Spilyqy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 28, 2005
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Celebrating
Kids Day
The Hoys and Girls Club
of Warm Springs partici
pated in the Celebration of
Kids Day in early April at the
Deschutes County Fair
grounds. The event celebrated
the Tenth Anniversary of the
Boys and Girls Clubs of Cen
tral Oregon.
The Warm Springs Boys
and Girls Club recognized
five young people for their
outstanding participation and
positive influence in five pro
gram areas of the club. The
five youth and the program
areas are:
Kcnia Cross, club leader
ship and development; Kapri
Moody, career and education;
Kecia Florendo, the arts;
Devontre Thomas, spons, fit
ness and recreation; and
Mileena Edwards, health and
life skills.
June Smith, Warm Springs
club director, said she wishes
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Photo oouflciy of th Boy and Girl Club
Boys and Girls Club members Celestine Morning Owl, Kecia Florendo, Keeyana
Yellowman, Vivian Yazzie and Mariah Lucei (from left.)
to extend congratulations to
these young club members.
Smith said the club also wishes
to thank Emerson Squicmphen
and the drum group Wcewokca
for their time, effort and per
formance at the Tenth Anniver
sary celebration.
In addition, Smith said, the
club extends a thank-you to
Rudy Clements and his group
of singers and dancers for their
performance.
Along with the club member
ship recognition and the
music and dunce perfor
mances, the anniversary cel
ebration included a slide
show, youth of the year
speeches, art and photo exhibit.
Young Indians at Celilo
take step toward manhood
Reading, cooking for youth
Youth grades K-8 are invited
to a fun reading and cooking
program called, There's a Mon
ster in My Soup. Time: 10:30
a.m. till 12 noon, Saturday, April
30 at the OSU4-H kitchen, in
the basement of the Education
Building.
The gathering is to read a fun
book and cook delicious food
related to the topic of the
storybook.
Sign-up in person or call 553
3238 or 553-3535. Only 15
spots available.
Baby 's first moccasin class
Baby's First Moccasins outline of the baby's or small
class: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Satur- child's foot. Irom this pat
day, May 21 at the Warm tern you will create moc
Springs Center, 1110 Wasco casins.
Street. Instructor is Valeric Bring a 3 or 4 square foot
Switzlcr. Cost: $29. piece of buckskin. For infor-
What to bring: bring an mation call 553-1428.
Sovereignty:
tribes form
own government
(Continued from page 1)
Columbus was authorized to
take possession of any lands he
"discovered" that were "not
under the dominion of any
Christian rulers," and in 1823,
the Christian Doctrine of Dis
covery was adopted into U.S. law
by the Supreme Court in the
case of Johnson v. Mcintosh.
The Indians lost their rights
to complete sovereignty, as in
dependent nations, and only re
tained a right of occupancy in
their lands. Indian nations were
subject to the authority of the
first nation of Christendom to
claim possession of a given re
gion of Indian lands.
These were the days of cru
sades to take the land in the
name of the Pope. Their think
ing was that heathens shouldn't
own land. Because the Indians
were not civilized, they were
considered heathens.
In 1855 the Warm Springs
and Wasco Tribes entered into
a treaty with the United States.
All parties entered with full rec
ognition of the sovereign au
thority of the other parties.
The two tribes ceded certain
aspects of their aboriginal title
to millions of acres of land, but
retained 600,000 acres. They also
kept off-reservation rights. Both
tribes reserved their national
sovereignty. The U.S. assumed
trust duties to protect the reser
vation and all off-reservation
rights from outside forces.
In 1992 the Confederated
Tribes adopted this document
of sovereignty.
We, the members of the Con
federated Tribes of the Warm
Springs Reservation of Oregon,
comprised of the Wasco, Warm
Springs and Northern Paiute
Tribes, hereby decare our na
tional sovereignty. We declare the
existence of this inherent sover
eign authority the absolute
right to govern, determine our
destiny, and to control all per
sonal, land, water, resources and
activities, free of all outside in
terference throughout our home
land and over all our rights, prop
erty, and people, where located.
The geographic reach of our
sovereignty includes the whole area
I
pv 4
" zLZ- 2
Cynthia Starke
within the borders of our tribal
reservation, reserved by the Warm
Springs and Wasco Tribes in
their 1855 Treaty with the
United States....
Our homeland also encom
passes, and our sovereignty ex
tends to, tribal off-reservation
rights in our historic ancestral
domain, a vast region that in
cludes the Columbia Plateau and
far beyond. These, off-reservation
rights include rights attaching to
our usual and accustomed fish
ing grounds and stations; to in
lieu fishing sites; to burial sites
and other sacred sites; to lands
on which tribal members can
hunt, gather roots and berries,
and pasture stock; to acquired
landj; and to other areas over
which our tribes now possess, or
may later establish, rights of any
kind.
