P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs p "
Spiky
Tyrnc
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Coyote News, est. 1976
April 15, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 8
Digging roots, a lifetime commitment
By D. "Ding" Bingham
Spilyay Tymoo
Suzic Slockish and Nola Queahpama
have been designated root diggers for
the last 30 years. It's not an easy job
and it didn't happen by chance.
"I've been digging since 1971," says
Nola Queahpama. "My father passed
away at that time and my mother (an
other designated root digger was in
mourning. I was chosen to go in her
place and I've been there ever since."
Once chosen, you're a root digger
for life. Slockish was chosen about the
same time.
"My mother's position as a root dig
ger was given to her by her aunt," says
Slockish. "She wanted to put me in
training so she put me in her place. I've
been there ever since."
Root diggers gather the first foods
of the year. They are the only ones
designated to gather them before the
feast. It is a sacred time, a holy time.
"A big part of preparing for the
Root Feast is having the belief that what
you're doing is for the people, but even
more important than that, you're work
ing for the Creator," says Wilson Wewa
Jr. "A lot of those people were ap
pointed for life because they knew in
their heart what the meaning was of
the food we eat how holy, how sa
cred those foods are and what they
mean to our life."
Knowledge of the sacredness of
food isn't enough. A root digger's mind
and heart need to be clear and clean.
That takes preparation,
"There's a special time that we go
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Nola Queahpama prepares roots.
to the longhouse, on the Sunday be
fore the feast. We all show ourselves
to the Creator," says Queahpama.
"The leader says a prayer for all of us
that we will be taken care of and have
good luck when we dig or pick."
Bing BmghamSpilyay
There's also a memorial service for
people who have lost loved ones. It's a
time of cleansing, to release the grief.
Queahpama continues: "The teaching
is that you don't handle food with bad i
"feelings. You should always handle food
with a kind heart, a good heart. That's
one of the strong teachings in our cul
ture, because you will make people sick
if you handle the food with meanness
and bad feelings."
During the memorial service, the
root diggers have a crying ceremony
(where the tears flow freely) before
the memorial dinner. Afterwards, they
have the giveaway, where they let go
the last of their negative feelings.
I lowever, the cleansing doesn't stop
there. Each root digger continues at
home, prayers and sweat lodge. It's the
same as the memorial service, but done
in the privacy of their home.
Sometimes the cleansing and mourn
ing don't work because there's too
much grief.
"It depends on a person's loss and
if they have that difficult feeling. The
person has to make up their own mind
about going root digging," says
Slockish. "If it's difficult for them, they
find someone to go in their place and
then they'll continue on the next time
they're ready to go."
She continues, "I'm in that situation
now. I just recently had a big loss, so
I'm holding myself back from root dig
ging because it's difficult for me to
carry on these things without thinking
bad thoughts. My sister has been going
so I put her in my place. It's just up to
us - whoever feels fit to go and take
this role on because it's a big role, it's a
lot of work, it's a lot of preparation.
You can go a whole week to prepare
for a feast."
See. ROOT DIGGERS on 14
Tribes continue casino discussion at Gorge
By Raelynn Ricarte
Hood River News
The Confederated Tribes have pub
licly unveiled their conceptual designs
for a casino - should one be built there
- in Cascade Locks.
The 500,000 square foot building
would cover 25 acres in the existing
industrial park just east of town.
It has been deliberately engineered
to blend with the surrounding
viewscape, according to tribal officials.
The plan was accomplished by re
creating the long and low look of a
tribal fishing village; the facade of the
structure is broken up with varied
angles and concave entrances that fea
ture basalt rock, natural wood and wa
terfalls. The scenic theme includes a
main corridor that resembles a "wind
ing river" and extends to the end of
the western parking lot.
The walkway is interspersed with
cascading fountains next to rock col
umns depicting ancient petroglyphs and
wooden walls that are interwoven in
historic basket designs. The tribes
wanted the gaming facility to serve not
only as a recreational center but a "cul
tural museum" to educate visitors.
"These concepts arc part of an on
going conversation reflective of the
history and love of the lands along the
Columbia River which have been a
central part of our tribal heritage for
over 10,000 years," said Garland
Brunoe, chair of the Tribal Council.
A look at the potential $225-$300
million project was given on April 5 to
the Cascade Locks City Council and
the Mood River County Board of Com
missioners. However, tribal leaders were cjuick
to point out that the realization of the
plans was dependent upon the approval
of Gov. Ted Kulongoski. They also
reminded local officials that they were
prepared to move ahead with schemat
ics that had already been drawn for the
40-acre trust parcel just east of Hood
River if necessary.
The tribe has formally requested
that negotiations begin with Oregon's
lead official to site a gaming center
somewhere in the Gorge. Kulongoski
has the final say on whether a casino
can be constructed on off-reservation
lands within the state.
"We're moving forward on all fronts
because the tribe has such a desperate
need - now it depends on the gover
nor," Brunoe said. 1 Ie was joined in a
public discussion of the issue by Den
nis Karnopp, tribal attorney, Greg Leo,
public and government affairs coun
sel, and Jeff Ford, chief executive of
ficer for Kah-Nee-Ta.
