Page 12
The Annual Report of the Confe4er3tec Tribes of Warm Springs
2000-01
The Natural Resources Branch
The Natural Resources Branch
employees 205 people, over half of
which are tribal members. The
branch is responsible for managing
fish, wildlife, cultural resources, wa
ter, soil, forest and rangelands, and
recreation.
The workforce is made up of 180
tribal employees (116 tribal members)
and 25 BIA employees. The annual
budget is just over $6 million, with
$1.4 million being funded by the
tribes, $1.2 from federal 638 contracts,
and $3.6 from other contracts and
grants.
A number of noteworthy accom
plishments highlight the 2000-2001
era. The Wagner Ranch, on ceded
lands located with the John Day wa
tershed, was purchased with mitiga
tion funds provided by the Bonneville
Power Administration. The ranch
includes an important reach of the
river used by wild salmon for spawn
ing purposes.
Fish returns to the Columbia and
Deschutes rivers established modern
Summary
(Continued from page 1)
A cultural aspect of education
gained attention throughout the state
when tribal representatives success
fully lobbied the Oregon Legislature
to pass a bill allowing fluent speakers
of traditional languages to teach in
public schools. Under the new law, a
traditional language speaker can ob
tain a special certificate to teach the
language to public school students.
Gladys Thompson and Madeline
Mclnrurff testified during the legisla
tive process.
A weak timber market and declin
ing revenue forced tribal decision
makers to make $1.1 million in bud
get cuts, which included reductions
in government programs and services.
Public Safety
(Continued from page 11)
The reporting system is being ex
panded from the police department
to other departments of the branch,
he said.
For the year 2001, the Warm
Springs Police Department re
sponded to 8,813 calls for service,
with 13,182 incidents being logged.
On the fire safety side, Warm
Springs Fire and Safety responded to
2,110 calls during the year 2001.
This department employs 17 full
time people.
Governmental
(Continued from page 10)
One stillborn child; 1 miscarriage;
28 tribal member adults, 6 non-member
spouses; and 1 non-member child.
There were 104 people enrolled in
2000 and 176 in 2001.
In December of 2001, the Office
of Trust Fund Management shut
down the IIM System. The Vital Sta
tistics System has been set up to run
Per Capita Checks, but have not been
doing so because of the trust respon
sibility of the BIA. Since the IIM sys
tem was shut down for 60 to 90 days,
Vital Statistics had to be prepared to
run the Per Capita for 3 or 4 months,
or until the IIM system is on line
again.
One of the most time consuming
responsibilities for the department is
preparation for a Tribal Referendum.
The Tribal Council calls elections by
resolution. When the Vital Statistics
department receives the resolution, a
ballot is prepared using the language
of the resolution, asking the question
"Shall Resolution be approved?"
A cover letter is prepared for the Ab
sentee voters. (There are now 601 ab
sentee infers) The Ballot and cover let
ter arc sent to printing. The Election
Counting Board is appointed by
Tribal resolution, by the Tribal Coun
cil. Once an election is called, the
Board is notified of the place and time
records during the 2001 season.
Spring chinook fishing for traditional
and recreational anglers was the best
in recent memory and steelhead fish
ing was also extremely good.
Natural Resources played a key
role in the joint application that was
filed for the Confederated Tribes and
PGE to operate the Pelton-Round
Butte hydro-electric complex, provid
ing greater control for the tribes over
the long-term. The application was
sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission for their approval. The
agreement between the tribes and
PGE is expected to increase future
revenues and help to stabilize the lo
cal economy.
Other milestones include 401 cer
tification for water rights, establish
ment of a pantry to allow greater flex
ibility for timber harvests,
outplanting of juvenile chinook
salmon to produce future runs in
Shitike Creek, dedication of the Eu
gene Greene Sr. Natural Resources
Building, revision of IRMP I for the
Some of the cuts were painful, but
they also encouraged the tribal orga
nization to reexamine they way we
do business.
Consolidation, restructuring and
improved efficiency were key ele
ments in the merger of Indian Head
Casino and Kah-Nee-Ta Resort. As
a result, the new Kah-Nee-Ta High
Desert Resort and Casino reported
$15 million in gross revenue during
the first nine months of 2001 and re
inforced believes that the merger was
a sound idea.
A corporation was founded to in
vest in ventures that create jobs and
generate new revenue, as part of an
effort to diversify the local economy.
Tribal Council provided the first in-
The Fire and Safety has its main
station in Warm Springs, but also has
a station in Simnasho, and is in the
process of developing a Seekseequa
station, which should be done this
year.
