E COOSH EEWA: The it IS Spilyay Tymoo April 14,2005
Good news
about gaming
compact
By Selena T. Boise
Management Successor
I low about that signing of
the gaming compact? I was
watching the news on the day
' of the signing and heard the
; comments of a couple of un
: happy people. Those that object
', were able to speak up about it
; in the news, but I
Letters to the Editor
' wasn't able to catch apilyay
many positive com- Speaks
ments,
! The positive thing that stands
; out in my mind is that with the
revenue from this new casino
; the tribal organization will be able
to open up new jobs for tribal
: members. There aren't many to
' choose from if you don't have
' a degree or special training.
; I was listening to one guy on
: KATU News staring his opinion.
; I le was commenting that there
; is money for Oregon included
: in this compact, but he doesn't
; know that it will actually be
' there for Oregon. I le went on
. to say that the money from
; Oregon Lottery was supposed to
go back to Oregon, but he
hasn't seen that happen.
' That is something that you
don't really see, I guess. But
when I purchase the occasional
: scratch "Bingo" tickets I read
; the back to see where the rev
' enue from the Lottery goes. The
, phrase usually starts out "Or-
egon lottery funds help. . ."
If I didn't read those words
; on the ticket, I wouldn't actu
' ally know or see where these
funds are spent. There are good
causes being funded by Oregon
" Lottery.
n1 For years the Warm Springs
tribes have been waiting for this
compact to be signed by the
governor. Once this is com
; pleted, there is more process to
' be followed, at the federal level,
as stated by the news reporter
on KATU.
Another comment I heard
was that a casino doesn't belong
along the scenic Gorge. Well, I
can't imagine the tribes putting
up a building with flashing lights
like you see in Reno or Las Ve
gas. Tribal members have made
their ideas known for the design
and decor for this new casino. I
can't imagine this includes flash
ing lights, or anything that would
stand out like a sore thumb. In
fact, of all the casinos I've been
to that are Indian owned, I have
never seen flashing lights like
Vegas or Reno.
I keep picturing designs of
salmon or the Celilo Falls, be
cause our people used to live
along the Columbia River to
gather salmon, and it was our
people's livelihood years ago. I
hope that the new designs have
something of this nature for the
new casino.
I am also hoping that the sign
ing of this compact is going to
ensure forward movement on
this whole issue of a casino at
the Gorge. It seems we do a lot
of waiting to see forward move
ment on the plans for this to
happen. That, in turn, makes
people anxious, then angry. So
let's all hope that things keep
moving.
Root Feast
To the people of Warm
Springs, I thank you for inviting
me and other Chief Seattle Club
members to the Root Feast.
You people and the ladies
treated us very well. Thank you
also for letting us use your
longhouse.
Your generosity I much ap
preciated. Peace, Joseph
Rinco, Navajo, nickname Jose.
Doing okay
To my family back at Warm
Springs, I just want you guys to
know I'm doing okay in River
side Indian Boarding School in
Oklahoma. I just want to tell my
Uncle Foster Kalama that I'm
sorry about your mom, and the
rest of my Kalama side of the
family, I hope you guys will pull
through together. I'm just sorry
that I'm not there for you right
now. I'm doing okay and I hope
sometime soon you guys will be
strong again. Please take it easy
and be careful. Love always,
Katherine S. Hoptowit.
Fitness
The 12-weck challenge offi
cially ends the middle of April.
Ending measurements will be
taken between April 1 8 and 22
at the clinic. Sweatshirts will be
handed out to the finishers at
the same time.
Measurements are to be
taken by the same person who
did them in the beginning, for
consistency purposes. These
measurements can be looked up
for participants if they do not
remember. The number to call
is 553-1196 and ask for cither
extension 4160 for Diane
Franklin or 4166 for Carolyn
Harvey.
Carolyn will be available ev
ery day to do measurements
from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.,
and 1:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on
Monday and Wednesday and
1:15 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday. Sara Tho
mas is available Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
daily. Diane Franklin is available
Tuesday through Friday from
7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Essays
are to be turned in at the time
of measurements. It is consid
ered a part of finishing the chal
lenge. The essay only needs to
be just a short paragraph or two
and should address the follow
ing two questions.
