P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Splygy
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Eugene OR 97403-1205
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
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Coyote News, est. 1976
August 7, 2003 Vol. 28, No. 16
She might
stop but she
won't quit
By D. "Bing" Bingham
Spilyay Tymoo
Years ago Char Herkshan was
seriously injured in a car wreck.
Her short term memory was
obliterated. After much work and
rehabilitation the first memories that
started returning were things her
grandmother and mother had
taught her.
It was that accident which helped
trigger a chain of events that would
lead to the eventual funding of
Camp Sapsikwat, a native culture
school.
"Our children are institutional
i2ed from early on, which is not the
way it's supposed to be," she says.
"Children are in daycare at two
weeks old now. That's so sad."
It's all about choices.
Kids decide at the beginning of
the week what sort of cultural
project they want to do: making a
bow and arrows, a dreamcatcher,
moccasins, necklaces.
"We're giving them a little taste
of making choices," she goes on,
"that is so important."
In this camp the projects are all
about balance. If a boy decides he's
going to make a bow and arrows,
the important part is how he holds
it, bends it, ties it and, in the end,
whether the arrow strikes the tar
get. These are the things which will
give him the tools he needs to con
front the modern world.
"Modern society is very challeng
ing." Char I Ierkshan admits, as she
confronts more questions. "How do
Rubbings
show lost
petroglyphs
Petroglyphs are protected by federal
law from desecration. Rubbing a
petroglyph can damage the image, and
for this reason is prohibited by law.
But in some cases a petroglyph rub
bing can be a good thing; and such is
the case of five rubbings that arrived
recently at the Museum at Warm
Springs.
Four of the rubbings are of
petroglyphs that no longer exist, due to
flooding by The Dalles dam. And the
fifth is of a famous petroglyph - She
W'jo Watches - when the image was in
a more pristine condition.
The rubbings were made in the
1950s or early 1960s.
Over the course of years they made
their way to the Mt. I lood Commu
nity College.
Two years ago they were almost
thrown away, but a geography instruc
tor, Chris Gorsek, retrieved them, and
I
later used them as part of his teaching
curriculum.
Recently, tribal archaeologist Joseph
Sheppherd was visiting Mt. I lood Com
munity College, and happened to no
tice the petroglyph rubbings.
Sheppherd realized the significance
of the rubbings, and suggested that
they be turned over the tribe, an idea
that Gorsek happily agreed to.
The images arc now in safe-keeping
at the museum, but not on display.
By displaying the rubbings, people
may be encouraged to go out and make
some petroglyph rubbings of their own,
which is prohibited by law, said Carol
I-conc, museum director.
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University of Orenon Library
Spilyay tymoo.
Arthur Mitchell clips a branch to make
we, as Native people, continue to teach
our morals, our ethics, our values, our
standards and our sovereignty?"
This is the last year of Camp
Sapsikwat. The funding has run out.
"In a few years money will come
again," she acknowledges, "the Creator
always blesses us that way and the camp
will pick up with a different name."
While new funding sources are be
ing located, Herkshan will concentrate
on keeping up other social obligations,
V.. 'V'v . -
J r : -
' !
f " I
Locals helping fight distant fires
Fire season brings a lot of activ
ity to local agencies and enterprises,
even when no wildfire is burning on
the reservation.
Crews from BIA Fire Manage
ment and the tribal cntpcrprise
Geo Visions, for instance, have been
traveling to wildfires in Oregon and
other states.
Three people from F'irc Manage
ment left this week to help on the
Kclscy fire near Diamond Lake. And
the 20 members of the Warm
Springs hotshot crew arc on the
Faun Creek fire near Keller, Wash.
The hotshot team also helped fight
the Davis Fire near Lal'inc, and
worked on two separate fires earlier
aW.ii4.i.iii.lili 'I'iillliiMMi fwP ' Jg,,5g!'H , ' I i
a bow and arrow, as his friends look
like the Winter Night Social Club at the
Simnasho Long Houte .-- . -- 'V
"I'd like to teach all the things that
my mother and grandmothers taught
me," she continues. "I'd like for our
children to have that on the reserva
tion." She wants to show young people to
bring food to a gathering, cook it with
love and share it. "It's like they can't
get enough, they keep eating and eat
ing." Photo by Richd Ttllmadg lor trn Spllyiy
this summer near Tuscon,Ariz.
