SCA
OrColl
E
75
.S6B
v. 29
no. 10
May 13,
004
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
University of Oregon Library
Received on: 05-18-04
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Coyote News, est. 1976
May 13, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 10
Honor Seniors
Day on Friday
The Fourteenth Annual I lonor Se
niors Day is this Friday, May 14. The
theme this year is "Under the Big Top."
There will be clowns, belly dancers, a
lion tamer, a high-wire act, among other
attractions.
Each year between 900 and 1,200
people attend the Honor Seniors Day,
held at the Agency I,onghouse. The day
begins at 8 a.m. with registration, then
at 9 the ROTC cadets will bring in the
colors. Any veterans in the crowd are
invited to join in. Next is the invoca
tion by Sister Pauline. At 10 a.m. is the
Early Childhood Education Center
Children's Powwow. The luncheon buf
fet begins around 11:30 a.m.
Veterans are then invited to march
onto the floor for recognition. There
will also be welcome speeches, and
honoring of others in the crowd.
The majority of the afternoon will
then be fun and games, and the final
dinner will be sometime around 5 p.m.
Council
to fill tribal
committees
One of the first tasks of the
new Tribal Council will be the ap
pointment of members to serve
on the executive committees of
the Council. There are eight com
mittees that carry out a variety of
functions for the Tribal Council
and the Confederated Tribes.
The Health and Welfare Com
mittee serves as the advisory body
to the Tribal Council in the area
of health and welfare, including
programs, funding and legislation.
The Culture and Heritage Com
mittee acts in an advisory and rec
ommending role for the Culture
and Heritage Program director.
The Education Committee
serves as an advisory body to
Tribal Council in the development
of education programs and op
portunities for tribal members.
The Fish and Wildlife Off-reservation
Committee cooperates
and negotiates with affiliate orga
nizations to insure protection of
treaty rights and development of
sound management plans and pro
grams. The Fish and Wildlife On-res-ervation
Committee serves to pro
tect and manage fish and wildlife
resources of the reservation for
present and future generations.
The Timber Committee serves
as an advisory body to the Tribal
Council on the management of
forest resources.
The Land-Use Planning Com
mittee reviews and recommends
to Tribal Council issues of the
Comprehensive Plan, zoning and
maximum utilization of land.
The Range, Irrigation and Ag
riculture Committee serves as an
advisory body to Tribal Council
for development of irrigation, ag
riculture land and range programs.
Any tribal member interested
in serving on one of these com
mittees should submit a resume
and letter of interest by June 3.
The resume and letter should be
addressed to Tribal Council Of
fice, attention Doris Miller, P.O.
Box 1299, Warm Springs, OR
97761. The letter should state you
are interested in serving and state
which committee you have an in
terest in. Include information on
education background, work ex
perience, training, etc. If you have
anv questions call Doris Miller at
553-3257.
New Tribal Council chooses officers
By David McMechan
Spilyay Tjmoo
After taking office last week, the
twenty-third Tribal Council appointed
a new secretary-treasurer and a new
chief operations officer. This is tradi
tionally the first order of business for
the new Council, along with appointing
a new Council chairman and vice-chairman.
The new secretary-treasurer is Jody
Calica, taking the place of Charles Jack
son. The new chief operations officer
is Laurain I lintsala, taking the place of
Willy Fucntcs.
Calica will be in Idaho for the next
couple of weeks, as he has been work
ing as the superintendent of the North
ern Idaho BIA Agency. He is finishing
up his work there before moving back
to Warm Springs.
Jackson will continue acting as secretary-treasurer
through May 24. Jack
son is also going be working on some
projects for the tribes for the next sev
eral months, as he is familiar with de
tails of the items on the agenda of the
secretary-treasurer's office.
Jackson has been secretary-treasurer
for the past six years. Calica said he is
expecting to have a smooth transition
over the coming months. Calica was
nominated for the position of secre-
Reservation
By Bill Rhoades
Spilyay Tymoo
Last winter's above average snow
pack hasn't done much to alleviate fears
of wildland fire in Central Oregon. Fire
managers throughout the region are
bracing for another frantic fire season
as forests and rangelands are already
starting to dry out.
The snowpack, well above average
in February, was depleted as a result
of unseasonably high temperatures in
March and April. As of this week, snow
measurements in the Cascade Moun
tains were only 51 percent of normal
and reports were being issued to warn
of impending threats.
"The snow went off quick and the
past two months have been very dry,"
said Warm Springs Fire Management
Officer Gary Cook. "The recent rains
have cooled things temporarily, but
they're also going to make the grass
grow."
Cook said years of fire suppression
have resulted in heavy fuel loading in
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The Class of 2004 at Madras High School includes many students from the Warm Springs reservation. Graduation
this year will be Sunday, May 30 at 3 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.
