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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2002)
E Coosh EEWA: The W3y it is Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo December 12, 2002 Letters to the Editor Thankful As we come closer to the end of the year 2002, 1 cannot for get all the blessings we receive from our tribes. I appreciate the present Tribal Council for over seeing our cultural and tradi tional beliefs, and protecting them. With the losses of two daughters and a grandson, it re minds me to be humbly grate ful for our burial benefits ap propriated from our tribal funds by the Tribal Council. Being a traditional person, this allows me to carry on one step further culturally. In the wake of our financial demise, our present Tribal Council can still manage to rec ognize our needs and appropri ate a check to us in December. How difficult it must have been. Instead of aghastly saying, "Is that all?", say "Thank you" and use it wisely. Neda Wesley On violence All my relations, friends and strangers alike, I come to you with a saddened heart. Don't let these words fall on deaf ears. I come to you to tell you that domestic violence is not right, and it can destroy a person's life. Domestic violence can de stroy a person's peace of mind. I know, because domestic vio lence almost destroyed my life. Domestic violence was a part of my life. I am a survivor of different kinds of abuse, just like abusers come in different sizes and colors. Domestic violence can hap pen anywhere, any time. Domes tic violence can crush a person's hope, and can destroy a person's trust. Housing By Elton Greeley In response to requests from a couple of other Warm Springs Housing Authority commission ers (of which I am one) that I do a rebuttal to the Spil-Yay Tymoo article (Nov. 14, 2002 issue) regarding the "Housing Summit" and conditions on the Warm Springs Reservation, I gladly submit the following: First, I ask, where is that guy the ladies here know as that "Cute Lil' Tyke?" Yes, my ref erence is to our past Editor-in-Chief of Spil-Yay Tymoo, "Su per Sid," or the "Terminator," or to some of us, the "Secret Weapon!" Yes, this immediate focus is on Mr. Sidney Miller! When Mr. Miller served as our tribal news chief, he never knowingly let his staff write articles for Spil-Yay which were based on mis-judgments andor rumor. I lis Spil- Tribal hiring preference should be tribal law An open letter to our people: I'm writing about a concern that affects all tribal members, the Tribal Member Preference Policy. You recall on Nov. 12, 1992, the Tribal Council passed Affirmative Action Resolution No. 8363A, the Tribal Member Preference Policy. The resolu tion reads: Article VII, section I, of the Tribal Constitution provides "all members of the Confederated Tribes shall be accorded equal opportunities in employment, contracting, subcontracting and the delivery of goods and ser vices with the Tribe, its entities and tribal enterprises." Is our Tribal Member Pref erence Policy working? Is it do ing what was intended? My past Abusers will always find a way to control their victims. So to protect my family all these years I kept my silence, but no more, I say no more. I, being a victim and survi vor, tell all who would heed my words, seek help before it's too late. Because you are your own worst enemy. It's not too late to save yourself from you. Take control of your own life. Domestic violence, being molested... not my fault, Not my fault. I am not materially wealthy. I've no home to call my own. All that I have to offer is my love, my prayers, and my hope. God bless all who heed my words. To all who choose not to lis ten and have turned their backs on me, I will continue to love and pray for you as well. Although I have forgiven my abusers, it still yet torments me to this day. But with help I am getting better. Seek help. Soaring-Eagle. An apology I, Bruce A. Miller, would like to apologize for my action on Nov. 12, for being highly intoxi cated at the Indian Head Gam ing Center. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Bruce A. Miller. Get better Dear Spilyay, Hey Jugalar, I'm letting you know you're in my thoughts and heart. Be strong and get better. I will be swinging by, no grand entries for me, I will be discreet. To the rest of the circle, stay warm and safe. Happy holidays. Edge Kalama Authority Yay stories, coyote tales and jokes were naturally filled with humor - and he made Guest Editorial us laugh. Mr. Miller was and still remains a gentleman of utmost high integrity. He always saw to it that news published under his command was based on fact! Infactual inaccuracies: With the preceding comment in mind, I regret to say, it was with much dismay that I read the article on the "Housing Sum mit." The writer spoke to a housing summit held on Oct. 31. I attended a housing sum mit at Kah-Nee-Ta on Oct. 30, 2002. Maybe, just maybe, my comments are from a different conference, but I don't believe so. As chairperson of the Warm Springs Housing Authority, I was asked to do (which was a experience tells me the policy has no My opinion teeth. I say this be cause I found that the policy is discretionary. This means the policy is open to supervisors, enterprise managers, boards and contractors for interpretation. The policy can only be rec ommended, it cannot be en forced. Our personnel office compliance officer can only rec ommend the policy for hiring tribal members.. Our Tribal Court has no ordinance or Tribal law to enforce tribal mem ber preference. Too many tribal members have been ignored, passed