What did you do to make
these improvements?
What benefits have you ex
perienced from the challenge?
Winners will be announced
May 2. Carolyn Harvey,
Community Wellness Coordina
tor Council
A couple letters in the Spilyay
hit the tribal members' problems
right on the nose. It all comes
down to us Indians not having
"any" representation.
I've seen managers who
couldn't get their way. The first
words out of their mouth is
"I'm going to Council." These
people walk right in to Council.
They get same day service.
What's even worse, it is always
non-Indians. I know a lot of us
who have tried to see Council,
and got ignored. I know Indians
who've turned in managers in
writing, like Council demands,
then who docs Council rescue?
The Indians get retaliation.
I'd bet, any non-Indian street
hustler could walk in, hand them
some lies and get welcomed with
open arms. Someone whose own
"tribe" has run them off.
When I used to be on one of
these boards, the big shots told
us of "their" big dream of
building houses for "all of our
people" that they were going to
hire at their new casino. A
couple of us gave an adamant
no as an answer.
I know it hasn't been happen
ing, but that money is earmarked
for us "low-income Indians." I
used Kah-Nee-Ta as the main
example of what was going to
happen.
To me, it is evident who is
actually running this reservation.
Does the Tribal Council know
what is going on? A few are ac
tually mixed up in and causing
this mess. The rest either don't
want to know or couldn't care
less. They can't lie about this. If
anyone tries to talk to them, they
get referred to their newly
founded "super committee."
That's what they call themselves.
How many people actually
know where the Tribal Council
is? People I know can't find
them when there is something
of importance going on. The
only time I see them is in the
paper or on TV, getting tickled,
while sitting on some politician's
lap.
Why is the Council giving
away their authority to make
decisions? I don't remember
electing a committee, and giv
ing all the authority to the same
bunch that is causing all the com
plaints. Victor Motet.
Fire safety
What can we do to help pre
vent fires? With fires caused by
Mother Nature (lightning),
there's not much we can da But
with human caused fires, there's
plenty we can do.
Last year we had 136 human
caused fires on the reservation,
with the majority of them from
fireworks. There were 16 aban
doned campfires and 14 fires
from debris burning. Children
started three fires.
So what can we do as a com
munity to help cut down on hu
man caused fires?
Keep your home in the safety
zone with a good defensible
space - 30-foot minimum
space around your home. Get
rid of any dead trees, shrubs,
and dead branches lying on the
ground; also, dried grasses, dead
flowers and leaves-any dead
vegetation.
Break up the vegetation: pro
vide a separation between plants
or small groups of plants. Re
member, the more continuous
and dense the vegetation, the
greater the wildland threat.
Do you have ladder fuels
present in your defensible space
area? Vegetation that allows a
fire to move from lower grow
ing plants to taller ones is re
ferred to ladder fuel.
A vertical separation of three
times the height of the lower
fuel layer is recommended; that
is, if a shrub growing adjacent
to a large pine tree is three feet
tall, the recommended separa
tion distance would be nine feet.
You could remove the lower
tree branches, reducing the
height of the shrub, or remove
the shrub.
Within the area extending at
least 30 feet from your home,
the vegetation should be kept
lean, clean and green. Use low
growing herbaceous (non
woody) plants that are kept
green during the fire season.
These include plants such as
lawns, groundcovers, bedding
plants, and perennial flowers.
Suzi Macy, prevention
tech, Fire Management.
Letters of apology
To the people of Warm
Springs, I am writing to apologize
for my actions at the Warm Springs
River a few weeks back. I was un
der the influence of alcohol, and I
was cited for shooting my rifle near
a residential area .To the families
of the residence, sorry. Sincerely,
Robert Charley Jr.
I am writing a letter of apology
to the people and my family of
Warm Springs for driving under the
influence on December 18, 2004. 1
should have known better by all
the life's I know that are gone, be
cause of drinking and driving. Sorry.
Ronald Thomas.
I am making a public apology
to my nephew and niece and their
moms for driving under the influ
ence while they were under my care.