See CASINO on puge 14
Much has changed for students at high school
By Ashley Aguilar, Spilyay intern
Freda Wallulatum was the first Native Ameri
can from Warm Springs to attend Madras High
School. Native students attended MHS before
Wallulatum but they were not enrolled members
of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Sid Miller and Levi Greene of Warm Springs
followed Wallulatum a year later and there has
been a steady stream of local students attending
MHS ever since.
That was 60 years ago and the scenery has
changed a great deal since then. Many things that
affected people's lives in the 1940s don't even
exist today.
It is interesting to take a look back and see
how times have changed.
Wallutatum broke the ice by attending high
school in Madras and thanks to this tribal elder
we can share our cultural heritage with people
from many backgrounds. Madras is now recog
nized as being one of the most diverse schools in
the state.
There wasn't much diversity at the school dur
ing the 1940s. There were no Mispanics at the
school and only a handful of Native Americans.
Wallulatum came from a different background
than the other students and her unique charac
teristics proved popular.
"Everyone loved Freda, she was well received."
said Lala DaLude, a friend.
Some people want to believe that prejudice was
a big part of society, but that did not come until
years later.
"All the girls loved her long black hair," DaLude
went on to say.
Madras High School was called Madras Union
I Itgh School when Wallulatum enrolled, a name
that would fit better today because there is more
diversity uniting the student body.
Another interesting fact is that the high school
was actually located at what is now known as West
Side Elementary.
Some say size doesn't matter, and if that's the
case it won't be a shock to learn there were only
34 students at the high school when Wallulatum
was a student. Transportation to and from Ma
dras was by bus, which wasn't even half full most
of the time. The road was paved but the land
scape was different.
Today, when driving to Madras, the traveler
sees cattle, sheep, hay fields and various crops
growing along the way. But in the 1940s the irri
gation system was not in place. There were very
few houses or farms, just desert. Things have
changed a lot over the years.
Today Madras I ligh School is about one-third
Native American. Hundreds of students from
Warm Springs have graduated from MHS and
many have gone on to college or used their edu
cation to find employment. Miller, one of the
first graduates, went on to be a founder and the
first publisher of Spilyiiy Tymoo.
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Madras High School Yearbook
A young Sid Miller is pictured here on the basketball
court at the high school. He was one of the first
tribal members to attend and graduate from MHS.
Composite
Products
expands to
Asia-Pacific
By Colleen McGruw
Cascade Business News
The Confederated Tribes have cause
for celebration. In December 2003, an
agreement between Warm Springs
Composite Products, maker of fire
door components, and a Central Oregon-based
global trade management
and consulting firm confirmed Com
posite Product's expansion into Asia
Pacific markets.
The two-year contract calls for the
consulting and marketing firm, HPG
Worldwide, to travel overseas on be
half of Composite Products. The firm
will examine markets and make con
nections with prospective customers,
represent Composite Products at inter
national trade shows, arrange financial
terms and relationships and secure pay
ment plans and complete trade, distri
bution and project management ser
vices. Warm Springs Composite Products
has been a supplier of fire door com
ponents for 1 1 years. The company is
one of only two such suppliers nation
wide. Tectonite, a light mineral-based com
ponent that goes into the fire door
products, is a durable, heat and fire
resistant product that is exceptional for
tooling. Composite Products' fire door
components are fundamental in the
fabrication of high rise commercial or
industrial buildings.
According to a report released by
I IPG Worldwide, their fire-rating speci
fications are foremost in the world.
"YVe have been growing significantly
over the past few years here in the U.S.,
this is the next logical step, moving into
Asia-Pacific," said Duane Darnell, chief
executive officer of Warm Springs
Forest Products.
Taking on the endeavor alone would
be overwhelming, said Darnell, "With
HPG Worldwide we can count firmly
on their many years of experience in
the region and their numerous business
and government contacts throughout
Asia-Pacific."
The seed for the expansion to Asia
Pacific was planted in October 2003,
said Kimo Dejon, president of HPG
Worldwide.
At that time, he and Darnell began
to discuss the possibilities and implica
tions of Composite Products expand
ing into mainland China. The Asian
nation's increasing economic boom, and
HPG Worldwide's years of experience
within that market, made the agreement
a logical step forward for Composite
Products.
"We believe that Composite Prod
ucts has significant potential in all ma
jor markets of Asia-Pacific," said
Dejon. "Composite Products has a
unique product line of superior, certi
fied fire rated door products and ac
cessories which are used in commer
cial and industrial construction world
wide." HPG has nearly twenty-years of
experience in major Asian-Pacific mar
kets. The firm specializes in assisting
small to medium-sized enterprises in the
U.S. extend their business into those
markets. HPG's international staff in
cludes trade professionals whose task
it is to develop and maintain a network
of distributors, government officials
and business leaders throughout the
U.S. and abroad. The company also
works in association with the U.S. De
partment of Commerce, U.S. Trade
and Development Agency, Small Busi
ness International Trade Program and
numerous U.S. and foreign government
trade offices.