E Coosh EEWA: The my it is
Page 4- Spilysy Tymoo December 25, 2003
Letters to the Editor
A safer place
After reading the Oregonian
articles I asked myself: Is this
"A Place Where Children Die"?
True or False. Each of us has
his or her own perspective on
the role of tradition and culture
in relationship to modern day
life. Each of us struggles with
daily life: needing groceries, pay
ing the light bill, needing a tank
of gas, a family member sick
and needing to go to the clinic
or hospital, kids needing lunch
money, shoes for school sports,
and needing help with their
homework.
How do we meet all these
needs? We don't, but we do the
best we can. Then face another
day. I think it was courageous
, for those who were interviewed
and quoted in the Oregonian
articles, to share their feelings,
thoughts and observations re
garding the safety of our chil
dren here in Warm Springs. I
want to share my thoughts about
things many of us are doing to
make this a safe place to live:
Send our children to school
and make sure they graduate.
Help family members cope
with hard times.
Help our students with
homework.
Use child safety seats prop
erly. Use seat belts and ask our
passengers to buckle up.
Know where our children are
after school and on weekends.
Visit the schools and get to
know the teachers, principals and
counselors.
Visit spiritual leaders for ad
vice. Attend General Council
meetings and school board
meetings to voice concerns.
Encourage our children to
participate in the cultural and
traditions and spiritual life of
our people.
I wonder why the Oregonian
wrote these articles about Warm
Springs, but what I really want
to see are changes to make life
better for our children. These
changes need to take place in
the courts, CPS, alcohol and drug
Birthday,
Izzy (Gamps), Wishing you a
very Happy Birthday on December
26. Hope we share many more to
gether, Love ya, Faye.
Iz, happy birthday. Hope
you have many more. Always,
Tee, Tana, Joe and Chan.
I'm writing this short note
sending my holiday greetings as
well as my new year's blessings to
the families that will always remain
in my daily thoughts. Much love
and much respect to:
Debbie & Elmer Scott Jr., April
& Kywon Scott (Little Man), Jes
sica Sr. and John Finch, Jessica Jr.
Si Le'vaughn and Angelique Kirk,
Jamie & Chum Baily & their rez
(the kids), Iva Meanus and Rosa
Brown, Harold & Yvonne
Pennington & their rez (the kids),
Madeline Baker, Maxine McKinley
& Teresa McKinley, Rosanne &
Maximeno McKinley, Marlene
Frank, Annette Frank, Lillian
Frank, Carol Frank, Diane Florez,
Daisy Gilbert, Vera S., Katie S.,
Ziggy S., Aaron Hart, Triva
Samson, Jacob Samson, Reuben
Garcia, Charlie Strom. Now to the
younger side of my family, ladies
first, Trivia P., Priscilla P., Erica P.,
Tita C, Monica C, Vanessa C, I-ctri
B., Bianca B., Rosie A., Marci A,,
homcboys next, Jaime B., Anto
May. the joy of
jfrom
Sam Howard,
programs, the public schools,
and tribal government.
But most of all, these changes
need to take place with each of
us as individual tribal members.
Happy holidays.
Urbana "Toto" Ross
News coverage
As a member of the
Chickasaw Nation, I write in
regard to the very slanted series,
"A Place Where Children Die."
Death in Indian Country be
gan with the genocide of my
ancestors and their relations,
when those from other lands
claimed our land as their own
in the name of the Christian
God.
If our systems are "fatally
flawed," I give "good faith and
full credit" to those whose Su
preme Court findings resulted
in today's federal Indian policies.
Your articles do nothing more
than reinforce the negative ste
reotypes that we have fought
since the arrival of a lost Span
iard. Some of us have assimi
lated rather nicely, by your stan
dards, and are successful busi
nessmen and women, Why did
you not focus on the accom
plishments of my relations? Or
does that not sell papers?
Inflammatory headlines de
pict my relations as savage
people who do not care for their
children. There are numerous
non-Indians who are drug ad
dicts and extremely neglectful.
Our sovereignty is under at
tack. You have done nothing to
help a bad situation but have
made it worse by providing a
"legitimate" voice to old stereo
types. Theresa Keeney (Looks
Twice Woman), Southeast
Pordand
A thank you
This letter is in regard to the
raffle to benefit my journey to
Rapid City, S.D. Thanks to the
following for their support, and
they were also winners in the
raffle.
Stuffed Christmas Bear,
Cody Stacona.
Christmas and other wishes
Smokey Bear and the staff at
Fire Management would like to
wish everyone a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New
Year. Stay safe and enjoy your
time with friends and family.
nio B., Armondo B., Javier G.,
Hector C, Leonardo C, Theodore
A., Steven A., Danny A., Rudy
Paul, Jr. Lets get to the rest of the
young bloods here at U.S. P.
