Spilyjy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
May 15, 2005
Commntees opMe Corantiil
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
Last week tribal committees
presented their annual reviews
to the Tribal Council over a two
day period at Kah-Nee-Ta.
Paiute Chief Joseph Moses
served as chairman to the meet
ing. The presentations were in
tended to update Tribal Council
on accomplishments in 2003,
future plans, and challenges the
committees face.
The following is a summary
of the primary accomplish
ments and issues each commit
tee discussed at the meeting.
Culture and Heritage
The Culture and Heritage
Committee has played an inte
gral part in the design plans for
the Horse Thief State Park pic
tograph relocation project.
After many years of negotia
tions with the Army Corps of
Engineers and Columbia River
tribes, the pictograph relocation
from storage at The Dalles
Dam to the Horse Thief State
Park is anticipated to take place
in June.
The rock art exhibit should
be ready to view in August, said
Emily Waheneka, Culture and
Heritage Committee represen
tative. It was hoped it would be
completed for the Lewis and
Clark 200,h Anniversary starting
this year.
Most of the rocks were bull
dozed out of Petroglyph Can
yon near Celilo Falls prior to the
resurrection of The Dalles
Dam. They have been in stor
age for nearly 50 years. Due to
bird droppings and other accu
mulations, over, the years, a spe
cialist was , hired to dean the
rocks prior to their relocation.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs and Yakama Na
tion made a concerted effort to
design an exhibit that will pro
tect the rock art of their ances
tors at the state park.
For the last year the Culture
and Heritage Committee has
been working with tribal arti
facts at the Burke Museum in
Seattle.
Both Emily Waheneka and
Viola Kalama visited Seattle
twice for a period of up to three
days to sort through and record
information about the artifacts
at the museum.
Both tribal members only
worked with the artifacts and did
not touch any of the human
remains. Waheneka described
the difficult process and said
masks and body coverings were
worn to avoid the dust.
The committee plans to par
ticipate in several other artifact
projects in Oregon in the com
ing year.
One project will take place at
the University of Oregon in
Eugene.
The project includes 173 ar
tifacts from the John Day River
basin, Klamath River basin and
Round Butte Dam. A similar
project will take place at Oregon
State University in Corvallis.
The Culture and Heritage
Committee is on call to tour ar
chaeological areas with Warm
Springs anthropologist Sally
Bird. One site was near the
Bonneville pools near the old
Shaker church. Also Crooked
River Ranch was toured to as
sess the status of the traditional
roots. Waheneka said that it was
a disappointment to find out
residents had planted grass and
the roots picked there were no
longer able to grow.
Other pending projects for
the committee are at a cave near
Redmond and another in
Clackamas County.
There is a gravesite project
in Vancouver where at least 31
Warm Springs tribal members
are buried. The committee is
working to ensure the gravesites
protection.
Culture and Heritage is also
working with Fish and Wildlife
to help identify old campsites
near Sherars Falls. The commit
tee hopes to provide the Indian
names for campsites throughout
Jefferson County and other ar
eas.
Further concerns were ex
pressed about the fate of the
Chemawa Indian School Cem
etery. Over the span of 150
years, tribal members from
many nations were buried at the
cemetery. There is currently an
effort to put the cemetery in
trust of the Oregon tribes to
ensure its protection. The cem
etery is located outside Salem
near Interstate 5, a rapidly de
veloping area. Some tribes from
other states are concerned that
the cemetery will only be put in
trust of the Oregon tribes.
Education Committee
Education Committee has
been busy attending many edu
cation conferences throughout
the state of Oregon and even
hosted one at Kah-Nee-Ta in
April.
In January the committee
kicked off the New Year with a
retreat in Lincoln City. At the
retreat, plans for the new year
were discussed.
In February two committee
members attended the IS An
nual Teca Conference in Cali
fornia. Highlights were a higher edu
cation financial aid workshop,
workshops addressing K-12,
vocational education, and Tide
VII. Legislative issues, such as
"No Child Left Behind," and
their impact on Native Ameri
can children were discussed.
