Page 6
Spilyqy Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon.
March 18, 2004
(US .' i
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Leona Ike
I am Lcona Adcle Ike. I am
of Warm Springs, Wasco and
Yakama descent. My Indian
name is Mi'twi. I was blessed by
rny elders and received the
name of my late great grand
mother Lena Colwash of
Yakama. I am 42 years old and
will soon turn 43. 1 am the proud
mother of Jonathan, Mario and
Julius Smith. I have one grand
son. Me is the light of my life
and his name is Keshawn. I have
several stepchildren and grand
children that I love dearly.
I have a degree in law en
forcement and criminal justice,
and a degree in general studies.
I have been the supervisor of
Parole and Probation for the
Public Safety Branch for nearly
II years. I am state certified.
Prior to that I was a police of
ficer, legal secretary court clerk,
shelter-parent fofyojuth, and
administrative secrctarj'. During
my break from college, I
worked through the Education
Branch and was employed in
Corrections and as a special
prosecutor. I was appointed to
the Jefferson County Prison
Advisory Board for two terms,
one year then a five-year term.
I was appointed to the Board
of Directors for Warm Springs
Gaming. 1 am currently a mem
ber of the Native American
Advisory Board for Jefferson
County, Jefferson County
Methamphetamine Task Force,
and Jefferson County juvenile
Prevention Coalition.
I encourage all eligible vot
ers to vote at this important elec
tion for the new Council. There
are many issues and concerns
voiced by our members, but the
power, for change lies in the
hands of all voters in all dis
tricts. Whether you vote for me
or any other candidate, please
vote. Change is in your hands.
I firmly believe politics is kill
ing our people and leaving those
of us remaining behind with
doubts in our leadership. Not to
make critical changes as needed
hurt our members in the long
run. This was evident by the
articles in the Oregonian and the
overwhelming number of chil
dren we lost due to our negli
gence. However, we all know,
we are not just losing our chil
dren, we are losing many young
adults also to suicide and alco
holdrug related incidents.
When an employee of our
tribe is not fulfilling their duties
in good faith and with compas
sion for the people, our children
and families are always at the
losing end.
Every day that our employ
ees accept compensation for
their job, they are promising to
do their job to the best of their
ability. When they fail to do their
job, then they fail all of us. It is
evident when we put our young
away. However, we must re
member, we need to be account
able for our children and our
families and we must recapture
our love for one another.
Alc.ohol and drugs play a
major role in tribal turmoil, but
as a tribe, we have the ability to
change this. One family at a time,
and with hope and spirituality,
we can turn this around.
Individually, we must believe
in ourselves and take hold of
our individual spirituality. We
have many churches, and two
longhouses, but we must take
hold and have the belief that we
don't need four walls to keep
us close to our Creator.
God is with us all the time.
Each day that we make it
through another day, we need
to remember to thank Him for
that blessing.
Most of all we need to be
kind to one another. The simple
act of kindness can change the
pathway of someone's life.
See LEONA IKE on page 12
Lonnie James
My name is Lonnie James.
My mother is Theda Whalawitsa
(Aguilar) and we are descendents
of Billy Chinook through my
mother's mother. I feel honored
with the opportunity to write this
statement to hopefully win your
favor at the upcoming elections
for Tribal Council. I hope I can
express my feelings accurately
and that you will give me a
chance to serve our community
in this manner.
I currently operate a business
in the local area and serve on
the boards of the Warm Springs
Area Chamber of Commerce as
treasurer, and the Warm Springs
Community Action Team as a
volunteer board member. I
graduated from high school in
Madras and I have university
degrees from Portland State
University (Bachelor of Science
in Finance with minors in Eco
nomics and Technical Writing)
and the University of Cincinnati
(Master of Business Adminis
tration, dual concentrations in
Finance and Information Sys
tems). Prior to starting in business
on the reservation, I worked for
the Confederated Tribes in the
Finance Branch and the Enter
prise Branch, as well as at Kah-Nee-Ta.
In addition, I've
worked for the Oregon State
System of Higher Education at
both Portland State University
and the Oregon I Iealth Sciences
University. My last job, outside
the tribe and before I returned
to Warm Springs, was at Procter
& Gamble in their headquarters
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
There is so much to say about
how I hope to serve our tribe. I
feel deeply that we, as tribal
members, must put forward the
effort to make our home the
best place it can be, I volunteer
my time to pitch in and learn
more about how people feel and
what efforts are being made to
make it that better place. I try
to help others in their efforts to
deal with our complex and
rushed lifestyles, even as 1 try
and cope with the same prob
lems. I strongly believe that we
should try and understand
where we can find common
ground in dealing with our prob
lems rather than drawing bound
aries and dwelling on that which
separates us. With that said, I
would like to explain how I feel
on some of the issues that we
face as a tribe.
First, I believe that education
is ultimately the most important
legacy that we can give to our
tribes' children. Our young
people must have the tools to
master the future. They must
also understand where we've
come from so that we don't lose
our connection to our ancestors
or our land. I think we should
better help them prepare for the
challenges that life will pose -provide
good career counseling
and meaningful summer intern
ships. I believe that we should
partner with outside entities to
help guide our children and
graduates find jobs outside the
reservation for a couple of
years to help them see how the
outside world works - and how
successful companies deal with
problems and let them connect
with people who will help them
grow as well-rounded individu
als. Second, another of our main
concerns is, and always has been,
employment. We need to expand
our employment base while
maintaining our present enter
prises. We need to find new busi
nesses that will bring outside
money to the reservation. To do
that, we need to be able to as
sure potential partners that their
investment is safe and that both
the Tribes and the investors can
profit successfully. I believe we
should work towards a legal
framework that can assure in
vestors in the safety of their in
vestment while maintaining our
people's legal rights with regard
to their property and the tribe's
sovereignty. In addition to po
tential business development,
the proper legal framework
could help us address our hous
ing issue. By allowing outside
funding onto the reservation for
housing, a greater variety of
housing options and price com
petition would help to keep
people voluntarily on the reser
vation and allow people to de
velop a sense of pride in the
community and where they live.
I believe that unsafe and stressful
over-crowding of housing units
contribute to many of out prob
lems related to health and safety.
See LONNIE JAMES on 12
Uren Leonard Jr.
I
in ..y &
program and projects through
public hearings.
We need to protect our sov
ereignty and our traditional ways
that have been passed on to us
from generation to generation.
We need to make a plan so
we can leave our reservation
with resources for our young
people, and the generations yet
to be born. I ask for your vote.
Uren Leonard Jr., "Bunski."
Bernice Mitchell
I am a nominee for Tribal
Council for the Agency District.
I have worked for over 20 years
with the Confederated Tribes. I
am a veteran and a traditional
dancer. I know the history and
cultural values of Warm Springs.
I have worked in all depart
ments and enterprises of Warm
Springs during their three-year
management trainee program. I
have completed a Business Ad
ministration and Economics
Degree.
We need to reorganize our
tribal organization because the
economy is at a standstill. We
need to meet the needs of our
tribal members with jobs and
economic development. W7e
need to improve our education
and social service programs and
projects. I am also looking for
your input to improve other ser
vices for you, and I will com
municate the progress of each
M0 1
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.A
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Furniture, gifts, glass
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