Spilyay Tymoo, Warm
UO to toeiM mew
Groundbreaking
ceremony pays
homage to a long
overdue plan
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
Attendees cheered after rep
resentatives from the nine Or
egon tribes pushed their shov
els into the ground recently on
the University of Oregon cam
pus. The celebration was a
groundbreaking for a new
longhouse that will accommo
date growing Native American
university enrollment.
Over 50 people attended the
event.
Tribal Councilwoman
Bernice Mitchell represented
the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs. University of
Oregon President David
Frohnmeyer stood nearby.
"I hope the new longhouse
Committees epdate
The following is continu
ation of committee updates
to Tribal Council that took
place in the beginning of
May.
Spilyay Tymoo published
the updates of Cult re and
Heritage Committee, Off
Reservation Fish and Wild
life Committee, and Educa
tion Committee in the last
issue.
On Reservation Fish and
Wildlife Committee
A three-year eel study on
the reservation is in its sec
ond year.
The project - the first of
its kind on the reservation -is
a collaboration between
Bonneville Power Adminis
tration and the Confederated
Tribes.'
Tributaries of the
Deschutes River are being
monitored. T
The goal is to identify what
types of eels exist in the
Deschutes River sub-basin
and their abundance levels.
The most common eel in
the Deschutes River sub-basin
is Pacific Lamprey.
Bucks are down, reported
Leslie Bill from the On Res
ervation Fish and Wildlife
Wasco-Warm Springs
Peaceful childhood
memories of horses
draw him back to the
reservation.
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
WhcnElke Little Leaf Kirk
left the reservation he was
five years old.
He moved with his father to
Portland where he attended el
ementary school. There, he was
the only Native American.
A tough childhood began
with after school fights with
African Americans, Caucasians,
and I Iispanics.
"I experienced a lot of rac
ism," said Kirk.
By middle school and high
school, he was running with the
wrong crowd.
"I got involved with gangs
and drugs," explained Kirk.
Through it all, he remem
bered his early childhood on the
reservation.
"Some of my earliest memo
ries were of horses," said Kirk.
Springs, Oregon
on campus will reflect the grow
ing energy of Native Americans
on campus," said Frohnmeyer.
The longhouse is scheduled
to be finished in the fall of
2004.
A long overdue plan, tribal
efforts to build the Many Na
tions Longhouse on campus date
back 20 years. Events held at
the previous longhouse had par
ticipants eating in shifts due to
space constraints.
Before the groundbreaking,
Warm Springs tribal member
Wilson Wewa sang an invocation
with a representative from the
Confederated Tribes of
Umatilla.
The song, which was about
the lifecycle of salmon, was in
tended to serve as a metaphor
for the cycle of students and the
importance of educating Native
Americans.
Like fish, students leave for
four years and then return to
the tribe, explained the Umatilla
tribal member.
Committee.
There are 29 fawns for
every 100 does. There are 11
bulls to every 100 cows.
"The elk are thriving
pretty good," said Bill.
The reservation will be of
fering a hunter safety course
for 12 to 17 year olds.
Hunters who hunt on off
reservation lands, such as
ceded or tribal lands, need to
carry proof that they have
completed a hunter safety
course.
On the reservation, it is
still optional. .: t-'".???
The Fish and Wildlife1
Committee has been follow
ing the progress of the navi
gability of the John Day
River.
The state has set up a pi
lot project with private land
owners and people who use
the land for recreation pur
poses. The tribes have not taken
an official position on
whether or not the river
should be navigable.
Navigability is a legal stan
dard that goes back to the
origin of statehood, which
says the state owns the beds
and banks of rivers that have
been categorized navigable.
Because the Treaty of
Elke Little Leaf Kirk started a
Warm Springs about one and
Eventually Kirk got away from
die dnigs and gangs and went back
to riding horses.
Six years later, with pending
wpr$. ,.M
."..'' ' j
VVI d -
May
"I hope the new longhouse on campus
will reflect the growing energy of
Native Americans on campus."
