Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2003)
Spilyqy Tymoo, IVqm? Springs, Reservation By D. "Bing" Bingham Spilyay Tjmoo Reaction to the articles in The Orego nian was sure and swift on the reservation. The emotions ran the gamut from anger to sadness to a commitment to make changes. There was even resignation: "At first it just really made me ill to see our people plastered all over the paper. I got so mad I wouldn't read a lot of the ; articles," says Myra Johnson. "After the an ger comes the reasoning and you think, 'What good can come of this?'" Wilson Wewa Jr. sees the articles as a wake-up call. : "It's probably true that a lot of deaths have occurred on our reservation, and it has come to the point where some of us have become numb to the number of deaths that are occurring," said Wewa. 'Half the story The series began in The Oregonian on Sunday, Dec. 7, and continued for the next four days. While it was common knowledge v; on the reservation thai- rennrfprs frnm Thp t .. Oregonian had been asking questions here for about a year, the result was something of a shock and many felt it told only part of the story. "I feel the articles are only half the story," . says Austin Greene. "There are obviously , ' more caring people in the organization who aic uuiy uumg puMuvc tilings lur our com munity, youth and families." when asked about the articles, people , haven't minded letting their feelings be ; known. Some people were upset with pho i , tos in the series, because they were still in mourning for relatives who had died. Oth ers were unhappy with the idea of the tribes' dirty laundry being aired in front of the whole state. "I thought the articles were pretty nega tive," said Oliver Kirk. "They put the reser vation in a bad light to the public." Kirk , didn't like the idea of the articles from the beginning. "I'm glad I didn't make myself available to be interviewed," he says. "A re ; porter tried, but I redirected him elsewhere." When the hurt and anger are finished, the questions and the need for answers start. "I think it's something our tribe needs to look at." savs Mvra Tnlmsnn. "Tn rpallv lnnl- at our people, to talk to our people and lis ' ten to their valued opinions." All too often these questions elicit the opinion that there is a lack of communica tion on the reservation - top to bottom and back to the top, department to department, and between individuals. "Some of the attitudes are, "Why say any thing? They're not going to do anything, they're going to do what they want to do,'" says Johnson. Despair. Why say anything or do any thing if nothing gets done? That leads to ' finger pointing in every direction. People expressed anger and frustration about the lack of money in tribal coffers to imnlpmpnt rhnnnne Johnson has an idea: "Money isn't the answer," she says. "It's the ability to com municate with our people and to reinsert tribal values, culture and tradition, so we can continue to survive. We've survived for the last five hundred years based on our values, languages and our culture." torn Computer Computer Hobby corner RC trucks, planes Model's, paint Model Railroads Rockets Oregon reacts to Oregonian series "I think it helped to open people's eyes." Darryl Smith, Purchasing Department "I thought it was bad that they came here and did that, because a lot of families were hurt by it." Karla Kalama, Recreation Department activity aid "I felt they could have fo cused more on the positive than the negative... But it is true we need more for the kids. We still don't have a new school or new commu nity center. And we need to remember that raising chil dren is the parents' respon sibility, they can't rely on the system to raise children." Lovie Ike, Police officer Concepts Sales, Service and Repair i . 4 ) NO MM f . 1 I " Computer Accessories Palmain Internet Server $19.95 unlimited access 81 SE 5th Street Madras, OR 9774 (541) 475-3093 December 25, 200S Youth reaction "I think it's a total exaggeration," says Madras High School senior August Scott. "I know there are deaths in the Warm Springs community, but there are deaths in every community. I don't think it's a dangerous place to live, and I grew up here." With few exceptions Native students at Madras I ligh School felt like they'd been picked on and singled out. "The articles might be accurate, but they're offensive," said junior Michael Bobb. "Most of those people in the articles are family members. The re porters are questioning deaths saying, ."Why do so many young ones die on the reservation?' Growing up Indian, we were taught never to question death, regardless of the circumstances of how they die, when or why. I was taught never to question it. It just is." He goes on, "To solve a problem, you don't exploit it. You solve it from the inside and work your way out. To exploit it just puts pressure on the spot right then and there to solve it. Regard less of whether or not the reporters started writing good stuff about us, the Warm Springs Reservation has a repu tation of killing young ones. It's not de served." Not everyone feels betrayed. Leland George says he thinks the reservation was portrayed accurately, and he's not sure why everyone's so upset by it. "The reporter Brent Walth came to me and asked me and I told him how it was," he says. Photos a problem However, the photos of deceased friends did make Leland George un comfortable. His year of mourning wasn't finished. He understands the mourning tradition of not displaying or viewing a photo for a year after a per son is deceased. "But some people don't know that. They wouldn't understand it. It's just how it is," he says. "It's how we were taught. I know I'm not supposed to see ' ' a picture for a year, so my yearbook is put up now." On the whole Michael Bobb feels The Oregonian reporters spent too much time talking to people who are well known locally. "They didn't talk to average fami lies on the reservation," he says. "They didn't really get the whole story. They only got about half." Now that the articles are out, Leland George says that for him everything on the reservation is about the same -with one possible exception. After read ing the article on his grandmother Lucinda Green, he has a lot more re spect for her. "She's really way up there," he said. ALL FURNITURE II rC i Cm II I A X till 1 mm; R lr M Depending upon coupon drown from Trcoswc Chest Coupon ood thru 12-31 II T. Sale through December IP 525 S.E. 5th St., Madras OR 475-2578 I Reasons 0rcctins$ from Dave Hamilton your low price leader Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Jeep DcsertVallef : WW GARDEN CENTER Ornaments, gift certificates, cut & live trees, hot drinks & cookies Tel: (541) 475-5306 Fax: (541) 475-5309 365 N.E. Meadowtark Ln Madras, Oregon 97741 Glenn Sites & Reeder LLP Madras General Law Practice TfcUj Sr grr' jfc" 205 S.E. 5th Street, Madras, 475-2272 Warm Springs Power Enterprise's wishes everyone a 3iappj 3oCicCay Season On line catalog PRINTING Tribal Business Cards Business Forms EnvelopesLetterheads Raffle Tickets ron For Conventions, Workshops Sports Awards, Pow-wow, Golf Toum. Child Awards, Giveaways, Gaming caps, pens, t-shirts, mugs, bags, etc. Embroidery screen printing) Hand-painted murals and designing. Signage: Wood, plastic, metal, & vinyl graphics ei promotions Coll 923-6377 Warm Springs Presbyterian Church Pastor Rick Ribeiro WorshiP " P.O. Box 869 10 a.m. 1141 Warm Springs St. (campus) Bible Wed. Warm Springs, OR 97761 7p.m. (541)553-1237 os$& Af. drwl rip r J 3 L Sign up to win a Stereo component 9 am - 6 pm M-F II 9 am - 3 om Sat. Closed Sundays PqgeS ,R 1-4 1 W I 1 Jl