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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2005)
SCO OrColl E 75 .S&B v. 38 no. 9 April 2B, 2005 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 cei' of Ore, ECRWSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD n Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Coyote News, est. 1976 April 28, 2005 Vol. 30, No. 9 Tyror YAK' Longtime leader passes Warm Springs is mourning the loss of one of its premier leaders. Zane Jackson, 81, passed away the morning of April 1 8. Mr. Jackson's health had been declining for the past few years. He resigned from the Tribal Council on Jan. 29, 2004, be cause of health Zane Jackson rcasm He and his brother Vernon were two promi nent sons of Charles Jackson who had an impact in leading the Con federated Tribes into the Twenti eth Century. Zane Jackson served longer than any other elected member of Trial Council. 1 le was first elected to Council in 1971. Before enter ing politics, Mr. Jackson had a ca reer in the timber business. I le was a veteran of World War II. Mr. Jackson served on Tribal Council for almost 33 years. He served as Tribal Council chairman four times. I lis wife Pat, brother Max, and numerous nephews and nieces sur vive him. See HOWLAK TICHUM on page 8 Discussion focuses on sovereignty By Selena Boise Spilyay Tjmoo Tribal Sovereignty is a declaration of individuality of the Warm Springs Nation, meaning that the tribes have control of their lands, as recognized by other governments since time im memorial. These were the words spo ken by Cynthia Starke, attorney of Karnopp Peterson & Noteboom law firm representing the Confederated Tribes. Starke was the speaker at the recent Celilo, Salmon, & Smoke seminar. The topic was "Limited sover eignty, what it means to Warm Springs." The Confederated Tribes has their sovereignty, but there are limitations in place due to laws de veloped, or court cases involving sovereign nations, said Starke. In early years the U.S. recognized the sovereign status of Indian tribes as "domestic dependent nations." The U.S. Constitution recognizes Indian sovereignty by classing Indian treaties among the "supreme law of the land." In early Indian treaties, the U.S. pledged to "protect" Indian tribes, thereby establishing one of the bases for the federal trust responsibility in the government-to-government re lation between the tribes and the U.S. Before being recognized as do mestic dependent nations, the Indi ans in America were subject to what the Europeans called the "Doctrine of Discovery," said Starke. In the year 1452, or 40 years be fore Columbus' voyage, a European proclamation declared war against all non-Christians, or heathens, through out the world. This promoted the conquest, colonization and exploitation of non-Christian nations and their ter ritories, eventually to include those of the Native Americans. See SOVEREIGNTY on page 7 I Ceded Lands tour shows diverse tribal resources By Brian Mortcnscn Spilyay Tymoo During a recent three-day tour, a number of tribal members from Warm Springs were reminded of what makes the land on which they live now, and the land of their ancestors, so special. They participated in a tour of 10 sites, from north of the Warm Springs Reservation to as far cast as Prairie City, as part of the Warm Springs Iand Use Planning Committee's tour of the Ceded Lands. The tribes ceded the land to the US. government in 1855, while reserving sovereignty over the reser vation. A total of 48 people accompanied the tour on the first day, while 23 stayed for the second-day leg, moving cast along the Columbia River. Twelve re mained for the final day, spent mostly in Grant and Umatilla counties. On the tour were six members of the Warm Spring Tribal Council. Coun cil Chairman Ron Suppah, part of the entourage, said such trips in the future could be more fruitful if more tribal members, particularly younger tribal members, could take the time to attend. "I think everyone on the tour saw that as a key issue," Suppah said. "The elders said there is a need to bring in the younger generation." The 10 million acres of the ceded lands include the area from the Cas cade Mountains' summit eastward, and from the Columbia River southward. The ceded lands include Jefferson, Wasco, I lood River, Sherman, Gilliam, and Morrow counties, most of Grant County, and southern Umatilla County. "We gave the federal government 10 million acres. We reserved our reser vation, our homeland here for our selves," Suppah said. "Along with that, we reserv e certain rights to the Ceiled I -amis under the treat v." These rights, he said, include fishing and hunting, gathering of other foods and meiliein.il plants, and grazing. ( )ver the years, Suppah said, "we're getting to a point where we're losing the use ofour country out there. If you looked at the maps, probably 40 percent of that country is open and unclaimed land. There are a lot of opportunities out there for our tribal