OR. COLL.
E
75
.S68
V. 29
no. 5
March 4,
2004
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
rrn uce
University of Oregon Library
Received on: 03-09-04
Spilyay tymoo.
Coyote News, est. 1976
March 4, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 5
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Tyroo
' ' g
Indian
education
plan slowed
by budget
Plan resurfaces
after years on the shelf
' PORTLAND (AP) - Late in 2003,
Oregon education officials released an
ambitious plan outlining future goals
for the state's American Indian stu
dents, who have persistently higher
dropout rates and lower test scores than
their white and Asian peers.
The 36-page plan, released to school
districts in December, calls for new
curriculum development, teacher train
ing and improved data tracking.
Now, though, the challenge is to
transfer the plan from the page to re
ality, which might be tricky for schools
that are already preoccupied with bud
get cuts and federal regulations.
At Madras High School, where
about one-third of the students live on
the Warm Springs reservation, princi
pal Gary Carlton said that so far, he
hasn't heard much about the new In
dian education plan, and that he would
like to know more.
"Are there big dollars that follow this
kind of thing? Probably not," Carlton
said. "But if it is a good program and
makes sense, this school district I know
has always tried to make this type of
thing happen for its kids."
r " "John Rademachcr, the principal at"
Chiloquin High School near Klamath
Falls, oversees one of the state's high
est concentration of Indian students:
About 45 percent of his student body
have tribal heritage. So far, he said he
hasn't heard or seen much about the
new Indian education plan, although he
would like to.
"We'll take all the help we can get,"
Rademacher said. "We have a group
that have a lot of talents and skills, but
for whatever reason, at times, they are
not as successful as other populations."
The Indian education plan was first
put together in the 1990s, said Brad
Victor, who specializes in Indian edu
cation for the Oregon Department of
Education. The latest version has been
updated, in hopes that it will have more
of an impact.
The new plan does set aside money
for a Department of Education staff
person to focus on Indian education,
at least part-time. But it isn't backed
by other new state or grant funding,
Victor said.
Goals of the new plan include:
Review of school curriculums for
accurate representation of the history
of Oregon's tribes;
Annual visits by Victor or others
from the department of education to
the ten districts in the state that have
the highest enrollment of Indian stu
dents; Better identification of programs
that successfully help Indian students;
Formation of a long-term strategy
to increase the number of Indian
teachers in Oregon; and training for
teachers in schools with high concen
trations of Indian students, on drop
out and pregnancy prevention, and drug
and alcohol education.
So far, Victor said he has put to
gether a Web site focused on Indian
education in Oregon, where teachers
can go to find suggested reading, vid
eos, tribal information and other Web
links. He has also been directed to work
on revamping the fourth grade social
studies curriculum, which includes a
segment on Oregon Indian tribes.
And there has already been a train
ing session for education department
staff, led by tribal educators from
across the state, Victor said.
Eagle-Tech newest tribal enterprise
Eagle-Tech Systems became a new
tribal enterprise, providing the techni
cal services that it previously provided
as the Office of Information Systems
(OIS). Tribal Council approved the
change a few weeks ago.
Eagle Tech System (ETS) will pro
mote a technical work force and infra
structure in Warm Springs through the
Community Telecommunications Cen
ter and contracting opportunities, said
Lloyd Phillips, general manager of ETS.
This change from tribal department
to enterprise makes ETS eligible for
government contracts while limiting the
tribes' liability, said Phillips.
There are three key elements in the
change from OIS to ETS:
First, the project is being phased in
over a two-year period. This will allow
time for tribal departments to assess
their technical support needs, and for
ETS staff to transition to a pay-for-performance
model.
During this period, one of ETS'
objectives will be to improve service
levels to the tribal organization while
reducing costs by 10 percent per year
over three years.
ETS will manage, operate, and main
tain the Community Technology Cen
ter and related facilities, which are be
ing developed using federal grant funds
of nearly $700,000.
The primary service is delivery of
broadband (wireless) services to the
Warm Springs community, including
the tribal organization, businesses and
residents.
Other services provided by or
through this facility will be public ac
cess to 20 or more computers with high
speed Internet, basic instruction on the
use of computers and the Internet, and
possibly some sales and services of
computers.
During the two-year transition, the
emphasis will be on improving techni
cal services to the tribal organization,
and managing the tribes' Community
Telecommunications Center and related
grant functions.
During this period, ETS will explore
and move toward contracting oppor-
r . Till lUUtiSE! -fff!
h Ml ff.W'4: ":-jf.. ii
Dave McMechanSpilyay
Shanena Made (right) helps Felicia Reddog prepare for a traditional dance demonstration. They were part of
a small group that danced at the Madras High School assembly last week.
Districts choose Council nominees
The Simnasho and Seekseequa dis
tricts met on Tuesday evening to choose
nominees for Tribal Council. The
Agency District meeting is set for Mon
day evening, March 8.
For the Simnasho District there are
11 Council nominees. They are:
Raymond Captain Moody,
Raymond Tsumpti, Earl Squiemphen,
Ron Suppah, Tony "Big Rat" Suppah,
Kirby I Ieath Sr., Evans Spino Sr., Emily
Waheneka, Jacob Frank, Barbara Jim,
Gerald Danzuka.
