University of Oregon Library
Received on: 10-16-03
Spilyay tymoo.
OR. COLL.
E
75
S68
v. 28 S A
no. 20 j( '' vD
October '
2, 2003 ff
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ma
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
October 2, 2003 Vol. 28, No. 20
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Splygy
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District gatherings to focus on
The tribal budget will be the main
topic of discussion at the upcoming
meeting of the Seekseequa District.
The Seekseequa gathering is set for
Tuesday, Oct. 7 at the Agency
Longhouse.
Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with
the meeting to follow. The agenda item
is the 2004 tribal budget.
The Simnasho and Agency districts
Sale will showcase
reservation horses
By D. "Bing" Bingham
Spilyay Tymoo
Horse owners of the Confeder
ated Tribes will be hosting the first
annual Horse Sale at the Warm
Springs rodeo grounds. The sale will
begin at noon on Saturday, Oct. 11.
"This sale is something that needed
to happen years ago," says Jason
Smith, horse owner and manager of
tribal Range and Ag.
Outside of private sales, the only
opportunity to market reservation
horses has been at the two nearby
livestock auctions in Madras and The
Dalles.
Most of the time, when horses
are sold at these facilities, they go to
a killer buyer for slaughter. Horse
meat is used in animal food and con
sumed by the public in Europe.
While this is a recognized niche mar
ket for horses, it isn't always the most
profitable.
. "There are so many other people
who are interested in a horse as a
horse, rather than a killer buyer,"
continues Smith. "We give an oppor
tunity for other people to buy them,
maybe they'll go to a home, ranch,
bucking string or whatever it might
be."
Increased marketing opportunities
for tribal resources is the goal, says
Smith.
"We want to show the world that
we're horse people. Although there
is a spot for the killer buyer, because
there's a cull population out there too,
we want to allow other people to buy
Four young lives lost in recent
Four young people of the Warm
Springs community have passed away
over the past few weeks.
Three of the youths were teenag
ers, and one was an infant.
Two of the teenagers died in motor
vehicle accidents, and the third passed
away from a cause as yet unknown.
The cause of the death of the in
fant is thought to have been by sudden
infant death syndrome, SIDS.
The series of untimely deaths be
gan in the Sidwalter area on Sept. 16,
with the passing of Ricky Baca, who
Rare opportunity for
Tribal members will have an ex
clusive opportunity this month to
obtain bighorn sheep hunting tags.
Two tags will be issued through
the state of Oregon, during a spe
cial drawing on Monday, Oct. 6, at
the tribal Natural Resources office.
The two tags are being offered
through the state in compliance with
treaty rights for hunting on ceded
lands,
One of the tags will be issued for
the lower John Day River, and the
other will be for the lower Deschutes
River.
Both seasons run from Saturday,
will hold their budget meetings at a later
time, most likely during the middle to
later part of October.
Tribal Council posted the proposed
2004 budget last month.
The budget outlook for next year
includes the continuing downward trend
in revenue. A weak log market is part
of the problem.
There is a planned reduction of
our horses," Smith contends.
The horse sale comes at a good
time. Horse numbers are high on
the reservation because prices have
been so low. "We're trying to bring
the market price up with this sale,"
Smith says.
The tribal Range and Ag Com
mittee, a big supporter of the sale,
figures the time is right to protect
range resources because of the
drought conditions during the last
three to four years.
"Some of the range isn't in the
condition it would be if we had nor
mal snowfall and rain," Smith said.
It's not all about protecting re
sources and maximizing income.
"We wanted to put Warm Springs
on the map," says Smith. "We
wanted to put together a big deal so
people from all around (the Pacific
Northwest) could come and see
what we have for horses."
Warm Springs horses are a tough
bunch. They have a reputation for
strong legs, hard feet and low main
tenance. "Some horses you need to shoe
all the time, they need hay in front
of them all the time," Smith says.
"With our horses, you can put them
just about anywhere and they take
care of themselves."
A big cost of keeping a horse is
the maintenance. Hoof trimming
and shoeing needs to be done about
every six to eight weeks. Hay is a
year round expense unless the horse
can run on pasture or range.
See HORSE SALE on 10
had moved here from Colorado.
Baca collapsed onto the floor of the
house of family members living at
Sidwalter. He was transported by am
bulance to the Indian Health Services
clinic in Warm Springs, where he was
pronounced as deceased.
The autopsy report from the State
Medical Examiner's Office, which will
state the cause of death, is still pend
ing Two days later 18-year-old Oswald
Tias was killed in single-vehicle motor
vehicle accident northwest of Warm
. C "! -
.-""NX " .
Bighorn sheep
Oct. 18 to Sunday, Oct. 26.
Tribal members interested in hunt
ing bighorn sheep on ceded lands
$975,000 in the tribal budget for 2004,
if no new revenue sources are found.
This reduction is similar to the
$900,000 reduction required in the cur
rent year budget.
One potential new source of rev
enue for the tribes next year would be
through additional contracting of BIA
and IHS services.
