OR. COLL.
E
75
.sea
v. 8
no. H
July 18,
2883
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
SERIALS DEPT
KNIGHT LIBRARY
1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
EUGENE, OR 97403
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
July 10, 2003 Vol. 28, No. tt
50 cents
Kidney
transplant
a success
Squiemphen-Yazzie
says she immediately
felt better after surgery
By Shannon Keaveny
Spilyoy Tymoo
Terry Demezas always had a fond
spot in his heart for Warm Springs.
For years he'd been making trout
fishing trips to the area, passing by
Priscilla Squiemphen-Yazzie's ranch
near Highway 26 on his way from Port
land. So when he read an Oregonion news
paper article about Priscilla
Squiemphen-Yazzie's struggle to find a
new kidney, something hit home.
"Because I was familiar with Warm
Springs and the family really sounded
neat, I wanted to help," said Demezas.
The article detailed her and her
husband's fight to raise two children,
work for the tribal government, and
run a ranch while she suffered from
the debilitating Sjogren's disease.
The disease attacks the body's mois-turize-producing
glands and caused her
kidneys to fail in March of last year.
Meanwhile, frequent time-consuming
and expensive trips to Bend were
required for kidney dialysis.
The family tried to make ends meet
and financially plan for expenses asso
ciated with a kidney transplant, even
though they didn't know where the kid
ney would come from. They held taco
sales and other fundraising events.
Because Demezas was so moved by
the article, he did something that is rare.
He offered his kidney to someone
he'd never met before. Squiemphen
Yazzie received a phone call inform
ing her of the generous offer.
"At first I thought, 'Is this guy sane?'
And he is. People just don't do nice
things like that very often out of the
blue," said Squiemphen-Yazzie of her
reaction to Demezas' offer to donate
her a kidney.
After testing, doctors announced the
two patients' tissues and blood were a
match. Demezas, who is a nurse, felt
he was healthy enough that he didn't
really need two kidneys. According to
the Urology Department at the Oregon
Health and Science University, a nor
mal person only uses 10 percent of his
or her two kidneys. A living donor will
have 70 to 80 percent of the total func
tion of his or her kidney back just three
weeks after the surgery.
A little over two weeks ago, Demezas
and Squiemphen-Yazzie simultaneously
underwent surgery at the OHSU hos
pital in Portland. The actual kidney
transplant took about five hours and
the removal of the kidney from
Demezas' body took about one and a
half hours.
Squiemphen-Yazzie's body accepted
the kidney right away, and Demezas is
at home recovering quickly.
"The experience of donating my
kidney was one of the highlights of my
life," said Demezas.
"I think it is both our wishes that
Priscilla can return to a normal life,"
he added.
Demezas says he had something like
a vision a few years before that inspired
him to join the Oregon Donor Program.
After word was received that
Demezas wanted to donate a kidney
to Squiemphen-Yazzie, she called him
and invited him to her ranch home for
coffee. In Oregon it is illegal to donate
an organ anonymously.
The two discovered that not only
did Terry have the same name as her
brother but they were also born in the
same year.
See NEW KIDNEY oh page )
Tribes
By Dave McMechan
Spilyoy Tymoo
Fish from the Columbia River
basin contain chemical contami
nants from pollution.
This can pose a health risk to
people who eat large amounts of
the fish.
By tradition and culture, Indian
people eat eight to 10 times more
fish than non-Indians.
So tribal population faces a
In the Pi-Ume-Sha Parade, 2003 Pi-Ume-Sha Junior Court Queen Nathena
Keeyana Yellowman, Little Miss Warm Springs 2002-2003.
Crews kept
busy with
many fires
By Ashley Aguilar
Spilyoy Tymoo
Warm Springs fire fighters were
kept very busy during the Fourth of
July, the time of year when human
caused fires are at their highest.
There were a total of 33 fires on
the reservation on July the Fourth.
A total of 10.4 acres burned, ac
cording to Warm Springs BIA Fire
Management.
Fire and police personnel were
ill ii-
aiso kept ousy natrowne and mak- s
ing sure the holiday was a safe one. '
Meanwhile, fire officials are ask
ing that people be extremely cautious,
and be aware that this fire season is
a hazardous one on the reservation.