There is some concern in mi
nority communities about "No
Child Left Behind."
"The program focuses only
on testing, instead of catering
to individual needs of students,"
said Urbana Ross, education
committee.
The committee has plans to
focus on educating parents
about this new program. One
way is by providing parents
handbooks from the United
States Department of Educa
tion to inform them what is hap
pening in public schools.
A visit to Chemawa Indian
School was made. The commit
tee met with the students and
went over tribal scholarship
guidelines. They discussed their
grades with them and how they
can prepare for college or the
workforce.
Visits to Sherman Indian
School in Riverside, California
and Riverside Indian School in
Anadarko, Oklahoma were also
made.
In other news for the com
mittee, Moses Kalama has an
nounced his resignation from
the Anadarko Indian School
school board.
At the Oregon Indian Edu
cation (OIE) Conference at
Kah-Nee-Ta, hosted by the Con
federated Tribes, Susan Castillo,
state superintendent of public
instruction, was the keynote
speaker. OIE elected local kin
dergarten teacher, Arlene Gra
ham, as "Teacher of the Year."
Warm Springs Elementary Prin
cipal Dawn Smith received a
statewide award as "Principal of
the Year."
In the Jefferson County 509
J school district the committee
has been steadfast in attending
board meetings.
The committee has made it
clear on many occasions that
Warm Springs would like both
a new school and a new gymna
sium. There is some concern
that the gymnasium will not be
replaced and insurance funds
will be used for a new Warm
Springs school. The gymnasium
burned down last December,
Jim Manion will not run for
the school board this year.
Manion is one of two board
members from Warm Springs.
Julie Quaid will run for election
in his place.
This year 27 Warm Springs
tribal members will graduate
from Madras High School.
There are 34 tribal members
who attend boarding schools.
Seven of those students will
graduate this year. Chemawa
Indian School graduation is on
May 16.
So far one Warm Springs stu
dent will attend Upward Bound.
Upward Bound is a state and
federal funded program for
minorities in rural areas that
sends students to a university
for one month in the summer.
The time spent at the university
gives the student an idea of what
higher education is like.
"It provides a foundation for
kids. We have a higher success
rate for those kids prepared to
go to college," said Ross.
Participating students must
have 3.0 GPA or better.
Currendy there are 58 Warm
Springs higher education stu
dents attending post-secondary
education. Twenty-six of those
students attend private schools.
Scholarships for Warm
Springs tribal members planning
to attend college are due July 1.
Students who are eligible for
tribal monies to attend college
are strongly encouraged to ap
ply for at least five other schol
arships besides a tribal scholar
ship. The committee is planning a
graduation banquet for June.
The event will take place at the
Agency Longhouse to honor stu
dents receiving GEDs, high
school diplomas, bachelor de
grees, and masters degrees.
Molly Fuentes will be honored
for receiving a Ph.D. from
Stanford University in California.
Roots
provide
valuable
nutrients
carcasses for habitat work.
Hydro-systems in Columbia
River and Snake River dams
cause mortalities to fish. The en
tities responsible for this need
to be held accountable, said
Courtney.
The Confederated Tribes are
not receiving their 50 percent
guaranteed by the treaty and healthy diet
Traditional foods
are a rich source of
essential vitamins
and minerals in a
Off Reservation Fish and
Wildlife
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFW) and the Warm
Springs National Fish Hatchery
met for their 25th anniversary of
working together to return
salmon to the Warm Springs
River.
USFW will continue releasing
salmon in Shitike Creek.
USFW committed to contin-1
ued cooperation of returning
salmon carcasses from hatcher
ies to the rivers for nutrients.
The carcasses will be frozen for
the tribes and then returned to
the rivers.
"There is a unique ecosystem
that includes the creek .ind 10
feet around the creek that the
carcasses benefit," said Terry
Courtney, Jr., Off-reservation
Fish and Wildlife Committee.
