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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2005)
SCA OrColl E 75 .568 n v. 38 no. 7 ff O ""Spilyay P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 r University of Ortgon Library Received oni 04-06-05 Spilyay tyioo. ECRWSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Coyote News, est. 1976 March 31, 2005 Vol. 30, No. 7 50 cents Tyro Tribes prevail in river permit dispute By Brian Mortensen Spilyay Tymoo The Deschutes is one of the state's most popular rivers. Its great popular ity with boaters has led to over-use, the Confederated Tribes have said for years. Protection of the river requires a boater permit system, the tribes have argued, while commercial river guides, nearby municipalities and others took an opposing view. A federal judge recently sided with the tribes, and created a precedent that could have ramifications for all permit ted rivers in the U.S. The judge's ruling provides the Lower Deschutes with the first boater permit system using a "common pool" system to obtain permits. This could not have been accomplished without the participation and influence of the tribes. "The non-guided boating public is thrilled," said Brian Cunningham, a rep resentative of the tribes who has worked on the Lower Deschutes project. "It's kind of a level playing field. This is the first river in the nation that has gone with a fair and equal access system." The court settlement involves the Confederated Tribes, rafting enthusi ast Mark Shuholm of Tualatin, the Northwest Rafters Association, and the National Organization for Rivers, as (TA following is an article in a series regarding the Treaty of 1855. This June the Treaty will be 1 50 years old.) By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo In 1854 the superintendent of In dian Affairs for the Oregon Territory proposed to the Commissioner of In dian Affairs in Washington, DC. that the middle area of the territory - "the country east of the Cascade range" -be divided into two Indian agencies. One of the agency regions would be to the south, at Klamath Lake, and the other in the north. The northern agency would include the area known as the Ceded Lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and also areas occupied by "Cayuses, Nez Perce, and Walla-Walla On Saturday, March 26, Paiute Chief Joe Moses (right) named Gordon Scott as his sub-chief. The ceremony took place at the longhouse of the Seekseequa District. About 50 people were in attendance. There was Washut service and a giveaway. Scott, 21, is a graduate of Central Oregon Community College, and will soon be attending Haskell Indian College. The position of chief is for life, and always is a point of keen interest among tribal members. There can be disagreement regarding who serves as chief, and the naming of a sub-chief. At the March 26 ceremony, Wilson Wewa, Myra Johnson and two others in attendance voiced opposition. They said that Scott clearly is an excellent young man. Wewa said, though, that the Pauites never appointed sub chiefs. There was also a suggestion that people of the Seekseequa Dsitrict should vote on who will be the next chief. plaintiffs; and a group of defendants that include the Bureau of Land Man agement (BLM), the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Jefferson, Sherman and Wasco counties, and the cities of Madras, Maupin and The Dalles. The settlement means that the gen eral public and Whitewater rafting guide businesses - including at least 20 that float the liower Deschutes River- have an equal chance to apply for and re ceive permits to float the river under the conditions of the lxwcr Deschutes River Management Plan. The plan, adopted in 1993 and supplemented in 1997, was written in conjunction with the Congressional designation of the Ixnvcr Deschutes as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1988. The managers of the Lower Deschutes - two federal agencies, four state agencies, three local counties, the Deschutes River Management Team and the City of Maupin, as well as the Confederated Tribes - used boater numbers from 1990. That was the first year boater numbers were deemed ac curate enough to use. The numbers served as target num bers to maintain the river at the same level of use as in 1988, the year of its national designation. Cunningham said the resolution of the Ixjwer Deschutes matter sets a pre cedent for managing similar rivers with high recreational use. The Treaty of 1 855 tribes." In describing the condition of this large region, superintendent Joel Palmer writes to the commissioner: "The soils yields abundantly with very little labor, and on this account many Indians have commenced farm ing, producing wheat, corn, and pota toes, with many of the culinary veg etables, and are no mean cultivators. The Nez Perce, Cayuses, Wascos, and Tyich (Tygh) tribes, particularly, are very good husbandmen." I le continues: "The streams, owing to the character of the country, are not navigable, with the exception of the Columbia from the Cascade falls up to the Dalles, which is navigated by a steamboat and several schooners of hundred tons burden. "But the streams are of great im If XXI ?3 :v. V til - r I ; ft iw vW' .T3 v " , r i V y A '!,, V v ' s V- t I At the Agency Longhouse on Sunday, Louise Jackson helps prepare servings for the Root Feast. portance as they furnish, during the running season of salmon, an inex haustible supply of this delicious fish. The Indians in the western portion of this district rely principally upon this food, on account of the great abun dance in which it is found, and the ease with which they are taken... " Palmer makes the following obser vations: "I would here observe that there appears to be a marked distinction in the habits, manners, and pursuits of the Indians with this agency. They may properly be divided into three classes: the northeastern, the northwestern, and the southern. . . Those on the northwest are the John Day, Deschutes, Tyich, Wasco and Dog River or Cascade In dians." He says there are 80 of the Dog r 3-IE h 1 River tribe; 300 of the Wasco; 500 of the Tyich, 300 of the Deschutes, and 150 of the John Day. In another report, Palmer comments on the Catholic mission at the Dalles. Founded in 1 848 "at the request of the Indians," die mission "has since its com mencement advanced very slowly. I see that the progress of the religion has been much retarded by the wandering life of the Indians, and by the too great intercourse with the whites." Among the diseases brought the re gion by the settlers, alcoholism had become a major problem, according to . Palmer. If nothing is done to somehow curb the abuse of alcohol among the Indi ans, "the greater part of them will dis appear. .." Within nine months of the writing Youth center grand opening is this Friday This Friday, April 1, is the grand opening of the Spectrum Youth Center. A live concert will mark the occasion, and free food is served. The doors of the new center open at 4 p.m. Friday. The concert, featuring hip hop artist Brutha War Bebe, begins at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, April 2, the center is showing the games of the NCAA Final l our on a big screen projector TV. On Monday, April 4, the NCAA tournament championship game is on the Spectrum's TV. Regular hours of operation of the Spectrum Youth Center, located in the YI AY-Ladies Auxiliary build ing on Hollywood Boulevard, are Tuesday through Thursday 4 p.m. till 10 p.m.; and Friday and Satur day 4 p.m. till midnight. Dave McMechanSpilyay of this report, the federal government and the tribes will have signed the Treaty of 1855. In some other recent news regard ing the treaty: The Museum at Warm Springs has started work on a new, "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," that will open in conjunction with the 1 5()'h anniver sary of the signing of the Treaty of 1855. The museum is inviting tribal enter prises and organizations that would like to be included in the exhibit to call Natalie Kirk, curatorexhibit coordina tor, at 553-3331. The exhibit will be in the Changing Exhibit Gallery. Meetings are planned to discuss the special treaty exhibition, and assistance can be pro vided to enterprises and organizations that would like to be included. The building has been remodeled by the group Extraordinary Young People, based in Portland. The model for the youth center, which is work ing in cooperation with the Recre ation Department and others on the reservation, is one that the group de veloped on the Crow Reservation in Montana. With the remodeling project, the VFW building is going to include a retail shop, called the Rez I lip I lop and I Ixp Shop. As part of die Spec trum program, young people can earn Nike bucks to buy basketball shoes, sweatshirts, hats and other Nike apparel. In time, the center will include some kind of restaurant, Burton said. The center will have games for young people such as pxl and foosball. Dav McMechan, Spilyay