For the Seekseequa District there are
nine nominees. They are:
Ruben Henry, Wilson Wewa, Brenda
Scott, Victor Moses, Julie Quaid,
Lorraine Hintsala, Carol Wewa, Myra
Johnson, Tommy Kalama.
The election is set for March 31,
During the election, the Agency and
Simnasho districts will each elect three
Council members. The Seekseequa
Dsitrict will elect two.
There are 1,284 voters in the
Agency District; 737 in the Simnasho
District; and 177 in Seekseequa, ac
cording to Vital Statistics.
A few more voters may be added
by election time, as some of the
younger people turn the voting age of
21, or get married.
The March 31 election will be at the
polls, except for the off-reservation
voters. (Note: KW'SO radio station pro
vided help with this article.)
tunitics and revenue generation objec
tives. ETS will continue to support
tribal government computers, with a
more customer-oriented approach.
Warm Springs residents and busi
nesses are encouraged to take advan
tage of the new Community Technol
ogy Center that is planned to open in
the fall of 2004, said Phillips.
The center will be open to commu
nity members of all ages - children to
senior citizens, as well as the tribal or
ganization and other groups.
ETS plans to provide high-speed
wireless broadband access to homes and
businesses in the agency area by the
end of this year.
See ENTERPRISE on page 14
Chemawa
warnings
began
years ago
PORTLAND (AP) - The warnings
from federal health officials persisted
over 15 years: drunk students at the
Chemawa Indian School should not be
placed in holding cells to detox.
But Chemawa officials and the fed
eral Bureau of Indian Affairs, which
runs the Salem boarding school, repeat
edly failed to act on those concerns,
according to news sources.
"Placing these students in a holding
room without adequate supervision
presents a potentially dangerous situa
tion that could result in harm to them
selves or others," Dr. Terrence Badiner,
then director of the Portland Area In
dian Health Service office, wrote in a
1991 memo.
He suggested that students would
be better served by community detoxi
fication programs.
His warning was realized on Dec. 6,
when a Warm Springs teenager died of
alcohol poisoning after being placed in
one of the cells.
The FBI is conducting a criminal
investigation into the death of Cindy
Gilbert Sohappy, 16, who had been
drinking that day and was dead when
firefighters rushed to the school at
11:23 p.m.
The newly released documents show
the warnings were extensive. A Decem
ber 2000 memo by a behavioral health
consultant in the Portland IMS office
cited a litany of problems.
See CHEMAWA on page 14
Community gathers to discuss education
By Nat Shaw
Tribal Relations
Tribal Council Chairman Garland
Brunoe held a community round table
meeting on education on February 18.
More than 50 people attended the
meeting held in the Tribal Room at
High Lookee Lodge.
Chairman Brunoe opened the meet
ing by saying, "My intent is to generate
ideas on how our children are going to
get through high school. I would like
to focus on how we can help our chil
dren get through grade twelve."
Brunoe said he would like to come
up with a campaign to get the adult
community back to donating time
working with the children.
Tribal Councilwoman Carol Wewa
was in attendance along with two other
councilwomen, Brenda Scott and
Bernice Mitchell. Early in the meeting,
Scott gave a report on her findings
about the Community- Wellness Cen
ter. She said that the people she talked
to would like to see the old name of
Community Center restored.
In her report, she mentioned there
was water and mold in the basement
and that with all the problems it would
take over $1 million to fix up the build
ing. Scott feels that with a refurbished
building and an emphasis on the youth,
it would provide a better environment
for giving the kids something to do.
Brunoe then called on Wendell Jim,
Education general manager, to give the
group information on the status of the
tribes' high school students. Jim said he
didn't have any specific number, but
there is a significant dropout rate as
well as expulsions.
Jeff Sanders, chairman of the
school board for the 509-J School Dis
trict, was in attendance. Sanders has
served on the board for 15 years, and
said the problem with tribal youth in
the school district is very complex.
"Our kids are getting bad grades, be
ing expelled, and so on," he said.
He went on to say that the com
plexity is due to the social environment,
housing, drugs, alcohol, and the learn
ing environment among other things.
Sanders said, "We need to get in
volved. If we don't have educated
people to take us into the 21" Century,
we are in trouble."
Sanders commented that when his
generation was young, "Our family was
the focal point. We didn't have TVs or
cars. We have lost our focal point."
Brunoe interjected that he had re
cently talked with the chairman of the
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla about
education problems among Native
Americans.
The Umatilla chairman felt that
many of the problems were genera
tional. This encompasses many reali
ties that Indians have lived with over
the years - such things as discrimina
tion, moving to reservations and board
ing schools replacing parents. In board
ing schools children could not speak
their language and even had to cut their
hair.
At that point in the round table dis
cussion, Brunoe asked for a show of
hands of all who had attended the 509
J school district. He then asked how
many had finished, and then how many
had gone on to higher education.
It was mentioned that many people
in the community- agreed that Warm
Springs should have their own school
district.
Julie Kalama Quaid, former direc
tor of the Early Childhood Education
Center, mentioned that the people have
the option of sending their children to
other schools.
She said, "Yes, our kids deserve a
new school. The people voted for a new
school but the Tribal Council hasn't
delivered in four years."
Quaid said that a vote is meaning
less. "People need to be honest with
each other as to why this school wasn't
built."
See EdUCATION on past 14