Spifyqy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Pecember 12, 2002
Middle School offers Native language course
UT isten!" said tribal member Arlita Rhoan in
Sahaptin. Speaking to her class of 16 tribal
members, she explained that Sahaptin, or
Ichishkiin, the Native language of the Warm
Springs people, is best learned by listening.
'That's how I learned about my culture," Rhoan
said later. She speaks Sahaptin as her first language
and learned English when she was 11.
Rhoan is quick to point out the cultural signifi
cance a language carries.
"Language teaches about culture. Our language
is deep. There are things lost in the translation to
English."
Throughout her class, assisted by a second
teacher, Dallas Winishut Jr., words were described
by actions or by pointing at the object.
Little English was spoken. The class included
many students who were already five years into
the language, as well as three students who had
never learned Sahaptin before. The students lis
tened, answered, and repeated what Rhoan said.
if
o
(J
. .
Shannon Keaveny Spityay
LEFT: Arlita Rhoan teaches a class
of 1 6 on their first day of lessons at
JCMS. RIGHT: Dallas Winishut Jr.
demonstrates a word rather than
speaks it at JCMS.
Shannon Keaveny Spilyay
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
In a huge step forward
for Native Americans
nationwide and Warm
Springs Reservation,
Arlita Rhoan taught her
first Sahaptin language class on
Dec. 2 at Jefferson County
Middle School.
Warm Springs fifth graders,
who comprise the totality of the
JCMS class, now have the
choice of continuing their ear
lier language education through
out their middle and high school
years.
As the students progress to
higher-grade levels, the school
will continue to provide the op
portunity to learn their Native
language at more advanced lev
els. "At least a handful of these
kids will graduate from high
school fluent in Sahaptin,"
Rhoan said confidently. -''""
In turn, she hopes the new
generation will teach their kids.
The Native language classes
fulfill Oregon high school re
quirements to complete two
years of a second language by
the time of graduation.
"It's no longer just French,
German and Spanish," said
Wendell Jim, general manager
of Adult and Community Edu
cation at Warm Springs.
"It's come full circle. Now we
are able to learn our language
in the same system that took it
away," said Jim, referring to the
history of boarding schools
where Indian students were pun
ished for not speaking English.
Senate Bill 690, signed into
law July of 2001 by Gov.
Kitzhaber, spearheaded the
Confederated Tribes decision to
take action.
Senate Bill 690 ensures that
Native American languages are
acknowledged as vital and irre
placeable elements of Oregon's
heritage and culture.
SB 690 directs the Teachers
Standards and Practices Com
mission to establish an Ameri-
"At least a handful
of these kids will
graduate from high
school fluent in
Sahaptin. "
Arlita Rhoan
Sahaptin teacher
can Indian language teaching li
cense. In order to do so, each Ameri
can Indian tribe needs to develop
a written and oral test that must
be successfully completed by an
applicant for an American Indian
languages teaching license. The test
is to determine if the applicant is
qualified, according to the bill.
Each tribe should decide which
dialect will be used on the test, if
the tribe will standardize the tribe's
writing system, and how' the teach
ing methods will be evaluated in
the classroom.
Applicants do not need an aca
demic degree but can teach based
solely on their knowledge of the
Native language. This allows elders
and other tribal members who
speak Sahaptin fluendy to teach.
Native language teachers are
able to teach in a school district
public charter school, education
service district, community col
lege, or state institute of higher
education.
"We're just implementing the
law," said Jim.
Presently, the Warm Springs
Reservation is in the process of
developing a written exam for
tribal members.
Tribal Council adopted a reso
lution regarding Native languages
on the afternoon following the first
Sahaptin class at Jefferson County
Middle School.
The resolution has provisions
similiar to those of SB 690, with a
special condition regarding the
value of the elders as teachers of '
Native languages. '
Sahaptin has been taught at the
Warm Springs Elementary School,
"It's come full circle,
Now we are able to
learn our language
in the same system
that took it away. "
Wendell Jim
Educ. Manager
a 509-J school district school,
for the last five years.
The classes are part of an ac
tive program to revive and pre
serve the Native languages on
the reservation.
Right now, Rhoan estimates
there are probably only about
50 tribal members who speak
Sahaptin fluently, including her
self. She explained that people
could finally start to 'understand
her English when was about 1 1
years old.
"These kids (tribal members
learning Sahaptin) won't en
counter the same problems,
because they will be raised
bilingual," said Rhoan.
She hopes she will be
around to see the language
brought back into the com
munity. "I encourage parents to
support their kids who are
taking my class," she said.
The language program is
looking for more Sahaptin
teachers.
Sahaptin classes for
adults are also offered on
the reservation.
The time and place are
as follows: Natural Re
source Building, Tuesday
afternoons from 3:30 to 5
p.m.
Simnasho, Tuesdays and
Thursdays, 6 to 9 p.m.
The language trailer (on
the Warm Springs Campus),
' Tuesday's ' and 'Thursdays
3:30 to 5 p.m.
The Warm Springs Jail,
Mondays, 9 to 10 a.m.
Transport
needed for
Medicaid
Medicaid, not Medicare, re
cipients are eligible for medical
transportation as part of their
benefits. The benefit covers
transportation to the doctor,
counselor, or other general
medical benefits.
The problem is a shortage of
volunteer drivers on the reser
vation. Volunteer drivers, who can
be family members, are reim
bursed for mileage at the rate
of 36.45 cents per mile. Meals
and lodging are also covered
where applicable.
The Medicaid transportation
program, in effect for 34 years,
has the potential to save the
tribes money from medical
transportation costs off the res
ervation. Volunteer drivers need car
insurance, valid drivers license,
and their own reliable vehicle.
Volunteers are subject to a back
ground check.