over, not hired or promoted because the policy is open to discretion and interpretation of the people doing the hiring, Court royalty We would like to take some of your reading time and say thank you. It has been six months since Elyse earned her Junior Court Pi-Ume-Sha crown. It is a bit down into the year, but yet we would like to thank all who have supported her through purchasing a raffle ticket. Elyse worked very hard and had sold probably 98 percent of the tickets on her own (over 1,500 tickets.) She had attended several powwows and danced her little heart out, as well as walked around from one person to the next asking them to buy raffle tickets. We've met many people and discovered more relatives. She was set and determined to get what she wanted, and that was a "new" crown. Elyse has become a strong speaker, she learned how to speak to the public and now does very well. She dances with a lot of pride, holds her head up high to show who and what she is rep resenting. It took a lot of time and patience for all of us, she is learning everyday about danc ing, powwows, the longhouse and more. Elyse is already looking for ward to setting another goal for 2003. Elyse was asked what she wanted to say to all of you, and her response was, "To say thank you very much, it is fun to do this. I like my crown and I like to dance with it on." Our little girl is 6 years old, in the first grade and is learning so much and we are so proud of her. All her goals are high and she has accomplished each one that she has set. Again, good job, responds great honor for me) the welcome to the summit delegates. In attendance, there were representatives from many non-tribal agencies and pro grams, as well as tribal staff. My comments included information about the Warm Springs Reser vation, the Confederated Tribes, and housing. Obviously, we still have some major, major problems to re solve regarding local, safe, af fordable housing, and we have a long, difficult task to over come to attain (my opinion) a better way of life for our people. We have good, hard-working and qualified staff working for the Housing Department. It is true, I feel, that better results could happen with additional staff - especially in providing maintenance. The LHA (Local I lousing Authority) recently ap What does this mean to our tribal member employ ees who want to grow and ad vance their careers? Or to our young tribal members graduat ing from college and vocational training? The public schools and colleges teach our young to chal lenge their leaders and ask ques tions. Arc we rewarding them and giving them incentives for their loyalty, accountability and hard work? The past Council and the present Tribal Council have made "jobs" their top budget priority. Are we preparing and making a place for our young to fill these new jobs? An important part missing from our Tribal Member Pref erence Policy is a definition of Ashlynne Danzuka, Ada Polk, Katrina Blackwolfe for the Jun ior Court, and Deidra Johnson and Iiya Davis for the Senior Court. And a special thanks to the Pi-Ume-Sha Committee for all their hard work. Doug and Lou Jackson, JaimeRae and her entire family. Healthy garden A Garden of Volunteer Ser vice. First, plant three rows of peas: patience, peace, 'play. Next, plant three rows of squash: squash criticism, squash indifference, and squash low self-esteem. Then, plant four rows of let tuce: lettuce support diversity, lettuce have vision, lettuce have compassion, and lettuce be great mentoring. Finish with four rows of tur nips: turnip when needed, tur nip with determination, turnip with an open mind, and turnip with an open heart. Because of you, our world is a better place. Thank you to two special people who volun teered to be SMART readers for the SMART reading pro gram at Warm Springs Elemen tary School. Thanks and deep apprecia tion to Wendall Cook and Shawnelle Shaw. The SMART program would like to recognize and spodight these special people who take time from their busy schedule to come read to stu dents. You are appreciated gready. Thank you. We always need readers to read to students, grades k-3. Do you have one hour a week to be a reader? If you can read, we need your skill to help our youngest citizens become better to summit article proved the hiring of more main tenance personnel, and we are hearing positive comments from our tenants. Pride & Responsibility Housing staff and the LHA are promoting proper upkeep in our housing areas. Currently, a beautification project is under way for West Hills. We need to do something positive for the tribal mobile home court. The Indian I Iealth Service is willing to help with removal of old car bodies. More and more people have been doing yard upkeep - but, the cold weather has slowed us down. Dogs and those horses roam ing in our community are a nui sance problem. We need your suggestions for a good solution. We believe that most commu nity residents will join in with the basic cultural knowledge and skills about our languages, his tory and tribal government. Nowhere in our tribal govern ment or enterprises is a defini tion of Warm Springs Confed erated Tribes "cultural compe tencies" required for our jobs. I believe the Council who passed Resolution No. 8363A intended to create an advantage and give tribal members credit for their cultural skills when fill ing our jobs. We need a clear definition. This needs to be part of each job description. The Affirmative Action Resolution No. 8363A states, the Tribal Council believes it is most appropriate to adopt a prefer ence policy by resolution in or der