This year there are about 30 students from the reservation who will be participating in the graduation ceremonies.
Look in the next edition of the Spilyay for pictures of the graduates.
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Jody Calica
tary-treasurer by Paiute Chief Joe
Moses, and then approved by vote of
the Council.
Hintsala was nominated for the
chief operations officer position by
newly-elected Councilman Reuben
Henry, of the Seckseequa Distict. The
nomination was then approved by
Council vote.
Hintsala had been working as the
tribal member recruitment and devel
opment manager for Kah-Nee-Ta I Iigh
Desert Resort and Casino. She has
worked in several departments of the
tribes, including Higher Education and
Human Services, over the past 24
expecting busy fire season
As the grasses dry out they
are easily ignited and have
the ability to carry fire rap
idly over large tracts of land.
the forests, both on and off the reser
vation. Stands of densely stocked trees
and areas with heavy underbrush cre
ate hazardous conditions during the
summer and early fall.
Small trees and brush were kept in
check during pre-management times by
periodic fires that created more open
and natural stands of timber. Under
present conditions, however, when wild
fires do occur they are more likely to
reach catastrophic proportions.
Recent spring rains have dampened
the surface, but they also provide the
perfect setting for a flush of growth,
especially to fine fuels such as exotic,
annual grasses. As the grasses dry out
they are easily ignited and have the
ability to carry fire rapidly over large
1
"It's been in my career path
for several years, but 1
didn 't realise it until it
happened. It's a big job, but
I'm enjoying it."
Laurain Hintsala
Chief Operations Officer
years. This experience will help in serv
ing as the new chief operations officer,
said Hintsala.
"It's been in my career path for sev
eral years," she said of the COO posi
tion. "But I didn't realize it until it hap
pened. It's a big job, but I'm enjoying
it."
I lintsala has been meeting with the
heads of the various departments that
are under the chief operations officer.
These include departments as diverse
as Education, Natural Resources, and
Human Resources. "I've been doing a
lot of reading and meeting with people,"
she said.
While I lintsala is new in the top-level
management positions of the tribal or
ganization, Calica has experience in
these positions.
Calica was the chief operations of
ficer of the tribes before Willy Fucntes.
tracts of land.
There are no fire-related restrictions
being imposed for the region at this
time, but Cook says people may want
to take some precautions to minimize
the threat close to home. He said
homeowners should create a defensible
space near dwellings by having a buffer
of green grass around structures and
by limbing trees 3-4 feet off the
ground.
Fire Management has curtailed con
trolled burning on the reservation, but
they continue to move brush and cut
fuel breaks around rural communities.
Detailed information about creating
defensible space may be obtained by
calling 553-1146.
It's still too early to determine what
sort of fire season central Oregonians
will be facing, but indicators thus far
have raised concerns.
If the situation persists, residents
may have to relive the smoke-filled days
that plagued the region less than a year
ago.
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Laurain Hintsala
I lis other work for the Confederated
Tribes includes the job of general man
ager of the Natural Resources Branch.
The Council last week also appointed
a new Tribal Council Chairman and a
vice-chairman.
The new Chairman is Councilman
Ron Suppah, taking over from Gar
land Brunoe.
Buck Smith was named the vice
chair. Some of the items on the Coun
cil agenda in coming days include state
legislative briefing, Tribal Information
Day at the state capitol in Salem, and
the 2004 mid-year Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians (ATNI) conference.
Woman
sentenced for
child's death
Lillian Blackwolf was sen
tenced last week to 108 months
in prison for the death of her
child in January of 2003.
The 108 months, or eight years
and eight months, includes credit
for time that Blackwolf has al
ready served.
She has been in custody since
February of 2003.
Blackwolf was arrested last
year after her child passed away
from an injury to the head. At
first Blackwolf said the child had
been injured in a fall.
1 Iowever, an autopsy and in
vestigation indicated that the child
had suffered a blow to the head.
The U.S. Attorney had sug
gested that Blackwolf be sen
tenced to ten years.
The judge, however, after lis
tening to witness testimony at the
sentencing hearing, imposed the
lesser sentence.
Wasco
meeting
is May 22
The Wasco Chieftainship, and dis
cussion of the tribal Constitution and
by-laws, are items on the agenda of a
meeting set for Saturday, May 22. The
meeting will be at the Agency
ljiighouse.
The morning will be a time for me
morials, then lunch will be at noon, with
the chieftainship and Constitution and
by-laws items afterwards.
The meeting is called for the Elders
of the Wasco people; others interested
are encouraged to attend.
Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum has
called for a meeting of the Wasco El
ders to determine the future of the
chieftainship.
On lune 2 of this year Chief
Wallulatum will have served for 45
vcars as the Wasco Chief.
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