USFW and the hatchery have
been working together to return
carcasses to the riverbeds for
the last four years. But last year
they ran into obstacles. This year
they plan to resume the prac
tice with a different process.
The committee is continuing
negotiations with Columbia
River Management Team to
maintain the fish supply for the
tribes.
Negotiations date back to
the 1969 United States versus
Oregon case. The United States
won a legal battle that further
ensured tribal rights to fish.
"The case basically said con
servation purposes can't be used
against tribes to limit fishing,"
said Courtney.
The tribes are working to
ensure their right as co-managers
of the fish supply in the
Pacific Northwest.
The tribes have also re
quested more production of
Northwest fish.
As part of further Columbia
River Basin management, the
hatcheries need to be updated,
said the committee.
"Many were built in the
1920s, 30s, or 40s. Even the
hatchery out by Kah-Nee-Ta,
built in the 1970s, needs to be
updated," explained Courtney.
The committee also is push
ing for other entities to use fish
upheld in federal court, said
Courtney.
The committee has taken a
stance that if the tribes do not
receive this amount then other
entities need to make up for the
loss of fish with fish supple
mentation projects.
A growing concern is the
mass marketing of anadromous
fish. Anadromous fish are fish
that are spawned in rivers, mi
grate to the sea and return for
breeding purposes.
Fish that are mass marketed
are hatchery fish and hatchery
fish do not aid fish restoration,
explained Courtney.
The new main stem amend
ments approved by the North
west Power and Conservation
Council will not really benefit
Northwest tribes, said Courtney.
The amendments mainly ad
dress flows from Montana and
Idaho rivers, which primarily
host resident fish and not mi
gratory fish.
Bonneville Power
Administration's financial prob
lems are continuing to curtail
fish recovery projects. The com
mittee feels the Northwest
Power Act of 1980 should pro
tect the tribes from BPA's eco
nomic woes. The Northwest
Power Act says power and fish
should be treated equally.
BPA is proposing a safety net,
but the committee does not an
ticipate that the money will beri
efit fish and wildlife programs.
For this year's lamprey har
vest, the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife reissued the
rules for lamprey harvest at
Willamette Falls. On a first
come, urst served basis, a har
vest of 6,000 lamprey will be
allowed. The season runs from
June 1 to July 31.
"This is upsetting to the tribes
because lamprey is a food and
medicine to us. Our fifty per
cent guarantee is not be hon
ored," said Courtney.
For the spring chinook sea
son, in two and a half days
nearly 10,000 fish were caught
The limit was reached for both
seasons and the tribes are not
supposed to fish anymore.
Sherars Falls is at the peak
of its spring chinook season.
The fish weigh an average of
six pounds to 14 pounds.
"They usually are not more
than 10 pounds," commented
Courtney.
The committee is currendy
using a new process to select
ceremonial fishermen.
Due to space limitations, Spilay will
print the updates of remaining com
mittees in the next issue.
In general all the native roots
dug by Warm Springs tribal
members are an excellent
source of iron and vitamin C,
says Sara Thomas, IHS nutri
tionist. Vitamin C levels are highest
in fresh or frozen roots. Dried
or barbequed roots have lower
levels of vitamin C.
Here is a list of roots tradi
tionally eaten in the Warm
Springs community, and each
root's percent daily value (per
cent DV).
Twenty percent DV or more
is considered an excellent source
of nutrition, and 10 percent DV
is a good source.
Nutritional levels are based
on a 3.5 ounce portion.
Wa-Ka-Mo (Sahaptin), Ca
mas, Blue Camas
Barbequed or frozen camas
has 7 percent DV calcium, 27
percent DV iron, and 8 percent
DV zinc.
Luksh, Canbys Desert Part
ley
Fresh luksh contains 8 per
cent DV iron and 33 percent
DV vitamin C. Frozen luksh
contains 5 percent DV iron and
33 percent DV vitamin C.
Coush, biscuit root, bread
root
Coush eaten fresh contains
20 percent DV iron, 14 percent
DV magnesium, and 45 percent
DV vitamin C.
