JR. COLL.
Spilyay tyioo.
290 m, r"r
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
August 8, 2002 Vol. 27, No. 16
Coyote News, est. 1976
c
75
.sea
v. 27
no. 16
August 8,
" ' If II "11 II
Tribes, 509J
negotiating
new school
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
The Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs and Jefferson County School
District 509-J are continuing legal ne
gotiations toward a lease agreement for
the new Warm Springs Elementary
School.
Despite some delays, one thing is
certain, said Julie Quaid, manager of
Warm Springs Essential Education,
"Both sides agree we need a new
school." Legal aspects of the proposed
lease are being addressed by the tribes'
attorney Howard Arnette, and 509-J
school district attorney Ed Sites.
The tribal work group for the new
school provided Tribal Council with an
update on the status of the project on
Tuesday, July 30.
In April the architectural firm Bar
ber Barrett & Turner, located in Bend,
was selected for the new school's de
sign. The next step, said Quaid, is to
move forward and select the designs.
Quaid anticipates "a contract with the
architect will be signed within a month."
After that, she says, there could be
a delay until the legal provisions of the
lease are worked out. The details of
the lease need to be addressed before
construction begins.
, 1 Quaid said, "This is because of cost
issues. We don't want to do the work
twice, and prices will change if we have
to put the project on hold."
Also, a design is necessary to
progress on the loan application with
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural
Development. The USDA requires a
concept design before granting loans.
The tribe is anticipating an $8 mil
lion low-interest loan from USDA to
fund the new school. The loan will be
paid back over 20 years, with the Con
federated Tribes and the 509-J district
each making payments of $300, 000
per year.
See SCHOOL on page 10
Historic water agreement entering final phase
27,000 water rights
holders to be notified
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
. The Treaty of 1855 provides the
Confederated Tribes with the earliest
water right in the Deschutes River Ba
sin. The treaty established the tribes'
water priority date, but did not specify
the quantity of water.
This uncertainty as to the quantity
of the tribal right meant also that un
certainty existed in Deschutes basin as
a whole, mainly because the tribal right
is first.
The uncertainty existed in regard to
planning for future development off
the reservation, for instance. And the
uncertainty became more serious as the
basin grew in population.
So 20 years ago, the Confederated
Tribes, the state of Oregon and the
United States government began a pro
cess to settle the question of the
amount of the tribal water right.
' Over the course of 17 years, the
governments conducted many public
negotiation sessions.
' Then on Nov. 17, 1997, the Con
federated Tribes, the state and the fed
eral government signed the water rights
settlement agreement. The agreement
specifics the quantities of river water,
broken down by the months of the
year, subject to tribal right.
The agreement has been binding on
Fish study findings concern tribes
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
The U.S. Environmental Protec
tion Agency last week released a
controversial study suggesting that
high rates of pollutants could be
threatening the health of members
of the four treaty tribes of the Co
lumbia River Basin.
The native groups surveyed in
clude members of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs, the'
Yakama Nation, Nez Perce, and the
Berry gatherers
Tlt
' if""
(if
, "r'i ' ' Shannon KeavenySpliyay
Tribal members celebrated the annual Huckleberry Feast this past weekend at Hehe Longhouse. In the photograph
above, Sharon Katchia (left) and Louise Jackson carry berries to the longhouse. This year the feast was held on
Saturday, Aug. 3. Some good news is that huckleberries are much more plentiful this year compared to last
year.
the tribes, the state and the federal gov
ernment. The time has now come to render
the agreement binding to all water rights
holders in the Deschutes River basin.
There are approximately 27,000
such rights holders in the basin, and
soon each will receive notice of a pro
posed court action regarding the 1997
agreement.
The notice will state that the agree
ment may be incorporated into a court
decree, rendering the terms binding on
all water rights holders in the basin. Any
water-right holder who objects can file
an exception.
Provisions of the 1997 agreement,
and the public process followed in
reaching the agreement, make excep
tions unlikely.
"There was extensive public review
of the agreement as it was being de
veloped," said Hill Hack, chairman of
the federal team that negotiated the
agreement. "The major water users and
suppliers in the basin have been big
supporters of the agreement."
Tribal Council Chairman Olncy Patt
Jr. said, "We worked for many years
on this agreement. The agreement pro
tects the fish that the Warm Springs
people depend upon, and enables both
on- and off-reservation communities
to grow and prosper."
The 27,000 notices to the water
rights holders will be sent by the Or
egon Water Resources Department.
The judicial venue considering the cle-
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla.
Members of these tribes who con
sume large amounts of Columbia River
fish could have a higher risk of cancer
and other diseases, according to the
EPA report.
Children, because of undeveloped
immune systems and high levels of con
taminants starting at a young age, are
at even greater risk, the study says. El
ders approximately 70 years old are at
the highest risk, due to long-term ex
posure, according to the report.