There is no excuse for my behav
ior. Please forgive me. R. Adams.
I apologize for my actions on
the night of 3-29-05 to the com
munity and the Treveno family. I
apologize for putting your family
in danger. I was under the influ
ence of alcohol and realize what I
have done and I am truly sorry. I
hope you can accept my words of
apology. Sincerely, Matthew
Craig.
influence of alcohol.
Bagley.
To Ronda, I would like to offer
my deepest apology for my
drunken actions on 7-24-04. Hope
fully you could find it in your heart
to forgive me for my actions that
caused you such pain, anger and
fear. I guess it would have been
easier to just walk away. Instead in
my drunken state I chose to hurt
you. Now I'm paying for my stu
pid choice. Once again I am sorry
and I hope you'll forgive me. If
not, then I'll understand, and to
everyone else involved, I'm sorry.
Joseph Craig.
Toe Ness
Men are like fine wine: They
all start out as grapes, and it is
your job to stomp on them and
keep diem in the dark until they
mature into something you'd
want to have with dinner.
Men are like computers:
Hard to figure out and never
have enough memory.
I apologize to the community
and people of Warm Springs for
being in possession of a marijuana
pipe and lighter during a cell search
at the Warm Springs Jail. I realize
and understand that it is not the
answer to mask the reality and treat
ment I am receiving behind the
walls. Actions are being taken on
my behalf through my decisions
and choices I will be making from
now on into the future. Sincerely,
Aldo Antunet.
To whom it may concern, and
the community of Warm Springs,
I'd like to apologize for my actions
on February 12, 2005. 1 made a very
poor decision on driving under the
To the Warm Springs tribal po
lice officers who I have caused
trouble with while being under the
influence of alcohol and for that I
would like to give my deepest and
sincerest apology. I'm sorry I
learned from my mistake by mak
ing another so all I ask from the
officers who I have trouble is for
their forgiveness. Thank you. And
I also would like to apologize for
my incident on the 10'h of March.
Edgar M.W. Yahtin.
To the community of the
Warm Springs reservation, I would
like to take this time to apologize
for a crime committed on March
19, assault and battery on a victim.
Again, please accept my apology.
Thank you. Winston Wewa.
To the community of Warm
Springs, I would like to apologize
on behalf of my actions. I apolo
gize to Lillian Heath, her family,
and whoever else I hurt with alco
hol and drugs. Jeremy Kills
First Sr.
I would like to apologize to
Warm Springs Police Department
and to the Correctional Facility. I
also would like to send my apol
ogy to the community. On Janu
ary 18, 2005 I tried to drop off
some drugs to an inmate. I was
later contacted by police. I was
transported to the police depart
ment to be incarcerated in the Cor
rectional Facility. I am now sitting
70 days in the snake pit to think
about my wrong actions. I also
apologize for consuming alcohol
as a minor. I will be a better per
son from my wrong doings. Ed
ward J. Winishut.
To the people of the Confeder
ated Tribes, I'm calling out to you
on this day to ask you all to accept
my sincere apology for possessing
and being under the influence of
today's most hated drug of choice
- methamphctamine. Since my ar
rest I've had a few days to come
back to my senses and realize that
I'm not only hurting myself, but
my family and friends also. Sin
cerely, Victor W. Smith Jr.
To the community of the
Warm Springs reservation, I am
writing this to say I apologize. I
made bad judgment and now I sit
in jail for my mistake. Now I al
ways take time for choices. Thank
you for reading this. N. Switzler.
Donald L. To the people of the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation, I
would like to apologize for endan
gering anyone's life or well-being
on the night of November 30,
when I eluded police officers down
Hollywood Blvd, and on over East
Tenino and up Highway 26 only
to land myself in jaii here at Warm
Springs. Taylor R. Arthur Sr.
To the community of Warm
Springs, I apologize for driving
under the influence of alcohol, reck
less driving, and I apologize to the
police. Again, I'm sorry and it will
never happen again. Alonzo Jim.
To the people, on January 24 I
was driving my vehicle on Quail
Trail Road, when a tribal police of
ficer stopped me and smelled alco
hol and 1 was arrested for DUII.