David Frohnmeyer
University of Oregon President
Afterwards, Bernice Mitchell
expressed her gratitude to have
economic provisions for a
longhouse.
"Let's keep improving our
schools in the same way we
would upgrade from a Model T
Ford to a Cadillac," Mitchell
mused.
She spoke of the benefits of
understanding other cultures
while maintaining one's own.
"Keep going to school and
get everything you can from it.
Then come home or stay some
where where you can teach
other Indian children," Mitchell
requested of the Native Ameri
can students present.
"Because only you can teach
Hunters who
hunt on off-reservation
lands,
such as ceded or
tribal lands, need
to carry proof
that they have
completed a
hunter safety
course. On the
reservation, it is
:-;still;pj;iqftl
1855 precedes statehood,
John Day River navigability
should not affect the tribes
use of their ceded lands.
In addition, the land deed
for Pine Creek Ranch, a
ranch owned by the tribes in
the John Day Basin, does not
extend into the middle of the
river.
For this reason, the Tribes
will not lose private property
if the river is deemed navi
gable. At the fish hatchery, the
handling of wild chinook
salmon will stop after the
steelhead run is over.
Steelheads often carry dis
man succeeds with local
contractor business In
a half years ago.
enrollment with the tribe, Kirk
runs his own contracting business,
The business, which he started
about a year and half ago, is
29. 2005
lomghoiuse
them," she added.
Mitchell included some tribal
wisdom about education, saying
it is first important to learn to
say "I'm sorry" before a person
can begin to learn other things.
Frohnmeyer was pleased to
fulfill his longtime promise of a
new campus longhouse for the
tribes.
He made the promise nine
years ago when he became presi
dent of the university.
He invited all attendees to
the fall of 2004 dedication of
the Many Nations Longhouse.
A final design for the
longhouse was exhibited.
The architectural firm hired
was Jones & Jones Architect and
Council
ease that put the salmon at
risk.
Agriculture, Range, and
Agriculture Committee
The committee plans on
having a meeting with 'he 33
Warm Springs departments
to resolve Ordinance 33.
Ordinance 33 establishes
community boundary fences
for the purpose of keeping
livestock out of community
areas.
, . The committee feels the
ordinance has been ineffec
tive on the reservation.The
issue is keeping the fencing
maintained. Livestock often
filter into residential areas.
Currently, there are subdivision-zoning
plans but Tribal
Council has not officially ap
proved a zoning map.
Tribal Councilperson Ron
Suppah asked the committee
to see if there were any ad
ditional monies for zoning
fencing.
There is a growing prob
lem with wild dogs and other
predators, which affect other
wild game populations and
ranchers livestock.
Sheep have taken a par
ticularly hard hit, said the
committee.
doing well, he says.
Iitde Leaf Contractors prima
rily does roofing, home restora
tion, and yard debris removal.
Kirk mosdy receives his contracts
through the housing department
and credit department.
"I always wanted to do my
own thing," said Kirk.
Kirk learned his job skills as a
framer, roofer, and by installing
insulation and air conditioners in
the Pordand area.
Me got his first job on the res
ervation through Rudy Clements
in housing
"He's the first person who
gave me a job. I just kept bother
ing him. He finally gave me a job
and gave me a chance to prove
myself," said Kirk.
After replacing the roof for the
Small Business Center, Kirk plans
on donating his time and putting
in a new carpet for the enterprise.
"I use the computers and of
fice at die Small Business Center
and feel diis is a good time to give
something back to rhem," said
Kirk.
Little I-af Contractors also
plans on donating two roof jobs
each year to the housing depart
Landscape Architects in Seattle.
The longhouse will be located
directly behind the University of
Oregon Law School.
Afterwards there was a pow
wow on the MacCourt basket
ball court and a free salmon din
ner in the late afternoon.
In the evening Native Ameri
cans graduating from the Uni
versity of Oregon were hon
ored. Among the graduates hon
ored were Warm Springs tribal
member Kahseuss Jackson and
Klamath tribal member Gordon
Bettles. Jackson will receive an
undergraduate degree in busi
ness. Bettles, who has relations in
Warm Springs, is the oldest
Native American to graduate
from the University of Oregon.
