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v. 29
no. 14
July 8,
004
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igs, OR 97761
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July 8, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 14
Coyote News, est. 1976
Spilyay
No charges
in boarding
school death
SALEM (AP) - Staff members at
the Chemawa Indian School will not
be charged in the death of Cindy Gil
bert Sohappy, who was 16 when she
died of acute alcohol poisoning.
Involuntary manslaughter charges
were considered against workers who
had contact with Sohappy on the night
she died last December, said Bill Will
iams, an assistant U.S. attorney in Port
land But Williams said there was not
enough evidence to charge the work
ers, who left Sohappy alone in a cell
for three hours at the Salem boarding
school, which is run by the U.S. Bu
reau of Indian Affairs.
An involuntary manslaughter charge
means that someone had acted in a
negligent way, knowing hit actions could
kill a person.
"Absent any additional or new evi
dence that hasn't been discovered at
this point, there won't be any criminal
charges in this case," Williams said.
The girl's mother, Renee Sohappy,
was disappointed with the decision.
"They're getting off scot-free for my
daughter's death," Sohappy said. "It left
a long scar on me and my kids. What is
it going to take for them to realize what
they did to my daughter was wrong?"
Sohappy's attorney, Foster Glass of
Bend, said he understood the decision,
noting the high threshold to prove
criminal liability.
He said his client still might pursue
a suit claiming wrongful death and vio
lations of Sohappy's civil rights because
the girl was locked in a cell without due
process and did not get medical atten
tion while detained.
Officials familiar with the case say
Sohappy was put in a cell at about 8:20
p.m. Dec. 6. Roughly 45 minutes later,
the girl flailed on the floor for a few
minutes. She then remained motionless
for two hours before a worker discov
ered she was not breathing.
Sohappy was found dead by Salem
firefighters.
In March, Ed Parisian, the head of
the BIA's education programs, said stu
dents would no longer be held in cells.
Police, fire
activity slow
during holiday
weekends
The police and fire activity
were slow over the Fourth of
July weekend. The same was
also true during Pi-Ume-Sha, said
Officer Bob Medina of the
Warm Springs Police Depart
ment. There were a few house par
ties during the weekends, but the
number of problems for police
was low, said Medina.
If anything, the Fourth of
July weekend was even quieter
than Pi-Ume-Sha, in terms of
police response calls, he said.
On July 4 the number of fire
calls was down from previous
years, said Jason Schjoll, of the
Warm Springs Fire Department.
There were a few accidental
fires from fireworks, and a
couple that are being investi
gated as possibly reckless acts.
But there were no cases of ar
son, said Schjoll.
The few fires that did break
out as a result of fireworks were
contained to grassy areas around
homes, and no structures were
damaged.
Tribal leaders condemn spill plan
By Dave McMechnn
Spilyay Tymoo
Tribal leaders are opposed to a
plan by the Bonneville Power Ad
ministration to reduce the amount
of water spilled over Columbia and
Snake River dams this summer.
The opposition comes from lead
ers of all the tribes of the Colum
bia basin.
Of the BPA plan Ron Suppah,
Council Chairman of the Confed
erated Tribes of Warm Springs,
AT
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Revonne Johnson was named the
Pi-Ume-Sha Powwow. See pages
Governor discusses future of casino
By Bill Rhoades
Spilyay Tymoo
Govenor Ted Kulongoski said the
Confederated Tribes and the state are
making progress in their discussions to
establish a new tribal casino, but he
would not comment on its probable
location.
"I'm confident we're going in the
right direction," said Kulongoski. "We
would both like to see it happen sooner
rather than later, but we want to make
sure we do it right."
Kulongoski spoke to Warm Springs
reporters just prior to the Governor's
Banquet at Kah-Nee-Ta on June 25.
He answered a number of questions
regarding the Tribes' request for a new
Warm Springs casino and tried to frame
the ongoing negotiations in a positive
light
"I don't think there's any state in the
union that has better relations with
tribes," said Kulongoski in reference to
Oregon. "We understand the sover
eign nature of the nine federally rec
ognized tribes here. We know the tribes
have a right to self-sufficiency."
In choosing a location for a new
tribal casino, tribal members have
shown overw helming support for a site
in the Columbia River Gorge.
Tribal property in Hood River pro
vides one option, but the local citizens
said, "It's like they have deaf ears.
They're willing to sacrifice the fish for
financial benefit."
BPA has proposed the reduced sum
mer spill in order to generate more elec
tricity for sales to California utilities.
Water that's spilled bypasses the
power generators at dams on the riv
ers, but helps speed juvenile fish along
their way downstream.
Under the BPA plan, spills will stop
a month early at Bonneville and The
Dalles dams. As an offset, the BPA
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At m
Selena BoiseSpilyay
Junior Court Queen of the 2004
8 and 9 for more photos.
have openly opposed such a move.
The city of Cascade Locks would
like to have the casino and there is land
within the city's industrial complex that
would accommodate development.
Not everyone wants to see a casino
in Cascade Locks. Environmental and
land-use organizations have vowed to
protect the integrity of the Columbia
River Gorge, which has gained national
recognition for its outstanding natural
features.
