held a week or so earlier than usual, because of the hot and dry weather that the region had seen during the first part of summer. More photos, Page 10 Photo by Dava McMechan It Jr A ' . I . .1 1 Youngsters experience culture at 4-H camp By Daw McMechan ; On a hillside above Shitike Creek a dozen young people are practicing archery. Nearby in the camp, some others are working on beadwork with supervision from a tribal elder. Still others are away hiking through the woods. The sweat lodges are very popular with the young campers. At night they also like hearing stories around the campfire, or taking a night hike in the forest. Hundreds of Warm Springs youths this summer came to Peters Pasture for the 4 H Culture Enrichment Camp. The pas ture is 28 miles west of Warm Springs, along pristine Shitike Creek, in a secluded part of the reservation, near Mt. Jefferson. "The focus of the camp is on investi gative learning, culture and languages," said Arlene Boileau, 4-H Culture Camp director. Boileau, who works with OSU Exten sion, started the culture camp several years ago, after having worked with other 4-H camps in the region. She is very familiar with the Peters Pasture area, as she grew up there, and at the He He area. This summer, the Warm Springs 4-H Culture Camp has been host to over 300 local young people, grades K-9. The first group of students at the camp were from UW'' f Jf :! "I ""- "m " "" " """ """ """""" "I - - - - -- -nr-Mmrwinnmn- - -- Photo by Dave McMechan Archery is among many activities at the 4-H camp being held this summer. Ceremony backs Moses as chief More than 100 people last Friday attended the War Bonnet Ceremony of Joe Moses, sworn in recendy as new Paiute chief of the Seekseequa District. During the event, many people - friends, relatives and rep resentatives of other tribes - spoke in support for Moses. The event also included a Washut service, feast and gift give away. Theron Johnson presided over the War Bonnet Ceremony. Moses was sub-chief of the late Paiute Chief Vernon Henry, who passed away last month in a motor vehicle accident. The week after the fatal wreck, Moses, elected earlier this year to a fourth term on the Tribal Council, was sworn in as the new chief. The swearing-in was criticized by some Seekseequa District members; however, there was no evidence of controversy at last week's War Bonnet Ceremony. Representatives of the Burns Paiute, Siletz, Grand Ronde and tribes in Washington were on hand for the ceremony, ex pressing their support Relatives of the late Vernon Henry and of Moses said they were in support of Moses as new chief. Tribal attorneys Dennis Karnopp and Jim Note boom spoke of their respect for Moses, and the work he had done over the years as a member of the Tribal Council. The War Bonnet Ceremony was held at He He Ixinghouse, starting at about 10 a.m., and lasting into the afternoon. the Warm Springs Summer Academy, grades K-4. The young people in this group - about 250 students in all - came to the camp in the day-time, and went back home in the evening. Then last week, approximately 75 youths, grades 2-5, spent seven days and six nights at the camp. This week 30 stu dents, grades 6-9, are at the camp, through Saturday, Aug. 11. The camp has an adult staff of 26 people, mamly volunteers . who enjoy the camping experience. "We have some young people who are too old to come as campers, so they volunteer as CIT's, Counselors in Training," said Boileau. The camp adult staff includes two sweat lodge leaders, Larson Kalama for the boys, and Millie Colwash for the girls. A registered nurse also is on hand, as are two and sometimes three cooks. Tribal members volunteer to provide cultural education, history, training in crafts, ar chery, and other activities. The tribes' Forestry and Fire Management branches help a great deal, Boileau said. The camp has seven teepees, that are set up amidst the numerous tents of the young campers. Funding for the Warm Springs 4-H Culture Enrichment Camp comes from the tribes, OSU Extension, and Johnson O'Malley, which is federal education money that goes to K-12 tribal members. . Over the years, the culture camp has seen a steady increase in its popularity. When Boileau first started it a number of years ago, the camp was held at Trout Lake. Continued on Page 7 M Tribal staff calls for cut of $600,000 The Tribal Council in the near future will begin work on the 2002 tribal gov ernment budget, a task made difficult by the need for a significant reduction in ex penditures. A preliminary recommendation by the tribal financial staff calls for a minimum reduction of $600,000 from the current year's budget. Similar reductions can be expected over the next five years, in order to bring the budget in line with projected revenue, said Charles Jackson, secretary-treasurer. The decline in timber revenue - from $12 million per year less than a decade ago, to the present $4 million to $5 million - is a main reason why the tribes are facing budget restrictions, Jackson said. The vola tile market for power has also been a fac tor, he said. The goal over the next five years is to gradually bring the annual tribal govern ment budget down to about $15 million, from the present level of about $19 mil lion. Last year in developing the 2001 bud get, the Tribal Council also faced the need to reduce the budget, so the upcoming budget is the second in an annual series expected to involve substantial reductions in the base budget. This year, the Council eliminated some tribal government jobs that at the time were vacant. In developing the 2002 bud get, tribal officials again will be looking closely at vacant positions, Jackson said. A goal of the Tribal Council is to avoid laying off any workers, he said. Local em ployment already saw a serious setback earlier this year, when the Warm Springs Forest Products Industries mill went from two shifts to one. Continued on Page 3 Traditional leave policy considered hC . J ; i x " If 'Ail Photo by Dave McMechan Joe Moses was joined by family members: his wife, Doris Miller, and their granddaughter, Erica. On the Tribal Council agenda this month is a proposed policy that would provide some tribal workers a leave of absence from their employment for pur poses of preparing for traditional events and activities. The proposed policy, currendy in draft form, would apply to employees of tribal government and tribal enterprises, includ ing Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino, Forest Products Industries, Power Enterprises and Composite Products. The draft policy also indicates that em ployees learning a traditional language could take up to two hours per week paid leave to attend a language class. For employees of the tribal govern ment, the proposed policy would incor porate into the personnel manual an ad ministrative policy that has been in prac tice for some time, said Benson Heath, personnel director. The proposed tradi tional leave policy would, however, be new for the enterprises. Explaining the purpose of the proposed policy, Heath said, "The Tribal Council believes in cultural education, and the need to retain our traditions and languages." Tribal officials last summer began ex ploring the idea of incorporating a tradi tional leave policy into the personnel manual The initiative for the project came when elders at last year's Huckleberry Feast mentioned the need for such a policy to Charles Jackson, secretary-treasurer of the Tribes. Continued en Page ) University of Oregon Library Received on: eS-20-ei Spilyay tynoo.