He will receive his masters in
the Independent Studies Indian
Program in June.
There are over 250 Native
American students that attend
the University of Oregon.
Dogs and coyotes are in
terbreeding and running in
packs of 20 or more. The
committee hopes to resolve
the growing issue of preda
tors soon. Tribal Chairman
Joseph Moses requested a
resolution for the predator
issue be passed.
The committee also stated
that they plan to utilize the
United States Department of
Agriculture services in natu
ral resources more. By law,
the USDA is required to have
a representative on the res
ervation. '
Timber Sales Committee
The committee just com
pleted reviewing the 2003
timber sales, said Theron
Johnson.
One big concern for the
committee is that after a con
tract is signed cutting is not
allowed to start until after an
archaeological survey is com
pleted. Right now, said
Johnson, the archaeological
surveys are running about 10
months behind.
The committee hopes to
find the means to speed the
process up. The delay could
make the profits of the en
terprise suffer.
See COMMITTEES on page 10
business
ment.
"I feel the tribes need the help,"
said Kirk of his donation.
Kirk always wanted to come
back to the reservation, be en
rolled in die tribe, and be a part
of the community.
"I just set my goals," he ex
plains, In the future he plans to have
a training business for recovering
addicts. Kirk would teach partici
pants the construction skills he
knows. He hopes to be a role
model to other people who have
had similar experiences with dnigs
and alcohol.
"I feel like I would be a gtxxl
example because I come from
the same place," said Kirk, refer
ring to his past struggles with
drugs and alcohol.
"I hope others will stay away
from drugs and alcohol because
it will hold you back. It clouds
your thoughts and your visions,"
he said.
"Now I can see clearly what
my goals are and feel like nothing
will stop me."
To contact little Leaf Con
tractors, call Elke Kirk at (541)
815-5448.
Page 5
Program
offers
youth
work
Employees must be
"on track" for high
school graduation
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo
There's summer work on
the reservation for teenagers
age 14 to 21.
One criterion to get hired
is to complete 80 hours of vol
unteer time.
Another is to be "on track"
for high school graduation.
Students must provide
school transcripts and have a
note from their school coun
selor. "Volunteering promotes the
concept of giving back to the
community," says Verleen
Kalama, administrator for the
Youth Development Program.
The requirement to volun
teer supports positive youth
development that enhances
citizenship skills, civic bonding,
character building, additional
knowledge, personal develop
ment and social and civil re
sponsibility, says a handout
produced by WFDD.
WFDD hopes, in return,
the community will benefit be
cause the younger generation
will add to their life experi
ences, build their resume, and
participate in the community
in a positive way.
This year employees of the
Summer Youth Program will
earn $6 per hour. Jobs will last
eight weeks. i
All first year working youth
will be required to attend a
youth orientation, set for June
11 and 12.
Once volunteer time is
completed, Warm Springs
youth may apply for one of
two programs.
The tribal program, funded
by the tribes, requires appli
cants be an enrolled member
of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs.
Applicants must pass a pre
employment drug test.
The Workforce Investment
Act, funded by federal mon
ies, serves native youth ages 14
to 21.
Applicants must be consid
ered low-income and provide
an income eligibility form with
a recent check stub or proof
of income.
Some examples to prove eli
gibility are food stamps verifi
cation, SSI, and GAWelfare
benefits.
Applicants must also pass a
pre-employment drug test.
Paid employment opportu
nities vary from a Fire &
Safety cadet to an office aide
to a dental assistant.
Volunteer hours can be ful
filled at the Museum at Warm
Springs, High Lookee Lodge,
the Rodeo Association, and
other locations on the reser
vation. For more information or to
apply, please contact Verleen
Kalama or Darlcne Trimble,
YDP assistant at 2101 Wasco
Street, or call at (541) 553
3324. Story idea?
Call
Spilyay Tymoo
553-3274
i