The controversy makes any devel
opment in the Columbia Gorge politi
cally sensitive, requiring diplomacy
from all the negotiating parties
"The biggest issue is the site of a
casino on the Columbia Gorge," said
Kulongoski. "The Gorge is a big issue
to the people of Oregon. It's a very
big step and I can't stress it enough."
The Gorge is also extremely impor
tant from a tribal prospective. Cascade
Locks and Hood River both lie within
the tribe's ceded territory. Tribal mem
bers and their ancestors have lived in
the Gorge since time immemorial, uti
lizing the area's resources to provide
subsistence.
Tribal members are now hoping the
Gorge will provide them with enough
economic benefits to erase economic
doldrums and support vital tribally
funded programs.
would buy and release water stored by
Idaho Power.
Sherars Falls
The proposed mitigation is of no
benefit to fish relied upon by fisher
men of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs and other Columbia
River tribes, said Harold Blackwolf,
chair of the off-reservation fish and
wildlife committee.
The BPA spill plan, said Blackwolf,
"could mean the elimination of the
Construction starting
soon on gymnasium
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
Construction is going to start soon
on a new gymnasium at the Warm
Springs Elementary School.
A construction contractor has been
hired, and the timeframe for comple
tion is around December, said school
board member Jeff Sanders. The
project has an estimated cost of $1.3
million
The gymnasium that burned down
was on an east-west alignment, while
the new one will be north and south.
Even while work is going forward
on the new gym, school and tribal offi
cials continue to discuss the plans for a
new Warm Springs Elementary
School.
A site on East Tenino has been the
preferred location, but the school dis
trict and tribal budgets prevent devel
opment there for the immediate future.
Meanwhile, the insurance company
that is paying for the new gymnasium
has been sitting on the money long
enough, said Sanders. "We have to
move forward," he said.
The tribes and the school district
have each pledged $4 million for con
struction of a new elementary school.
The problem is that building a school
on East Tenino has an estimated cost
of $13 million.
If one day a new school is to be
built on East Tenino Road, then the
plan is to have a gymnasium there as
teThe tribes are entitled to
benefit from this, but as
governor, I have to see that
the state benefits as well. "
Gov. Kulongoski
Kulongoski understands the current
situation and knows the tribal economy
needs a boost. "I'm aware of the situ
ation in Warm Springs," said the gov
ernor. "If we can improve the economy
in Warm Springs a lot of other things
will fall in place."
The governor says it's all a matter
of balancing the needs of tribes with
those of Oregon's general population.
He says he understands the economic
urgency facing the tribal economy and
he offers hope through an administra
tive agenda that promotes economic
development.
"The tribes are entitled to benefit
from this, but as governor, I have to
see that the state benefits as well," said
Kulongoski.
The governor said when it's time to
make an announcement about the
casino's siting, it will come jointly from
the tribes and the state.
He is not willing to put a timeframe
on making the announcement, but he
Sherars Falls fishery."
Tribal biologists believe that fall
chinook spawning above Sherars Falls
migrate to the ocean later in the sum
mer than other fish runs.
The juvenile fish moving to the
ocean from the Deschutes have to pass
both The Dalles and the Bonneville
dams, two that are targeted for reduced
spillage. The BPA spill plan could mean
the loss of 1,000 returning fish above
the falls, according to tribal biologists.
See SPILL PLAN on paje 16
If one day a new school is
to be built on East Tenino
Road, then the plan is to
have a gymnasium there as
well
well.
The gym that is going to be at the
site of the old one is going to be larger
than a normal elementary school gym
nasium, said Sanders.
This larger gym would then be suit
able to accommodate various uses by
the public, he said.
There is also on-going discussion of
Warm Springs developing a charter
school. One idea is' to have a charter
school, such as a high school, with 20
to 25 students, in order to test the idea
and see how it works, said Sanders.
Over three years ago
It was in June of 2001 that tribal
members approved a referendum for
construction of a new elementary
school.
The vote wasn't even close, as the
ratio was more than four-to-one in fa
vor of the plan.
The proposal calls for the tribes and
the district to share the costs.
The school district is to pay half of
the school's cost through lease pay
ments to the tribes over 20 years.
is confident the parties are moving for
ward in a positive direction and if they
can clear a few important hurtles, the
process could come to a quick conclu
sion. A threshold issue in reaching a quick
conclusion is the treatment of lands
held by the Tribe's in Hood River.
Another issue is the retention of fu
ture profits and the percentage of ca
sino revenues allocated to statewide
purposes.
"We won't make an announcement
until we reach an agreement on all criti
cal issues," said Kulongoski.
2002 referendum
It just a little over two years ago that
tribal members of the Confederated
Tribes approved the Columbia Gorge
casino plan.
Close to 1,000 tribal member vot
ers went to the polls, with three-quarters
casting their ballots in favor of a
Gorge casino. The 2002 vote in favor
of the Gorge plan is even greater than
the 1999 vote on the question of
whether or not the tribes should con
tinue in the business of gaming.
Of the two potential Gorge sites,
Cascade Locks is located less than an
hour's drive from the Poftland metro
area, while the Hood River property is
over an hour's drive.