membership, but I think many are not orientated as to what we have." See TOUR on ,; 9 Gathering celebrates casino compact Many tribal members refer to the recent Gorge casino gaming compact as a triumph for the Confederated Tribes. This feeling was evident at the gathering April 14 at the Agency Longhouse, as the tribal members cel ebrated with an evening of dancing and a positive look toward the future for the tribes. The signing of the compact was a long process for the tribes. Discourage ment was a word that lingered in the air for a time, but patience paid off in the end, as the process has moved an other step forward. The name "Bridge of the Gods" was chosen as the winner of the Casino Name contest. Of the 80 names en tered, five were winners, those who chose "Bridge of the Gods." Present to receive his award was Tony Littlelcaf, who received $500 and a digital camera. Four winners not present were Tim Wainanwit, Tommy Kalama, Marlena Becerra and Charles Kalama, who will each receive the same prize. Before dinner ended, t-shirts were given away with the name "Bridge of the Gods" on them. Later in the evening baseball caps were also given away. The powwow opened with a wel coming by Miss Warm Springs Chris tine Johnson, followed by a grand en try. This grand entry was an honoring of those who have passed on,' veter ans, elders and our leaders. Throughout the night door prizes were given away for children and adults. by Selena Boise 4. j T ....... ' 1 r ., 1 . . . . J, :' ' 3 ,? 1 ; i . 1 ,-. ....', ..vliilft,,, -Tu.6. r . - 7 I -c: : : " 'V' 1 ' 1 .... Selena BoiseSpilyay Eliza and Harvey Jim take to the dance floor at the recent gathering regarding the gaming compact. The Treaty of 1855 Sweeping force of change defines the treaty era (Tje 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 Previous articles in this series have focused on specific references, as found in historical documents of the federal government, to the Indian tribes that have become the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The goal of the present article is very briefly to place the treaty year of 1855 in a more general historical context. The treaty era of the mid 1 850s falls between other eras involving relations among the tribes, white setders and the federal government. All the events, from the first contact with Europeans up to the present time, have left their mark to varying degrees on the tribes, which have nevertheless retained the basic elements of their traditional cul ture. One of the earliest eras involving the tribes and their relation with newly arrived non-Indians was the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which traveled through tribal territory at the Colum bia in 1805. Another significant era was that of the Christian missionaries of the 1 830s at The Dalles. This was a time of dev astating disease epidemics among the tribes. The 1 840s saw the start of the era of the Oregon Trail. In 1843-45, ap proximately 5,000 non-Indian settlers arrived in the region. Many followed the Lewis and Clark Trail along the Co lumbia to the Willamette Valley. This large migration, and a fear of die lawlessness it might bring, prompted the federal government in 1848 to or ganize the Oregon country and adja cent land as a territory, a first step to ward statehood. First, though, the federal govern ment had to settle a long-standing dis pute with Great Britain regarding which country had jurisdiction over the areas of present-day Oregon and Washing ton. In 1846, through the Oregon (lorn promise, the U.S. government declared exclusive control over the region, and the British retained the area to the north, now Canada. The 1840s was also the time of the Mexican American War. During the war, John C. Fremont, a captain in the U.S. Engineers, led an expedition from die Klamath area into Califc rnia. Wasco Indian Billy Chinook of The Dalles was a member of Fremont's expedition. The era of the Treaty of 1855 falls just after the time of the ( reg n Trail and territorial organization, and just before the time of Oregon's statehxd (1859). Through the treaty the Confed erated Tribes wrre recognized as sov ereign by the U.S. government four years before ( )regon became a state. It was "during the treaty era that an other force of change was gaining momentum: For it was during the 1850s that the railroad companies of the Fast first began adding the term "Pacific" to their names, showing their desire to construct a transcontinental railroad. The first transcontinental railroad linked San Francisco to the Fast in I860. In the I80s the Great North ern would link the i irthwest -Tacoma, Seattle and Portland -to the Fast. The tracks followed the Columbia. The railroads, and the sweeping changes they would bring, likely would have arrived earlier; however, in 1860 the federal government and the coun try descended into the near chaos of the Civil W ar. The war began a mere five years after the signing of the Trcarv of 1855.