As of early this week, there had
been no major wildfire on the reserva
tion so far this summer. But there is
always the possibility, said Ken Lydy,
assistant fire management officer at
Warm Springs Fire Management.
"We've already shut down camp fires
on the reservation at the direction of
Natural Resources manager," said
Lydy. Because of the fuel conditions
on the ground, he said, the fire danger
on the reservation is extreme.
The mobile command center
F'irc management personnel are not
the only ones traveling to fires in dis
tant locations. The same is also true of
on.
Bing BlnghanVSpllyey
So for now Herkshan is quitting
Camp Sapsikwat, but that doesn't
mean she's stopping what she does.
And in her quiet moments, she'll
remember how her grandmother
would make bread and talk quiedy
with her when she was home from
boarding school.
But, mostly, she'll recall her
grandmothers words: "Never let
them put that light out that's in
you."
Revonne Johnson takes a
break from the activities at
the recent Huckleberry
Harvest, held at the Museum
at Warm Springs and at Kah-Nee-Tah
High Desert Resort
and Casino.
The Huckleberry Harvest is
the museum's principal fund
raiser during the year.
This year the fund-raiser drew
a large crowd, including many
new faces from outside the
area.
A number of items - ranging
from fine arts and bronze
sculptures to vacation trips -were
sold during silent and
oral auctions.
The bidding was lively during
the sales.
the GeoVisions team.
GcoVisions, managed by Jim
Crocker of the tribal Geographic In
formation Systems (GIS) office,
started in the spring of last year. The
tribal enterprise works in the field of
high technology mapping.
The GeoVisions crew - Marissa
Stradley and Faston Aguilar - returned
just recently from the Kinishba fire lo
cated on the Fort Apache Reservation
in Arizona. They were there for 1 4 days
providing the mapping data to the fire
agencies. GcoVisions is based in the
high-tech mobile command center
trailer. The GcoVisions team also
worked at the Davis fire just before
the assignment to Kinishba.
Smith
awarded
for fish
advocacy
Claude Smith Sr. has lived a long
life of dedication to traditional fisher
ies, their restoration and protection.
He is a leader of his people, the
Wasco Tribe of the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs.
For more than 20 years Smith has
represented his people on the tribal Fish
and Wildlife Committee.
He fished at Celilo Falls, Klickitat
Falls, Eagle Creek and many other
usual and accus-
tomed fishing
places of the
Wasco people.
He has traveled
all over the U.S.
educating
policymakers
about fisheries and
their protection.
Recently, the Claude Smith Sr.
Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
(CRITFC), representing the four treaty
tribes of the Columbia, recognized
Smith with the Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Smith received this award "for a life
long commitment and significant con
tributions toward promoting partner
ships, fostering understanding, and pro
viding bold leadership in efforts to re
store and protect Columbia River
salmon," said Olney Patt Jr., CRITFC
executive director.
Smith received the award at the an
nual Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum Gala at the
Governor Hotel in Pordand.
"This year's award recipients repre
sent the best in community activism and
public involvement," said Patt. "They
are all truly Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum. They
are all salmon people."
Smith was one of seven people wHo
received a Spirit of the Salmon award
at the recent CRITFC event. Other
award recipients are:
Carol Craig of the Yakama Nation.
She received the Education Award,
which goes to an individual or institu
tion that has made a significant contri
bution to the widespread education of
the public about salmon and the role
they play in the lives of all creatures in
the Pacific Northwest.
Craig is the public information of
ficer for the Yakama Nation Fisheries
and Wildlife Program. Prior to taking
her post in Toppcnish, Wash., she
worked in the CRITFC public infor
mation office.
In each job, Craig demonstrated the
ability to reduce complex issues and
best science to plain talk, and she
placed a special priority on teaching
youth about the culture and the rights
of Indian tribes, said Patt.
The city of Selah, Wash., also re
ceived recognition. At the awards din
ner the city was represented by mayor
Bob Jones. The city received the Pub
lic Partnership Award.
This award goes to a local govern
ment that has taken a significant com
munity leadership role in support of
salmon restoration.
Selah was the first local government
in the Yakima Valley to show a willing
ness and a desire to work hand in hand
with the Yakama Nation on fish recov
ery and fish restoration.
In their first joint effort, Selah offi
cials supported the tribe in its effort to
modify a Washington Department of
Transportation project to create a side
channel in the Selah gap to benefit
anadromous fish.
Set SMITH oh pagt 6