Lompac, Big Mike, Indio, Donney,
Cisco, Bow, Big Nez, Ira, Doc, Bran
don, Kookic, Jeff, Chewy, King,
LiP Chris, Lil Mike, Bear, Tim,
Bobby, Delmare, Donnie, Sice, Spi
der, Boon and the list goes on.
If I forgot some names "my
bad," just enjoy your Christmas
and New Year. We'll celebrate an
other time together "chief style."
Also I would like to wish a very
special lady that was once in my life
and the memories we once made a
very special Merry Christmas and a
New Year's to come. Most impor
tantly the new year of "99, I'm sure
you remember that one Jolena W.
I do remember it like it was yester
day. Here's my address:
'Ronald McKinley 65363
065 United States Penitentiary 3901
Klein Boulevard Lompoc, Califor
nia 93436.
Christmas be
with you always
Spilyay Tymoo
ad department
Selena Boise
Woolen shawl, mug, truffles,
children's activity set, Marge
Hyde.
Salmon basket, children's ac
tivity set, Georgianne George.
Horse vapas, Virgil Culps.
Christmas ornament from the
Holy Land, Lois Layte.
Silver earrings, Tsyick.
Woven miniature wupus and
earring Set, Margaret Charley.
Miniature drum ornament,
Larissa McConville.
Candy basket, Teeny Tappo.
I thank the children that were
doing the drawing on Dec. 6;
Harry and Pat Miller's grandchil
dren and the little Wasco danc
ers. I thank Beulah Tsumpti and
Dora Goudy-Smith for the
items they contributed to the
raffle. There were numerous
people that purchased a ticket
or two or even more - thank
you to everyone that supported
my journey. It gave me a great
pleasure to be in the company
of my nominee and our elder,
Adeline Miller; and to witness
Adeline receive a first class wel
come by the First People's Fund
Organization and the people of
Rapid City. She rode in a limou- ,
sine. She was in the company
of the singing group, Ulali and
the other famous people of In
dian Country. Adeline, you de
serve the First People's Fund
Award - enjoy it and once again,
Congratulations! Te-Minsh
Productive year
Niix Pacwai. It has been
nearly a year now since I began
to serve in the capacity of di
rector of Warm Springs Central
Oregon Community College.
When I first was approached six
years ago about working part
time in Warm Springs, I told the
director that I wanted his job
upon his retirement.
The Creator smiled upon me
and that position is now mine.
I am very grateful for the sup
port and smiles of so many
friends and colleagues here.
Because of you, COCC has had
a very productive year and I
hope has served the community
well.
This poem I have given to someone very special awhile back but I
would like to send it out to my sister Lillian Jo, wanting you to know
that I love you so very much and to keep your head up girl! Can we
ever give someone else all they desire from us? Of course not. Our
satisfactions must come from within ourselves. But too often, too
many of us look to others for the striking we desire rather than
getting it from a feeling of accomplishment. Too many friendships are
based upon these terrible needs of one person and friendships such as
these never last, for they are based upon a false notion - that the other
can fulfill our emotional needs. Too often we become demanding
when the other does not fulfill these needs. The pain of discovery -the
point at which we realize that we asked too much of this friend
ship, that we asked too much of the other person, that we expected
the impossible - this is the point at which "friendships" are very often
ended for good.
Surely each of us remembers a time of having met someone
whom we thought to be just absolutely everything we admired in
another.
We never thought it would be possible to find someone who had
all of these wonderful qualities and suddenly we felt so lucky to be
becoming friends with them. But as time moved along, we began to
see flaws in the other, flaws we wished weren't there, flaws we can't
accept, because we thought the other person, as it's their fault we saw
them as perfect when they weren't, Unfortunately, our own immatu
rity doesn't permit us to see that the fault was ours, because our
expectations were far beyond reasonable or even normal. Perhaps the
most common error all of us make is that we seek to find a perfect
person. We are all looking for one who is loving, kind, compassionate,
generous, loyal, fun-loving, just, unselfish, always willing to help one
another, one who is committed to all ideal, one who lives by the
Golden Rule, and one ...this one... who is our friend.
We all seek this person, because it is what we want to be and when
we meet another who might have several of these characteristics, as
most of us do, we suddenly think about that person as having ALL
of these sterling qualities. And it is at this juncture that we forget that
we only assumed that to be true. But we conduct our friendship along
those lines, that is, until a few cracks appear and we see that this
person wc idealized has flaws also. And with this sister I would like
to say to you and your friends Merry Christmas 2003! Much love from
your younger sister Angeline.
Here are a few of the suc
cesses you have made possible:
Enrollment in COCC classes
in Warm Springs has increased
by approximately 70 percent.
This includes credit and non
credit classes.
We served 83 students this
year and that number is in Warm
Springs; this does not even in
clude the 39 students from
Warm Springs studying in Bend.
Our GED program has also
enjoyed tremendous success.
