Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2003)
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon August 21, 2005 Coimimeraail code By Shannon Ktavtny Spilyay Tymoo A local planning group is pre paring a two-day workshop pro moting a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) on the Warm Springs Reservation for late September or early October, said Shawnele Shaw, community advocate for the Warm Springs Community Action Team. Tribal Council will attend. The workshop will allow Tribal Council to address con cerns about a UCC from the community perspective. The Council will assess inter nal changes in other depart ments on the reservation. ; For example, a UCC would require changes in the Warm Springs court system. "The Council is taking a se rious and responsible approach Quilt classes teach skills Eraina Palmer demonstrates Museum internship In its first year, the Mu seum at Warm Springs internship not only suc ceeded but raised funds to continue the pro gram for the next 3 years. Intern Levi Blackwolf is no stranger to the museum. It was his previous beadwork and sewing exhibits at the Mu seum at Warm Springs that led Education Coordinator Rosalind Sampson to ask Blackwolf to be the museum's first intern this summer. "I used to come here and exhibit my work and then an swer questions the visitors would have," says Blackwolf. A Warm Springs native, 28 year-old Blackwolf spends the school year in Vancouver, WA, studying computer program- New espresso hut opens Customers can pick up a steaming latte or ice-cold espresso drink next time they are pumping gas at the Texaco. Last Thursday tribal member Jodel Johnson opened a drive thru espresso hut next to the gas station on Highway 26. "The location is a great stop for a business," said Johnson. At the hut's location, highway drivers not only stop to get gas, but use the rcstroom and get a snack. Johnson hopes to capitalize on the traffic. In addition to hot or cold espresso drinks, Joe's Coffee Corral will be serving jet teas, Italian sodas, steamers, bagels, muffins and English muffins. In the next month or two, Johnson hopes to offer daily lunch spe cials. "We'd like to dp a soup and "I think a UCC is an exercise of our sover eignty because legal actions will be able to take place on the reservation in our court system." Shawnele Shaw WSCAT . to the viability of this idea," said Shaw. A UCC on the reservation would promote economic devel opment by creating a uniform set of standards that would pro vide outside lenders legal pro tection. "UCC is the cornerstone for business. Right now outside home lenders are not lending to Native Americans," said Bruce Engel, from the Warm Springs loan department. how to cut fabric for a quillow. ( n Levi Blackwolf on the museum grounds. Behind him is the teepee he painted as part of his internship. ming at Clark Community Col- sandwich special," said Johnson. Even sooner, the hut will be cooking Figaro pizzas to sell by the slice in the gas station. Johnson has wanted to open an espresso hut on the reserva tion for 5 or 6 years. She first had the idea when she was attending college in Bend. Each day Johnson picked up an espresso drink on her early morning ride to class. "I lived on espresso in col lege," she said. It was in this time she learned to appreciate a good cup of coffee. At her own business, Johnson pays special attention to the freshness of the coffee, and acknowledges that aroma is an important part of the taste. In her training classes, she learned to use coffee grounds right away and never steam milk One advantage of a UCC would be that tribal members would be able to obtain loans to purchase cars and homes easier. Engel said there are off-reservation government home loans that offer interest rates below five percent, the rate on the res ervation, for low-income fami lies. A UCC would open up the reservation to more govern ment low-income home loan opportunities and save families money, he explained. "For example, on a $50,000 housing loan from the tribes, a person pays about $268 per month at a five percent interest rate. With access to this particu lar government program with an interest rate at one percent, about $100 a month could be saved," said Engel. Also, tribal entrepreneurs could receive outside loans over Eraina Palmer, owner of Quilts and More, is featuring a series of late summer quilt making classes at her store. Her store is located at the Plaza at Warm Springs. "A lot of people inquire on how to make quilts. There is an especially strong interest in young people," said Palmer. Palmer's goal is to teach young people a skill she says they will use all their lives. "My payment is seeing their excitement when they finish a quilt," she said. Thirty years ago Palmer learned how to make quilts in class with Eleanor Burns, author of "Quilt in a Day." "After that I was hooked on quilting," she explained. Owning a quilt store and teaching classes was the realiza tion of a 25 year-old dream for Palmer. Classes will include how to make quillows and various quilt sewing styles, including the Irish Chain style, and Log Cabin style. For class times, see the calendar on page 2. ''To register, call 5534 460r ' offers colleagueship to youth ii nt ttt i m frn liLrp fx Cf lege. In his spare time, he is a tradi tional artisan. "I like beading horses," Blackwolf says. His beaded horses usually are sewn onto pow wow outfits or used for neckpieces. He also dabbles in painting and wood carving. It's his creative side and interest in traditional crafts that makes him a perfect candidate for the internship. Now, as an in tern, he provides friendly greetings to tour groups and guides them higher than 160 degrees. Johnson buys her coffee from the Sun River Coffee Co. in Bend. "I have to pay a little more but its worth it because the com pany is located so close, the qual ity is high, and the coffee is al ways fresh," she says. The time was right for Johnson to start a new business after recently being laid off at the mill. Without a job, Johnson felt the pressure to start her busi ness and received plenty of sup port from her family. Her par ents purchased the building and her husb remodeled it. Now that it's open, her daughter takes on daily shifts. "It's scary but I like being my own boss," said Johnson. The hut is open Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. gams $200,000, the current tribal loan limit The code would open up the community to basic services like a bank too, said Shaw. Community members could have more services in the Warm Springs community and limit trips to Madras. ' According to Shaw, US Bank has already expressed interest in opening a branch on the reser vation but backed out when rep resentatives found out Warm Springs did not have a UCC. Outside businesses often re quire a