Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2003)
3R.C0LL. P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Knight Library Acquisition Dept. 1299 University of Oregon Eugene OR 97403-1205 U.S. Postage Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Coyote News, est. 1976 May 15, 2003 Vol. 28, No. 10 50 cents E 75 .568 v. sa no. 10 May 15, 2C03 Sprtygy yrnos Smith It was an honor not only for the individual, Dawn Smith, but also for the tribes as a whole. The award said a lot about Smith, but also about the Warm Springs Elementary School teachers and staff, the students and parents. Smith, principal of the school, recendy was named the National Distinguished Principal for the state of Oregon. She was chosen for the award from among the many other princi pals in the state. In August she will travel to Washington, D.C., with the Na tional Distinguished Principals from the other 49 states. One of the 50 will then be named the National Distinguished Prin cipal of America. Smith has been with Warm Springs Elementary School for nearly three decades. In recent years she and her staff have focused on improving student attendance and performance, with excellent results. As an example, the scores of the Warm Springs Elementary School students on standardized Tribes, agencies sign unique agreement By Dave McMechan Spilyaj Tymoo The traditional land of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs includes a large area, well beyond the borders of the reservation. By the Treaty of 1855 the tribes gave up some interest in this large area, known as the Ceded Lands. But the treaty also guarantees to tribal members certain rights and interests on the Ceded Lands. The Ceded Lands can be de fined in general terms as north Central Oregon. The bound aries in broad terms are the Columbia River south to the Crooked River, and the John Day basin west past the summit of the Cascade Mountains. The tribes have many cultural interests within this area. Inter ests include water, fish and wild life, roots, berries and other plants, and archaeological sites. Today, the federal govern ment manages part of the Ceded Lands, through the For est Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Documentary features local youths The lives of four local youths are featured in a new documen tary, called Growing Up Native. The youths featured in the 60-minute documentary are Ashley Aguilar, Jcrrod Kalama, Armina Moody and Lydell Suppah. The premier showing of Growing Up Native will be from 4 to 6 p.m., Sunday, May 18, at the Museum at Warm Springs. Filmmaker Kim Harvey Trigoso filmed the documentary footage on the Warm Springs Reservation during the winter of 2001-02. The film was ed ited earlier this year, "The documentary treats the lives of four youths growing up on the reservation. Each life story touches upon a particular challenge that youths face on the named tests have more than tripled The improvement in student pectations that Smith sets for since Smith became the princi- attendance and performance herself and her staff, the stu pal. are in part due to the high ex- dents and the parents. The Forest Service and BLM make decisions that can affect tribal .interests in the land. For this reason it is important that the tribes and the federal agen cies work together to protect these interests. In the past the Confederated Tribes had a written agreement - a memorandum of under standing, or MOU - with the Ochoco National Forest. As of last month, following a signing ceremony at Kah-Nee-Ta, the tribes now have a writ ten management agreement with seven national forests and the BLM. The new agreement is unique in the number of agencies in volved, said Bobby Brunoe, gen eral manager of the tribal Natu ral Resources Branch. The pro cess of developing the memo randum of understanding took four years, because of the num ber of agencies involved, said Brunoe. Federal agencies that are part of the agreement include the following national forests: The Ochoco, Deschutes, reservation, and the process of overcoming the challenge," said Harvey-Trigoso. "Growing up is treated sym bolically as a journey of trans formation, of dying in order to be reborn, and each youth is conceived as the hero of his or her own story." The making of this documen tary involved the collaboration of the community of Warm Springs, the youths, and the cul tural anthropologist filmmaker. The topic of Growing Up Native originated from the wish of the adults in Warm Springs to learn more about what their youths feel and go through as they grow up. The Tribal Council approved and supported this project as part of the effort to bridge the chan nels of communication between distinguished principal (1 i"jt - Warm Springs Elementary School Principal Willamette, Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla, Mt. Hood, Malheur and the Crooked River National Grassland. Officials of the Oregon of fice of the BLM and the Bu reau of Indians Affairs have also signed the agreement. j The tribes will benefit in a number of ways through the memorandum of understand ing, said Brunoe. For instance, he said, the tribes will be included at the start, rather than toward the end of the federal land management decision-making process. ' The federal agencies often make decisions that effect tribal interests such as fish, huckleber ries, roots and archaeological