In this scenario the tribes could ne
it
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Bing BinghamSpilyay
Red Sky Suppah was among the drummers at the recent Lake Billy Chinook
Day celebration, which this year marked its tenth anniversary. As in past
years, the Quartz Creek Edutainment dance and drum group performed during
the day's activities. Lake Billy Chinook Day is a mix of entertainment, cultural
and scientific education, and care for the lake.
Springs.
Tias was driving alone when he lost
control of his car. The vehicle left the
highway and came to rest about 50 feet
away. Mr. Tias passed away at the scene
of the accident.
Just a few days later an infant of a
Warm Springs family passed away from
an apparent case of SIDS.
Then early in the morning hours of
Wednesday, Sept. 24, Florence Starr,
age 18, died in a motor vehicle acci
dent. The accident happened on Holly
hunters
should apply through the Natural
Resources office prior to the Oct.
6 drawing.
In order to be eligible for the big
horn tags, hunters must be an en
rolled member of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs.
Youth between 12 and 17 years
of age must possess a Hunters
Safety Certificate.
Hunters will be required to
know and abide by all laws and regu
lations governing these tags.
The tags will only be valid for
the Oregon hunt units listed on the
tag.
budget
gotiate with IMS and BIA toward
agreements that would improve co
ordination between tribal and fed
eral services at Warm Springs. At the
same time such agreements would
result in an overall increase in con
tract support revenues to the Con
federated Tribes. The tribes already
contract for sizeable portions of BIA
and IHS services.
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is
weeks
wood Boulevard near Kuckup Street.
Officers responding to the scene found
Ms. Starr deceased at the scene.
Two passengers in the vehicle were
transported to Mountain View Hospi
tal. One of the passengers suffered only
minor injuries, while the other suffered
a serious head injury, and was trans
ported by Air Life to St. Charles Medi
cal Center in Bend.
Police said that alcohol appears to
have been a factor in this accident. Also,
seatbelts were not being used, accord
ing to police.
Census begins
The tribes are set to begin conduct
ing a census of the reservation popu
lation starting next week.
A kickoff event for the census is
scheduled for 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct.
9, at the Museum at Warm Springs.
Door prizes and a meal will be pro
vided, along with an introduction of
the Census Team.
Once under way, the census should
take between six weeks and two
mouths to complete.
The tribal census, funded by a fed
eral grant, is necessary because a sig
nificant number of residences on the
reservation may have gone uncounted
during the 2000 U.S. Census.
9
Police duty
can run
in circles
By D. "Bing" Bingman
Spilyay Tymoo
Earlene Tufti, a six year veteran of
the Warm Springs Police Department,
drives in circles for a living.
First she goes through the trailer
courts, campus area and Upper Dry
Creek. Then she heads for Sunnyside,
Wolf Point and Miller Flats. She doesn't
forget the West Hills.
After that, she turns around.
Slowly, she rolls through the cam
pus area, Sidwalter and Miller Flats.
Later on, she tours the trailer courts,
Wolf Point and the West Hills. She takes
a moment to spend some extra time
poking around Upper Dry Creek.
That's how police work is accom
plished - patrol and prevention, seeing
and being seen.
She and her fellow officers spend
about 75 to 80 percent of their time
making sure members of the commu
nity see them drive by.
"Sometimes it can be busy, you're
going from call to call," she says. "Other
days you have to actually look for some
thing to do."
Most people are mostly honest.
Sometimes, though, if someone's in a
hurry or had a little too much to drink,
it's all too easy to try sneaking home or
exceeding the speed limit - especially
if they think they won't get caught.
"" ThatV why Tufti varies her circles
every time. Community members
never know for sure where or when
she's going to pop up next.
And while the community is seeing
her, she's looking back - for anything
that looks out of place. It might be a
car going too slow, a window open where
it wasn't before, or a child crying when
it should be happy. She's looking for
something that's different, something
that doesn't fit.
If that happens, she stops and asks
questions. Most of the time
everything's fine. If there's a problem,
she's there and on top of it.
Tufti's passion is keeping drinking
drivers off the road.
"I'd rather look for drunk drivers
than anything else, just to get them off
the road," she says, "so they won't hurt
themselves or anybody else."
Even with all the problems caused
by drinking and driving, she'll still give
them a chance:
"I try to give someone an opportu
nity to go somewhere before taking
them to jail," she says. If they become
belligerent, uncooperative or have no
where to go, she has no choice but to
take them to jail.
When Tufti's done, she heads back
out on the street. She gets in her car
and starts driving in circles. She heads
for Upper Dry Creek. Then she mo
tors over to Sidwalter and to the West
Mills.
See POLICE on page 10
week of Oct. 6
As many as 200 housing units on
the Warm Springs Reservation may
have been missed in the U.S. Census
for the year 2000.
I laving a more accurate population
estimate is important for the tribes, be
cause grant and other funding, such as
transportation money, is based on popu
lation, Because of the importance of an
accurate count, everyone on the reser
vation should be aware that the census
is taking place, and that full participa
tion will benefit all families of the Con
federated Tribes.
See page 5 for more information on the
Tribal Census.
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