UCC before opening a location on a reservation. Currently, outside lenders hesitate to invest in businesses or homes on reservation lands because they fear lack of legal recourse on the reservation. Sometimes limited waivers of sovereignty are granted to out side lenders, as in the case of a for life through the museum. Blackwolf, although a tribal member, claims he's learning just like the tourists. "I probably know about 70 percent of the information in the museum and continue learn ing more every time I give a tour," he says. Blackwolf 's continued inter est in his own culture has been sparked by the internship. "I got a language dictionary about all our traditional foods. There are a lot of opportuni ties to learn here," says Blackwolf. Recently the intern painted a teepee on the museum's grounds for the Huckleberry Harvest. His enthusiasm and back ground are just what museum Director Carol Leone envi sioned when she spearheaded the internship program. "The internship is designed to Warm Springs receives Ford Foundation grant Due to the efforts of the Warm Springs Community Ac tion Team, the Ford Family Foundation has chosen Warm Springs to be the recipient of a $10,000 grant for leadership training The foundation grants money to rural communities that have limited resources. It focuses on the leadership from a rural community's own Radio language lessons to be shorter, more Irequent Beginning in September radio language lessons will be aired every hour. "It will most likely be a phrase or quick saying," said Tim Finch, computer programmer at the language center. On the weekends longer les momeetam casino. Since last April tribal attor neys have been reviewing com munity input, the impact on lo cal businesses and the impact on the tribes' sovereignty. One major concern with UCC is that the tribes' would compromise their sovereignty for commercial interests. But Shaw sees a UCC on the reservation as having the oppo site effect. "I think a UCC is an exercise of our sovereignty because le gal actions will be able to take place on the reservation in our court system. Instead of forc ing us off the reservation into another nation, we can have a legitimate court on the reserva tion," she said. And Engel claims the reser vation already does not have full sovereignty. He used the afore mentioned contract with the New tribal substance abuse center to open in Portland Oregon Health and Science University plans to open a new center aimed at finding remedies for the high levels of drug and alcohol addiction among Native Americans in the United States. It will be funded by a $3 million federal grant. "One Sky Center" will look at information from many drug and alcohol treatment programs working with Native Americans. From this information, officials will decide which method has proven to be the most effective for treating substance abuse. The center will also continue OHSU's efforts to recruit Na tive Americans into existing health programs. .. .. ... , The $3 million grant will be treat the intern like a colleague of the museum and stimulate creativity in the museum. There should be room for the intern to bring in their cultural ideas, while being exposed to other cultures from around the world," says Leone. Leone modeled the intern ship after her previous experi ence with a Southwestern res ervation museum. "At my previous job, the in ternship program was a really positive experience for all of us," says Leone. Blackwolf says he'd like to come back and work at the museum after college. This year the position was funded by a grant. But recently at the museum's Huckleberry Har vest, over $8,000 were raised to fund the summer internship for at least the next three years. people and the abilities the community has to offer. A group is formed and the community is allowed to ex ecute their own project. Although Warm Springs was chosen, the foundation in cluded Madras after acknowl edging the need to enhance opportunities as a joint com munity between Warm Springs and Madras. sons for 15 to 20 minutes of each Native language will be aired. The language program supports the new radio format. "Shorter phrases will be easier to pick up and remember, espe cially if they arc useful and prac tical," said Finch. state and the casino as an ex ample. Community supporters have already said they would like the Warm Springs UCC implemented in parts, because the code is so large. Implementing the code in parts over time would mini mize changes in the commu nity and allow tribal members to adjust. Tribal attorneys have already drafted a rough version of a Warm Springs UCC. If a UCC is implemented, Warm Springs Reservation will be the first reservation to do so in the state of Oregon. Creating a UCC on reser vations is a growing movement in the United States. Reserva tions with strong community and financial planning have benefited economically with a UCC, said Shaw. distributed over a period of 3 years to first establish the One Sky Center and hire sufficient staff. OHSU's proposal was chosen over 27 possible recipients that tried to get funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin istration. The university plans on build ing the center in the South Wa terfront district in Portland. Drug and alcohol abuse is a serious problem for Native communities across the United States. Alcohol rates afe six times higher among Native Americans than the US. aver age, and drug abuse rates are at least four times higher. Club's future at recreation center discussed The Warm Springs Boys and Girls Club will stay under one umbrella with the recreational center at least for now, said Austin Greene, director of the Warm Springs Community Wellness Center. A meeting was held last week at the recreational center to dis cuss the future of the Boys and Girls Club at the center. About 30 community members at tended. Greene said the purpose of the meeting was to hear the community's input on whether or not the center and club should be merged. Attendees also shared ideas on improvements. A need for more safety and cultural activi ties were among the suggestions. Also, eliminating fees for youth participants was discussed. Wild horse race to gallop here The Extreme Wild Horse Race Challenge will be held Sat., Sept. 27 in Warm Springs. The race is open to everyone, but there is a 32 team limit. Entries will be open Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Entry fees are $250 per team plus a $25 administration fee for each team. Awards will be given for first to third place. Awards include the Top Mugger Award, Top Rider Award, and Fast Time Award. There is a $2,000 added purse. Some additional activities will be the Youth Wild Colt Race and Women's Calf Scramble for cash. For more information call Sammy at (541) 553-1856 or Alfrcdinc at (541) 553-0442.