To receive a ride, clients call
their caseworker in Warm
Springs. In turn, the caseworker
contacts the Prlneville Volunteer
Service. A ride is scheduled for
the client.
The program is ideal for re
tired Warm Springs residents
who aren't locked into a work
schedule.
Many tribal members aren't
aware of this resource. Vio
Vacth, from the Warm Springs
Senior Center, encouraged the
community to use this valuable
resource.
The program currently has
only two volunteers and seeks
more volunteers. For more in
formation contact Vio Vacth at
553-4955 or 553-3491.
Police step up patrols for impaired drivers
Patrol cars, now
equipped with mo
bile video recorder,
record actions and
words of drunk, or
otherwise impaired,
drivers. The videos
are used as evi
dence in the court
room.
By Don Courtney
Chief of Police
The Warm Springs Tribal Po
lice Department is stepping up
patrols in search of the impaired
driver.
With winter season here and
road conditions slick and dan
gerous, we felt it time to elimi
nate potential problems.
The impaired driver can be
on the streets at any time of the
day, they can be in any area of
the reservation and driving all
types of vehicles. The impaired
driver puts all drivers and pe
destrians in danger by driving
while under the influence of
drugs, alcohol, or the combina
tion of both.
We are making this attempt
to let people in the community of
Warm Springs know that we are
trying to prevent drunk driving
activity rather than just react to the
many reports that we get. We also
want to inform our people that we
will be doing sobriety checkpoints
throughout the month of Decem
ber and New Years Eve, as we
have in recent years.
The sobriety checkpoints will be
held in several different locations
at several different times. We hope
that this activity will prevent drunk
drivers from ruining everyone's
holiday season.
Cameras now in cars
Two of our patrol cars are
equipped with the "Kustom Sig
nals" mobile video recording unit.
If you watch the television pro
gram Cops then you have seen
some footage of patrol cars with
camera systems showing pursuits
and traffic stops that turn into
drug arrests and arrests of differ
ent kinds.
Our systems arc the same and
have the same capabilities. We ob
tained this equipment from a grant
at the Oregon Department of
Transportation Safety Board.
The video equipment will aid
the officers in the detection, ar
rest, and prosecution of the im
paired driver. Once an incident has
been recorded, the tape is imme
diately removed and put into evi
dence for the prosecution of that
suspect.
The video can be used as evi
dence in court of that incident.
The video equipment records both
voice and actions.
The officer wears a remote
transmitter that when activated will
record the whole conversation of
both the officer and the suspect.
As of yet the equipment is still
being experimented with and be
ing finetuned for use by our offic
ers. The officers assigned these ve
hicles that are equipped with the
video equipment have been trained
prior to operating it and using it
officially.
The Warm Springs Tribal Po
lice Department would like you to
know that we are doing all that we
can to make your holiday season
a safe and pleasant one.
We would also like to remind
you to use your seatbclts and child
safety restraints, even if it is just a
short 1 trip. An accident that re
sults in permanent injury can hap
pen in much less time. Merry
Christmas and a I Iappy New Year!
GtEOnOOilBOGB
Donations
sought for
Christmas
Anyone wishing to con
tribute to needy families
are encouraged to bring
canned goods and other
household items to the
Warm Springs commodity
warehouse.
Contact Vio Vacth, 553
4955, for more information.
Early release granted for holidays
In the spirit of the upcom
ing holidays, and in apprecia
tion of the work throughout
the year by tribal employees,
all tribal departments will be
closed, except for the police,
fire and safety and other on
call personnel, on the the fol
lowing dates:
Christmas, December 25,
2002. Early release granted at 3
p,m., Tuesday, December 24.
News Years, January 1,
2003: Early release granted at 3
p.m. on Tuesday, December 31,
2002.
Managers and directors arc
responsible for ensuring limited
phone coverage is available to
the public from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
on early release days.
Tribal administration wishes
each and everyone a safe and
happy holiday season.
Man busted in West Hills
The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team executed a
search warrant the morning of November 27 in the West
Hills of Warm Springs.
The warrant resulted in the seizure of one and a quarter
pounds of marijuana, 5.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms,
packaging materials, weigh scales, $328 cash, a 9m semi-automatic
handgun, a .243 caliber both action rifle, and other drug
related paraphernalia.
A portion of the marijuana was packaged into 28 indi
vidual packets. CODE arrested Melvin Albert Tewee Sr.
Tewee was charged with probation violation, possession of
drug paraphernalia, possession of a schedule I controlled sub
stance, marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms and delivery of
a schedule I controlled substance, marijuana.
James Cole, Warm Springs criminal investigator, described
the incident as "big for this area."
Tewee is being held in the Warm Springs Jail. He is subject
to tribal courts and possibly federal charges.
COCC plans tuition hike
Central Oregon Community College faces a $3 million short
fall for the next school year.
Forty employees, at all levels, have already been notified
of their termination. The staff cuts did not affect the COCC
Warm Springs branch.
To compensate for the pending cuts, the COCC board has
proposed a mild tuition increase.
"The proposed amount is not a large amount because
COCC has been super conscientious over time of their bud
get but they are still facing a $3 million shortfall," said John
I licks, coordinating instructor for COCC at Warm Springs.
One-third of tribal members, who participate in higher
education, attend COCC.
This year over 100 tribal members arc registered for higher
education, an almost 50 percent increase from previous years.
I ligher education fees are funded by dividends from a tribal
education trust fund.
With increasing participation in higher education and a
waning economic situation for everyone, the Tribes are ad
dressing deficiencies in this fund.
Hut, said I licks, "The big problem is a still a moving tar
get." as voters wait for the January 28 tax increase ballot to
pass or not pass.
Polls suggest it will not pass but until the vote only specula
tive guesses can be made about education budget cuts.