My action as a dangerous driver
hurt our community, so I am sorry.
Simon Kalama.
I'm court ordered to apologize
to the people in the hills and the
community for shooting a pistol
at the towers, so I'm sorry. The
police took my gun anyways. Sin
cerely, Jerrod K.
On March 7, 2005, 1 was drink
ing with my friends. Unfortu
nately, two of my friends were un
der age and I was charged with con
tributing to the delinquency of a
minor. I plead guilty. I spent 15
days in jail and six months on pro
bation. I would like to apologize
for this. Ida Frank.
To the tribes and community
of Warm Springs, I would like to
apologize for my actions on Feb.
26 and will never get behind the
wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated
again. I again apologize because I
could have hurt someone. Jaime
L. Scott.
I apologize to Judge W. Smith
and your honor I am sorry. I
apologize to the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs. I am re
ally sorry. I will be more careful to
never let this happen again. Accept
my apology. Julia Stwyer.
To the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, family and friends,
I would like to take this time to
apologize for my thoughdess and
criminal action. In the month of
February I was pulled over on High
way 26. Looking back on that night
I realize there could have been even
heavier consequences. I am asking,
hoping that you can forgive me.
Gerald Tufti.
To the Warm Springs commu
nity this is a letter of apology re
garding my incident on Feb. 5, 2005.
I would like to apologize regard
ing my actions. It was thoughdess
and irresponsible. Thank you for
your time. Clarence Jefferson.
To the police officers of Warm
Springs, I apologize to the com
munity for having done wrong by
resisting arrest and to the police
officers who were on duty at the
time. Please accept with all due re
spect. I hope you will accept my
apology for bringing drugs onto
reservation. Thank you.
Rigoberto Medrano.
To the people of Warm
Springs, I would like to apologize
for my action that occurred at the
Education Building, including the
property of the 509-J school dis
trict on April 2, 2005, about 2 a.m.
I learned an important lesson that
I won't do it again. Tarron
McDonald.
On April 2 I was arrested on a
warrant and at the time being
found and charged with drugs and
paraphernalia. I know drugs are a
big problem on the reservation. I
am sorry for not complying with
court ordered recommendations. I
apologize to my probation officer
and counselor for the let down.
Most of all I apologize to my fam
ily. Brian Renfro.
To the Confederated Tribes, I
would like to apologize for driv
ing under the influence in January
2005 and for putting other lives in
danger. Sorry for my actions. I will
not let this happen again. Ster
ling Kalama.
On the date of Feb. 13, 2005
there was a firearm in my posses
sion while I was intoxicated. That
morning I was arrested and later
sentenced by the tribal courts. I
know that a person should never
have a firearm while under any in
toxicants. I will never do this again
and hope that you accept my apol
ogy. Lee Hellon.
I would like to say that I'm sorry
for drinking. I would also like to
say sorry for the things that I might
have said while I was under the
influence. I'll try my best to see that
it doesn't happen again. Martina
M. Stwyer.
To whom it may concern: I
would like to apologize to the com
munity and my family for my ac
tions that took place on Feb. 13. 1
put myself and the community in
danger for being under the influ
ence. I learned my lesson. And it
won't happen again. Thank you for
your time. Dan McGill.
I want to apologize to my bet
ter half for the wrong-doing I did
but didn't mean harm to him for
my impaired condition and didn't
mean harm to my members of my
family on 3-25-05. 1 thought about
my action and going to do my best
to change. C.A. Winishut.
Spilyay Tymoo
CCoyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Management Successor: Selena T. Boise
Advertising Manager: Sam Howard
Staff Writer: Brian Mortensen
Media Advisor Bill Rhoades
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our offices are located in
the white house at 1 1 00 Wasco Street Any written mate
rials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo should be addressed
to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 870, Warm Springs, OR 97761 .
Phone: (541 ) 553-1644 or 553-3274.
FAX No. (541) 553-3539.
E-Mail: spilyaytyrnoowstribes.org. Annual Subscription
rates: Within U.S.: $15.00.