The officials say the fire season
this year looks above average, with
nasty conditions and heavy grass
crop. Fire Management is hoping to
lower the amount of fires this year.
Since 70 percent of all fires are
human caused, Fire Management
and Forestry are attempting to lower
the numbers by assigning contractors
to be on the watch for fires.
Fire watch is one of the many
ways fires are reported and pre
vented from getting out of hand.
In related news: Four fire fighters
from Warm Springs have been work
ing on the Davis fire near LaPinc.
to expand on fish study
greater health risk from the chemicals
in the fish.
But how should people of the Warm
Springs Reservation react to this infor-.
mation?
Should they stop eating as much fish
as they have in the past, and rely more
on non-traditional foods?
What if these non-traditional alter
native foods also contain unhealthy
chemicals?
The Confederated Tribes are mov
Pi-Ume-Sha Procession
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I! " !!
II ; ,
Tribal census moving
The tribes are planning in early
fall to conduct a census on the res
ervation. There had been talk of conduct
ing the census during the summer,
but fall could produce a more accu
rate count, said Jolene Atencio, tribal
comprehensive planner.
. This is true, she said, because
fewer people, mainly students, will
1 v,.v;(
'J
.fix
Univerfity of
Received oni 07
ing forward with a study that will pro
vide answers to these and other impor
tant health questions. :
More specific study
The information about chemicals in
fish from the Columbia basin comes
from studies conducted over the past
decade by the Columbia River Inter
Tribal Fish Commission (CRTFC). '
In conducting its study, CRTFC
took samples of fish from 24 locations
. 8bmBoiMSyiiy
Jim rides with Roberta Kirk and
likely be moving and changing their
address during the fall.
The tribal census, funded by fed
eral grant, is necessary because a sig
nificant number of residences on the
reservation may have gone uncounted
during the 2000 US. Census.
Atencio said that as many as 200
housing units on the reservation may
have been missed in the US. Census.
Oregon Library
- 17 - 03
throughout the basin. They tested for
132 chemicals and found 92.
Some of these chemicals are can
cer causing. They come from many
sources: industry and agriculture in the
basin, the Hanford nuclear area,
Bradford Island, etc.
The Confederated Tribes are plan
ning a study that will in some ways be
more specific than the CRTFC study,
and in other ways more broad.
See FOOD TESTING on page 10
Simnasho
hosting
powwow
and rodeo
The Simnasho Powwow and Rodeo
is set for next Friday and Saturday, July
18-19. This powwow and rodeo is go
ing by the name, Just Another Hot
Summer Night.
Last year the event was called Hot
Summer Night
'This is something that we're doing
for our kids here in Simnasho," said
Captain Moody, one of the organizers
of the powwow and rodeo.
"It's something that our community
does to get the people together, to give
.tim people something to do." ,
The Friday night powwow begins at
5:30 with dinner, Grand Entry at 7 p.m.
The Jackpot Rodeo starts at 1 p.m.
on Saturday, July 19, at the Simnasho
rodeo grounds.
The rodeo events include bareback
riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding,
barrel race, wild horse roping, horseless
wild cow milking, and wild colt races.
Stock for the rodeo is provided by
the Suppah family and Mike and
Amanda Alps.
For information on the powwow, call
Captain Moody at 553-7014.
For information on the rodeo, call
Jay Suppah at 553-1022.
forward
Having an accurate population esti
mate is important for the tribes, be
cause grant and other funding, such as
transportation money, is based on popu
lation. An incorrect, low population es
timate would mean the tribes would be
at an unfair disadvantage in competing
for funding For this reason Atencio said
she is hoping for cooperation on the
census project from the community.
Great day
for a parade
The Fourth of July was a sunny
and warm day.
The weather was perfect for a
parade through Warm Springs,
followed by the barbecue and
kids' games at the community
center.
In the photo, Lynden Harry (left)
and Jiana Smith-Francis show
their patriotic spirit during the
July 4 parade on Friday
afternoon.
Juliane Smith (at back) is
providing the steering and
power for this parade entry.
Dan M(Mi(iinSpiyt$j
Spilyay tyioo.