Registration in that program has
risen 56 percent since January
2003. Ten students finished their
GED this year and we antici
pate that number will double in
2004;
Our Tribes, Treaties, &
Truths series proved so popu
lar this fall that we are repeat
ing it in winter term. In all of
our classes this year, the per
centage of tribal members at
tending was very high indeed:
over 91 percent.
All of these numbers repre
sent significant increases over
last year and these results could
not have occurred without the
outpouring of community sup
port COCC has received from
all of you. To everyone who has
given me an encouraging word,
prayer, a remedy, or a cheerful
thought, I say a very sincere
thank you.
I am looking forward to an
even better year in 2004.
COCC will be offering Math 20,
Flint Toolmaking, You CAN
Change Your Body, and Tribes,
Treaties, & Truths, all in winter
term. Please do contact me with
any suggestions for spring term.
COCC is here to serve you.
Cody Yeager, COCC
Warm Springs Director 553-1428.
Museum
The Museum At Warm
Springs would like to acknowl
edge and say thank you to the
November Fitness Challenge
Team - Winner's for the year
2003. Thank you all for your
participation. Team members
were Alberta Comedown,
Natalie Kirk, Rhonda Atencio,
Carol Leone, Dora Goudy
Smith, Beulah Tsumpti, Cody
Yeager, Debbie Stacona, Gerald
Sampson, Jr., Evaline Patt, Levi
an Pelt, Tim Smith, Rosalind
Sampson, Carla and Hobo Patt.
Great job. Your 2003 Team Cap
tain: Alberta Comedown.
New home
To all who have helped,
Hello there, my family, and I
would just like to send out a big
thank you to all of you folks
who have helped us in getting
into our new home.
It felt like it had been a long
drug-out, stressed-out process at
times, but in the end, we are
very happy with our new home.
However, they did go out of
their way to make things right
and to ensure our happiness
with our new house. We appre
ciate that.
With much respect and ap
preciation, we'd like to thank the
following for their help in get
ting us there.
Bruce Engle of Tribal Credit;
Tom Strong, the Housing In
spector; Frank Dunten, the
Project Engineer; Chilkat Enter
prises (Kelly, Pinky, Waylon &
Employees); the Realty Depart
ment; Terry Courtney Jr. (sur
veyor); our employer the Con
federated Tribes of Warm
Springs Forestry Department;
our supervisors Doug Manion
and Bob Gill for allowing us to
take the time from work needed
to get things rolling along.
All the involved approving
committees and tribal council
for approving our lease and
house. All those folks who
signed our building permit and
anybody else who we may have
forgotten but were involved in
the process.
We'd like to thank all of you
again and we wish everyone out
there a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Michael, Yvette (Twink)
Leecy and Kids (Tanner,
Karlen, Yolanda)
I would like to wish my daugh
ters and my sister a belated birth
day. To my youngest daughter
Whitney Mae Goodlance, happy
birthday, Nov. 21.
To my oldest daughter Kendra
Reanne Meanus, happy birthday
Nov. 30.
To my sis Madene Meanus, on
Dec. 1.
I also want to tell my dear
friend who I miss so much, happy
birthday to Judy "sweet stuff"
Kalama.
I thank you again for your rime.
With respect and happy holi
days to everyone back home from
Michael Lone Meanus 65571
065 United States Penitentiary 3901
Klein Boulevard Lompoc, Califor
nia 93436.
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year Cheryl,
Holly and Gus. From Dave.
Spilyay Tymoo
CCoyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Management Successor: Selena T. Boise
Advertising Manager: Sam Howard
Receptionist: Angie Blackwolf
Media Advisor: Bill Rhoades
Spilyay Tymoo Is published bi-weekly by the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs. Our offices are located in the white house at 1100
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should be addressed to:
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In loving
memory
To Pebbles, my sister,
my friend,
You were there with me
until the end.
I woke up thinking of
you today,
I was getting ready to
visit because I had plenty
to say.
Then I remembered
you're not with us any
more,
So I sat down and won
dered "Why go out the
door."'
Last year our families
came together as one,
To share the holidays,
and your birthday, we had
so much fun.
Our dreams of the fu
ture, as where we would
be,
A year ago we thought
we had two more years,
maybe three,
To watch our children
and grandchildren grow
up right.
Little did we know how
hard you would fight,
The illness that took
over, the doctors you
would see,
Held little hope that
we'd be celebrating an
other year as a family. ''''
But you're in a place
where there's no more
hurts and pain,
A beautiful place where
angels roam and Jesus
reigns.
Your girls are doing well
and you can be proud as
can be,
They are growing up
and taking responsibility.
I miss you very much
and often wish you were
here,
But all I have to do is
look at your girls and
know you are near.
I can hear you in their
laughter and listen as they
talk,
Telling of things that
happened in their daily
walk.
They come to church
and go to school every day,
They've been a God
send to us, so don't worry
okay?
We'll see you one day
when we're called home
up above,
So until then, we've got
memories that are filled
with love.
Love and miss you very
much Pebbles.
Tina