X6
JL
A term of the settlement
agreement is that the tribes, to
satisfy its right, mil not call on
any water right that existed
prior to 1991.
cree incorporation of the agreement is
the Deschutes County Circuit Court
The court set a 30-day period dur
ing which people can file an exception.
The time is from Aug. 26 to Sept, 25.
mm
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Atup- i
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Architect sought for Gorge casino
The Confederated Tribes are seek
ing proposals from firms interested
in providing architectural services
for the construction of the planned
casino at the Columbia River Gorge.
The plan is to construct a casino
approximately 114,000 square feet
in size, with about 50,000 square feet
dedicated to gaming activity. For com
parison, Indian f lead at Kah-Nee-Ta
is 25,000 square feet, with 7,200
square feet dedicated to gaming.
Also for comparison, Spirit Moun
tain Casino, operated by the Confed
erated Tribes of Grand Rondc, is
90,000 square feet. The building site
of the Confederated Tribes' Gorge
casino is the tribal trust land in I lood
River County, two miles cast of I lood
River. The site is 63 miles from
downtown Portland.
"The study is limited in scope. It just
tells us there is a problem that needs to
be addressed, but it is not enough to
cause panic," said Charles Hudson, of
the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish
Commission. The study, he said, "tells
us we need to know more."
Hudson added, "It is our opinion
that the Warm Springs Indian Reser
vation has had less active involvement
in this study than the other (Columbia
River treaty) tribes. The Deschutes
River, to a point, also had less testing."
,W f Tf ' Wit .
A term of the settlement agreement
is that the tribes, to satisfy its right, will
not call on any water right that existed
prior to 1991. This means that most
of the water-right holders in the basin
are assured that their right will not be
called to satisfy the tribal right.
This provision is one of the main
reasons why the court might expect to
see few exceptions, said Jim Noteboom,
attorney for the Confederated Tribes.
"For off-reservation water users,
there is an assurance that their right
For comparison: Spirit Mountain,
the most successful tribal gaming ven
ture in the state, is 54 miles from down
town Portland, and 31 miles from
downtown Salem.
Spirit Mountain generates approxi
mately $60 million in annual profit,
according to a 2001 news story in The
Orrgoninn.
For comparison: Kah-Ncc-Ta gen
erates about $4 million a year. A casino
at I lood River is expected to generate
an annual profit of about $15 million.
The tribes earlier selected Brussard
Engineering of Bend as the primary
engineer of the new casino project.
Regarding the current request for
bids for architectural services, the suc
cessful bidder will design and furnish
construction drawings and specifications.
The first part of the study surveyed
fish consumption and was completed
in 1994.
The fish samplings were performed
between 1996 and 1998. Approxi
mately 281 samples of fish and eggs
were taken from the Columbia River
Basin at 24 different sites.
In those years, hazard levels were
at eight for salmon and trout and el
evated to 100 for sturgeon and moun
tain whitefish.
See SALMON on page 10
Employees
to gather
for picnic
Some summer fun activity will be
happening this Friday and Saturday,
Aug. 9 and 10.
During these two days, the Tribal
Council will be hosting the tribal em
ployee picnic at Kah-Nee-Ta.
Employees and their families are
welcome.
There will be food, with a light lunch
at noon on Friday, and a light lunch
again on Saturday.
The main employee picnic will be
Friday at 6.m. This will be at the
pavillion at Kah-Nee-Ta Village.
Along with the food, there will be a
slot tournament at the casino for those
21 and older, a golf scramble, and
swimming. The stables will be open for
horseback riding,
On Friday, activities start at 9 a.m.
and continue throughout the day.
For the golf scramble, show up at
the clubhouse.
There will be drawings with prizes
for first, second and third.
The employee picnic was held two
years ago, but not last year,
j Tribal Council, the Secretary-Treasurer
and the Chief Operations Officer
wish the employees and their familes a
fun time at this year's event.
won't be called," said Noteboom
At the same time, the agreement,
and the planned court action, "Will pro
vide security, because we know the
amount of the tribal right. This gives
all parties certainty as to their respec
tive water rights," said Noteboom.
The 1997 water rights settlement ,
agreement was signed during a cer
emony at Kah-Nee-Ta. Along with the
tribal officials, on hand for the event
were Gov. Kitzhabcr, and former Sec
retary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.
The statements of qualification
from interested firms will be reviewed
in September by the casino point team.
After reviewing the statements of
qualification, the team will choose five
firms to submit specific proposals. The
successful bidder will be selected by
Nov. 15. The tribes intend to begin the
design phase of the I lood River gam
ing facility by December 2002.
In 1999 the Tribes proposed build
ing a permanent gaming facility on
Government Rock in the city of Cas
cade Locks, but were denied permis
sion by Gov. Kitzhabcr. Unlike the
Cascade Locks site, the I lood River site
has been in trust for the benefit of the
tribes since before 1988, the date of
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Kitzhabcr cannot deny the tribes the
use of the I lood River trust land.
1