Pe ah ke (Sahaptin), bitter
root, macaroni root
A fresh portion of bitterroot
contains eight percent of DV
iron and 45 percent DV vita
min C.
When frozen bitterroot con
tains nine percent DV iron and
28 percent DV vitamin C. Af
ter being dried, the vitamin C
of bitterroot is reduced to one
percent DV.
Wild carrot, Indian carrot,
false caraway
Saw-wickt-me dried cakes
contain 13 percent DV calcium,
60 percent DV iron, 35 percent
DV magnesium, 14 percent DV
zinc, and 20 percent DV vita
min B2 (riboflavin).
As a fresh root, wild carrot
contains three percent DV cal
cium, 42 percent DV iron, 11
percent DV magnesium, five
percent DV zinc, and five per
cent vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
Madras film series features movie by Native American
All information was provided by
Sam Thomas, Warm Springs Indian
Health Services nutritionist.
Among others, Jefferson
County's spring movie series will
feature a film with a screenplay
written by a Native American
in conjunction with the Collage
of Culture weekend.
All films will be shown at the
Madras library's Rodriqucz An
nex on Fridays, except for "Sat
urday Night Fever," which will
be shown on Saturdays.
The suggested donation for
admission is $4 for adults, $2 for
teens, and $10 for families of
three or more.
If you don't have internet
access, clip and save the follow
ing list because film studio con
tracts allow the names of the
movies to only be printed once.
Otherwise, view the Madras
library's website for movie tides
atwww.jcld.org.
May 16, Smoke Signals, Fri
day, 7 p.m.
The screenplay for this con
temporary Native American
film was written by Coeur
d'Alene tribal member
Sherman Alexie, and based on
his book, "The Lone Ranger
and Tonto Fistfight in
Heaven."
Half comedy and half stark
reality, the film follows the ad
ventures of two mismatched
Indian boys venturing off the
reservation on a journey.
Victor (Adam Beach), a
stoic, handsome teen with a
chip on his shoulder, travels to
Phoenix to pick up the ashes
of his estranged dead father.
Along the way, he gets stuck
with a nerdy, friendly
chatterbox named Thomas
(Evan Adams) as a traveling
companion and the clash be
tween the two creates a scries
of comic situations.
The film offers an inside
look at reservation life, rac
ism, and the ties that bind
these two very different young
men.
June 6, The Gods Must Be
Crazy, Friday, 7 p.m.
Released in Botswana in
1981, this is a zany tale of the
misadventures of Xi, a tribes
man of the Kalahari Desert in
Africa, who has never seen
outside civilization.
One day, after a pilot tosses
a Coca-cola bottle out of his
plane, Xi finds it and thinks it
must have come from the gods.
But after family members be
gin fighting over it, Xi leaves
on a trek to the end of the
world to return the bottle.
Along the way, he encoun
ters many colorful characters
June 21, Saturday Night Fe
ver, Saturday, 7 p.m.
Dig out your old platform
shoes and wear them to the
movie that sparked a disco craze
across America. Tony (John
Travolta) is an uneducated
Brooklyn teenager who feels
like a nobody, except for the
weekends where he gains noto
riety as king of the dance floor
He meets Stephanie, who agrees
to be his partner in a dance com
petition. And the rest is history.
CillSpilwTjncj
mm
Employment opportunity
Executive director
needed for the Warm Springs
Community Development
Corporation, a non-profit,
multi-purpose, community
based Native American orga
nization. We are seeking a qualified
executive director to provide
our emerging non-profit with
planning, direction, leadership
and coordination of the ac
tivities of the CDC's daily op
eration and overall manage
ment Salary starts at $40,000
with full benefit package.
Please call (541) 504-4010 for
application packet Mail com
pleted application to: Execu
tive Director Search Commit
tee, WSCDC P.Q Box 754,
Warm Springs, OR 97761.
Deadline for applica
tions is May 16.