Overall response time of Fire and
Safety continues to improve. Also, the
number of structure fires has been in
decline, as Fire and Safety continues
its fire-safety education program.
At Victims of Crime last year, 199
primary victims and 217 secondary
victims were served.
affairs
to report for the voting and count
ing. Envelopes are ordered to mail
absentee voters their packets. They
are stamped with the absentee voter
stamp and the return address stamp.
Labels are placed on each envelope
so that they can check the voters
name off the list when it is returned.
Postage can range from 43 cents to 60
cents per envelope depending on the
size of the ballot. Envelopes are
stamped with the Absentee Ballot
stamp and they include a plain white
envelope that the ballot will be sealed
inside when it is returned.
The ballots arc stamped with an
"Official Ballot" stamp. Packets are
prepared for each absentee voter,
which includes the cover letter, the
ballot and information regarding the
ballot question, the plain white enve
lope and the stamped return enve
lope. The postage is always first class,
and the postage can range from about
40 cents to $1.10.
The preceding is just a small part
of the process that the Vital Statistics
department goes through for each
election. There arc 13 steps in all that
must be completed before the elec
tion can be held. The referendum
process is a very arduous process for
the ladies at the Vital Statistics depart
ment, and yet they always greet the
public with a smile.
fx
4
sr
The tribes, through the Natural Resources Branch, reintroduced bighorn
sheep onto the reservation in 2001 .
Forested Area, and opening of the ment land use plans, services and
Hood River salmon fishery. projects to assess, protect and enhance
Goals for the future include a re- tribally significant natural resource
view of corporate and other-govern- and cultural values.
stallment of financial capital for in
vestment purposes and approved the
board of directors. The Economic
Development Corporation will seek
out new ways of utilizing tribal re
sources, including a capable and will
ing work force.
Along those same lines, the Or
egon Legislature passed a tax law that
encourages new business develop
ment on the reservation.
The law eliminates the possibility
of double taxation on businesses and
allows the tribes to provide an incen
tive by means of a property tax de
ferral. Tribal fishermen were encouraged
by the record returns of spring
chinook salmon during the 2001
adult migration. As of October 1 over
2,700'wild'fish had passed Warm
Springs National fish Hatchery, shat
tering the previous modern record of
1,867. An additional 6,745 hatchery
salmon had reached the facility dur
ing the same timeframe.
The record returns of salmon were
a fitting prelude to the dedication of
our new Natural Resources Building,
a memorial to the late Eugene "Cou
gar" Greene. Family, friends, col
leagues and visitors gathered for the
dedication ceremony, which honored
Greene's long and illustrious service
to the Tribal organization and to the
region's natural resources.
The swearing in of a new Tribal
Council was certainly a highlight of
2001.
A total of 1,034 ballots were cast,
re-instating all but one council mem
ber for a new term. Ron Suppah Sr.
was the only new member elected
during the April 9 vote. Olney Patt
Jr. was reinstated as chairman and
Garland Brunoe as vice chairman.
No synopsis of 2001 would be
complete without mention of the
great individual achievements that
took place during the year. Among
the most noteworthy was the selec
tion of Luanne Foltz as the Oregon
Indian Education Association's
Teacher of the Year. We also take great
pride in basket-maker Pat Gold's ac
ceptance of the Governor's Arts
Award, and Bodie Shaw's receipt of
the Mark O. Hatfield Congressional
Fellowship,
The year 2000 offered some unique
opportunities to expand social pro
grams and build financial stability for
the future.
There were challenges to face, in
cluding the layoff of local mill work
ers, but decision-makers maintained
their vision for long-term prosperity.
Following years of hard work and
negotiation, the Tribes made a final
commitment to take controlling in
terest of the Pelton-Round Butte hy
droelectric complex.
Tribal members overwhelmingly
approved a referendum to acquire an
increasing stake in the project. A fi
nal tally of 753 yes votes and 127 no
votes provided a resounding statement
in favor of efforts to gain control of
the entire project.
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AdultCommunity Eduction
This branch was created when
former Chief Operations Officer
Jody "Charles" Calica divided the
, Education Branch into two branches.
Wendell Jim is the General Manager
of the Adult and Community Edu
cation Branch and Julie Quaid is the
Director of Essential Education.
The branch encompasses Oregon
State University Extension (OSU),
Central Oregon Community College
(COCC), the Workforce Develop
ment Department (WFDD), Culture
and Heritage Department, and the
Administrative Staff. There are 31
full-time and 18 part-time employees.