sites, among other interests. The MOU also includes a provision regarding contract work with the federal agencies. The contracting provision is in tended to give the tribes the ability to contract for certain work projects on the national forest and BLM land, said Brunoe. This should result in more jobs for tribal members, generations. One of the most important goals of Growing Up Native is to serve as a tool for awareness, and promote dialogue between youths and adults. Also, this is an effort to de-' pict the current reality of Na-' tive American youths, and of fer positive alternatives to other youths who encounter similar life situations. The documentary was spon sored by the Museum at Warm Springs, and was awarded a grant from the Oregon Council for the Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant is contributing to post-production costs, including screening of the documentary, and an open dialogue afterward in different communities, in Dave McMechanSpilyay Dawn Smith "This recognises the need to work as co managers of the Ceded Lands..." Bobby Brunoe he said. The federal agencies agreed that the Mount Hood National Forest office would house the contracting office for work on any of the national forests that are part of the MOU. This also is a unique aspect of the agree ment, said Brunoe. Brunoe said of the MOU: "This recognizes the need to work as co-managers of the Ceded Lands, and helps keep an open line of communication between the tribes and the agencies." As stated in the agreement itself: "The tribes and the agen cies desire to collaborate in an open and interactive process whereby all parties work con structively together to address (See signing ceremony photo on page 2.) cluding Warm Springs, Portland and Umatilla. The screenings are being facilitated by the Museum at Warm Springs, the Native American Youth Association, and the Tamastslikt Cultural Insitute. The producers of the docu mentary would also like to thank the following people for their support: Stoncy Miller, William Fuentes, Myra Johnson, Anita Davis, Foster Kalama, Carole Leone, Andy Leonard, Flossie Wolfe, Don Courtney, Elton Greeley, Margie Gabriel, Ed Henderson, Daisy Ike and Rosalind Sampson. Thanks also goes to the Tribal Council and the Mu seum at Warm Springs, and the Oregon Council for the Humanities. Smith was nominated for the National Distinguished Principal award by Warm Springs Elemen tary School teacher Sara Ohman. "Dawn sets the character and quality of education for her stu dents, staff and community," Ohman said her in letter of nomination. "She is a mentor and role model for us all." Smith first started working at Warm Springs Elementary School in 1974. Over the years she has been a teacher, counse lor, vice-principal and the prin cipal. She is also the special edu cation coordinator, and a spe cial education teacher. Recendy, when students and staff heard that Smith had been named the National Distin guished Principal for the state, they held a congratulations party, with flowers and con gratulatory cards. . The distinguished principal is sponsored by the U.S. Depart ment of Education, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and an invest ment insurance company, Valic. Judge rejects fisheries management opinion A federal judge has invali dated a decision by the Na tional Marine Fisheries Ser vice on how to restore and protect salmon in the Colum bia River basin. This was a victory for those who want improved management of fisheries in the basin, said Don Sampson, executive director of the Co lumbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The commission is one of 16 organizations that chal lenged the Fisheries Service opinion on salmon habitat restoration and protection. The commission represents the four treaty tribes of the Columbia basin, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. "We believe the judge's de Honoring University of (V nnn I TEW will VJ lfJ spuyay cyioo. Reggie Winishut was among the recent Honor Seniors Longhouse. I J Museum to host parade, powwow The Museum at Warm Springs is celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the museum's opening. For the occassion the museum and the tribes will host a memorial horse pa rade, museum blessing and rededication, and a powwow on the museum grounds. The events are set for Saturday, May 31. The horse parade will begin at 10 a.m. The museum blessing and rededication will be at 1 p.m., and the powwow begins at 2 p.m. The memorial horse pa rade will be followed by a powwow on the museum grounds. For information, contact Rosalind Sampson at the museum. The number is 553-3331. cision will help hold the dams accountable for their impacts on the salmon," said Sampson. , U.S. District Judge James Redden earlier this month ruled that the National Marine Fish eries Service biological opinion on salmon protection and res toration was inadequate. The ruling sends the opinion back to the Fisheries Service for revision. Sampson said this could re sult in an improved opinion with stronger language directed to ward the federal agencies re sponsible for river manage ment. The agencies include the Bu reau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bonneville Power Administra tion (BPA). See SALMON on page 2 seniors 4 haviu 7v IcMacharVSpilyay the tribal elders who enjoyed Day, held at the Agency 7 ! if" )' ( : :