that it can be tested, evalu ated and refined prior to adop readers. Please volunteer today. Con tact SMART Reading Program at the Warm Springs Elemen tary School at 553-1128, on Tuesday or Thursday, 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. We need readers between these hours. For more informa tion, call me. Myrna Frank, SMART co ordinator, 553-1128. New start To the Warm Springs Com munity, COCC has been privi leged to be actively associated with, and accepted by the Con federated Tribes of Warm Springs for almost 25 years. As recently as last month top lead ers of both entities (the tribes and COCC) reaffirmed how highly they value and honor this mutually beneficial partnership. There will, however, be a change in the personnel who represent COCC here at Warm Springs. Marilyn and John are moving on to the next phase of their already full (especially in Marilyn's case) lives. They are both retiring Dec. 31. There are always regrets when decisions of this sort are undertaken, but they are inevitably offset by the pros pects of the future and the bright promises it holds. Thus we will move on, tak ing with us feelings of affection for this community, its people, and the genuine respect and ac ceptance it has bestowed upon us. Know, however, as we do, that new COCC staff will be in the Tribal Education Branch office on Jan. 2, poised to make their contribution to this endur ing tribalcollege alliance. Sin cerely Marilyn Hart and John Hicks, Warm Springs COCC Center. spring clean-up activities. The Housing Department expects to be available to assist with landscaping needs after they get a backhoe and other equipment. Tenino Apartment tenants are complaining about the locat ing of the garbage cans at the Tenino Apartments - We agree that placing of the cans smack dab in front of the apartments just makes a sore thumb situa tion stick out more which really degrades the appearance. (It was not our idea.) (Note: This guest editorial, be cause of space needs in the paper, will continue in the next edition of Spilyay Tymoo. Also please note, the Spilyay in its Housing Summit article of Nov. 14 by no means intended to offend Housing Department employees or the Housing Authority Board.) tion in the form of an ordi nance. Ten years have passed since the policy was adopted. I believe in order to make tribal member preference work, it must become tribal law. In its present form the policy docs not have the desired effect. Tribal members arc not get ting hiring preference the Tribal Council or our people intended. If jobs are a high priority, we need a tribal law to support and enforce tribnl member hiring preference. Our people need their elected leaders to review the policy and make refine ments. I recommend the Tribal Council take action to make tribal member hiring preference an ordinance. Necgth Pacwai, Wa-ticks-na-ckit. Sal Sahme. Appreciation Love and appreciation to those who shared our special day December 15, 2001. When we began our relationship, today, into our future together, it is wonderful we found each other to share all that we have along with our families. Billy Joe, a niece blessing that we had you announce our vows. Ellen, Mom and Susie, the most beautiful wedding song we have ever heard. Matron of honor, Jessie Lu and my escort Oscar T. I am most thankful. Elyse and Aprilrose, making the trail of feathers. Ring bearers JaimeRae and Niyallee. To the wedding party Roy, , Dane, Dougie, Donny, Charles and EZ Jackson, Johnny and Tonto, having family to start our new lives together it meant more than words. Laurie, Sonia, Lori, Angie and Irwina, from my heart thank you for walking with me to start my new life with Doug. To Shirley and Cinda for the beautiful ribbon shirts, Linda Scott for the moccasins, Eulalia for the beaded feather pins, and Laurie for helping me sew the dresses, having all of you take time to make our wedding beau tiful and memorable. Thanks Wa-Wo-Kya for the Round Dance and War Dance. My Dad (s) Marvin Sr., Lloyd and Rafael, Aunt Hilda and Jeaneatte, Pebbles and Sam, Winona S., Anita, Allee, Bernie, Chico and Binky, Guy to be there with us thanks a bunch and for the beautiful gifts. (Don't mean to leave anyone out, only have limited space.) Evelyn Gilbert thanks for helping with the wonderful meal. Having this wedding cer emony in our traditional way brought happy tears, to see how beautiful it was and have all of us together to share it, will re main in our hearts. We love all of you and will cherish this day for as long as time can tell. Doug and Lou Jackson. Hello, from Pastor Rick On November 24 we be gan in the Christian calendar the season of Advent. Ad vent means "the coming." It is a time for Christians around the world to reflect on the idea of our God who came in flesh as a baby born to us all. To think and pray of what it means to believe in a God who is in time and out side of time. In our world and other worlds. The cre ator of all and still creating. Why? You see this is not Santa Claus stuff. Or WalMart shopping issues. This is about a God who comes to us and presents Himself as a large bowl full of hope. And says to us, "drink." We have so many reasons not to be hopeful. The price of food is go ing up. We have medical costs, and talk of war. Crazy people doing crazy bad things, etc. Yet as we put on darker and darker glasses in our mind to look at life, a small light continues to break through. A light of hope. A light that says, "I lerc I am. I love you. Love yourself as I love you. Love others as I love them and you." See you in church. Pastor Rick R. Ribeiro.