Twenty-four full-time employees and
11 part-time employees are tribal
members. The operating budget in
cludes $1,348,921 tribal dollars.
, General Manager Wendell Jim said
downsizing nas eliminated some full
time positions and caused a decline
in services to clients. However, at the
same time, the branch as accom
plished much. Jim has worked with
a number of universities and colleges
to further the cause of education in
Warm Springs. He represented the
Confederated Tribes at the Oregon
government-to-government education
meetings with the Oregon depart
ment of Education (K-12), Office of
Community Colleges and workforce
development, and the Oregon Uni
versity Systems. He assisted in updat
ing the American Indian Native
Alaskan State Indian Education State
Plan and testified to the Oregon Board
of Education. Wendell Jim helped
develop the coordination of the "Mill
Transition" plan for displaced WSFPI
workers. Other achievements include
the 2020 Partnership with Washing
ton State University, Pacific North
west Indian Education Summit 2001
and Native Language and Cultures
Regional Conference 2001.
Some of the other branch successes
included 257 kids participating in the
Oregon State University extension
camping program. OSU also devel
oped the Warm Springs Weed Man
agement Program, created Indian sto
ries and games "in their own voices"
educational program, and completed
a draft of Warm Springs Stockman's
notebook.
Two hundred students participated
in Central Oregon Community
College's programming as they pur
sued their 2-year degree. Forty-four
students enrolled in remedial classes
Comp and benefits continued...
(Continued from page 9)
voluntary retirement plan for the tribal organization. Managed Care
will strive to provide quality service, while operating in a fiscally re
sponsible manner and extending limited funding so all priority health
care services are provided to eligible community members. Staff will
research the feasibility of paying Part B Medicare premiums for pro
gram eligible tribal members and develop a plan on how best to utilize
the unspent dollars that have accumulated in the Managed Care budget
through sound fiscal management. There is some uncertainty awaiting
Comp and Benefits and Managed Care. Health care costs continue to
escalate due to medical and technological advancements. The rising costs
are pitted against tribal budget cuts and wage freezes, making it ever
more difficult to provide quality benefits at affordable prices.
Always high on the
priority list will be ongo
ing efforts to provide for
fish and wildlife popula
tions...
The branch plans to implement
plans, strategies and management
standards that increase production
and cultural or economic resourceful
ness of natural resources-based oppor
tunities. Another goal is to improve
community knowledge and participa
tion in natural resources management
decisions. Always high on the prior
ity list will be ongoing efforts to pro
vide for fish and wildlife populations
and habitat that will sustain current
and future needs of tribal members.
Natural Resources General Man
ager Robert Brunoe said the biggest
challenge for the immediate future
will be to maintain current programs
and services under present and antici
pated budget restraints.
and there was a 55 percent increase
in the number of participants in tra
ditional and vocational education.
COCC also enrolled 199 people in
computer classes, 14 different soft
ware applications with 6 being cus
tomized. Of those participating, 84.5
percent earned certificates.
Workforce Development's Afford
able Housing & Training Develop
ment Program constructed 15 homes
using apprentice carpenters. Other
areas of work included tree planting,
tree carding, gopher trapping and
commercial tree thinning. An area
that will be of great value for the or
ganization in the future is the Pre
employment adult and youth skills
bank created by WFDD. The WFDD
also employed 140 youth in the sum
mer employment program.' "' 1 ;
The Culture and Heritage" depart-"
ment made headlines statewide when
the State Legislature passed SB 690
after being introduced by the depart
ment. The department also taught '
Indian languages to 17 classes at Warm '
Springs Elementary. There were 789
hours of language taught to 336 stu
dents. Culture and Heritage received
$116,000 dollars from ANA Native '
American Grant award. The language 1
staff completed college level studies
at the Northwest Indian Language
institute and assisted in creating the
Indian Language Benchmarks for the
State of Oregon.
The branch has provided and
implemented distance education
courses; computer training; remedial
classes; Adult basic education and
GED classes; apprentice and intern
ship programs; on-the job training;
academic, self sufficiency and life
management training; provided
Sahaptin, Wasco and Paiute language
instruction, and tribal government,
history and traditional education cur
riculum and classes; cultural enrich
ment camps; so that tribal member
youth, adults are able to attain the
skills and training to be successful
individuals, employees and so that
they learn to preserve, and strengthen
our Indian traditions, values, im
prove, protect, enhance, and support
our tribal sovereign rights. When
asked about the biggest challenge fac
ing the tribes in the next few years,
like many other managers, Wendell
Jim said it is budget reductions and
the growing tribal population.