Sovereignty exists for Warm
Springs but there are important
guidelines in the field of Indian
affairs concerning all sovereign
tribes. These guidelines include:
First, the Constitution vests
Congress with plenary power
over Indian affairs.
Second, Indian tribes retain
important sovereign powers
over "their members and their
territory," subject to the plenary
power of Congress.
And third, the U.S. has a trust
responsibility to Indian tribes,
which guides and limits the fed
eral government in dealings with
Indian tribes.
As Starke stated, "What
hasn't been taken away, re
mains." What does this mean? Each
Indian tribe begins its relation
ship with the federal govern
ment as a sovereign power, rec
ognized as such in treaty and
legislation. The powers of sov
ereignty have been limited from
time to time by special treaties
and laws designed to take from
the Indian tribes control of cer
tain matters, as determined by
Congress. Stated another way,
what is not expressly limited re
mains within the domain of
tribal sovereignty.
In 1938 The Warm Springs,
Wasco, and Paiute tribes offi
cially formed a confederacy, es
tablished common government,
and adopted a written constitu
tion. This constitution created a
Tribal Council for administrative
purposes and reserved all sov
ereign powers to the people.
Since that time the tribes have
amended the constitution.
Today, the people of the
Confederated Tribes continue to
assert and exercise sovereign au
thority over the reservation,
over other territory within tribal
jurisdiction, over territory that
may come under tribal jurisdic
tion in the future, and over the
protection of our rights and our
people and their welfare in all
places.
The question was asked of
Starke, "Why are these bound
aries fenced and we can't hunt
in those areas?" She answered
that tribal members are allowed
to hunt or fish in open and un
claimed lands. It is the land that
is claimed by another that is
fenced around the borders.
Other topics within this subject
were criminal sovereignty, sale
of tribal property, trust obliga
tion, and jurisdiction over non-
Indians on reservations.
The Celilo, Salmon & Smoke
seminars take place at High
Lookcc Lodge, and are offered
by Central Oregon Community
College.
CI .I.II.O VllJJVGIi (AP)
Tribal fillers called Steven Begay
and I-ane Meanus to the front
of the crowd gathered in a
longhousc. It was a big honor.
Nobody said a word.
The two young Indians
shuffled up quietly and stood
still, serious expressions on their
faces.
"These two boys you sec
standing here, they have taken
a big step in their lives," said
Thomas Morning Owl of
Pendleton, in a strong voice over
the howling wind. "These two
have been raised in this village
together like brothers."
The big step was their first
kill, a ceremonial coming of age
among Native Americans -when
a child is recognized for
becoming a provider for his
tribe. Steven and Lane killed
their first deer over the winter
and became children no longer.
Steven, 11, who stood no
higher than the shoulders of the
adults around him, wore a tra
ditional ribbon shirt and long
braids. Lane, lean and taller at
13, wore a regular dress shirt,
slacks and cropped hair. Both
wore moccasins. I lundreds gath
ered for the event near The
Dalles.
The elements didn't cooper
ate. The wind blew so hard that
the entire longhouse - nearly
100 feet long and 40 feet tall -threatened
to topple. The lodge
pole pines that support the struc
ture flexed and creaked, and the
canvas covering them whipped
like a ship's sails.
As some of the men shored
up support poles, Owl asked the
boys to share their stories of
their first kill with the onlook
ers. The pair did their best to
ignore the commotion. I.ane
stepped forward and whispered
his story to Owl, who acted as
an echo, retelling it in his boom
ing voice.
Lane's dad shot first. His
bullet found its mark, and a deer
tumbled into a canyon. Then
Line aimed at another deer.
"With one shot I killed my
first one. Then 1 shot again and
killed two more - a doe and a
three-point buck."
Steven also whispered to
Owl, who boomed out the sec
ond story.
"There were about 10 of
them, and they took off. The
deer was sitting there eating, and
I took four shots. My fourth shot
hit it. The deer was just stand
ing there and looking at us."
Those in the longhouse lis
tened intently, men sitting on
one side and the women on the
other. Their feet dangled from
benches onto the grass floor.
Once finished, the boys gave
their uncles gifts of Pendleton
wool blankets and handed over
the rifles, knives and bullet boxes
they used on their hunt. The
men, who long ago had gone
through the same ceremony,
had helped teach the boys how
to stalk and hunt deer. Then
others brought two neatly folded
piles of clothing and tennis shoes
to the boys.
"Whoever has a boy this size,
come get his clothes!" Owl cried.
A small boy walked forward
to receive the clothes Steven
had hunted in. He would wear
them for his first deer next year.
Lane and Steven also gave gifts
to tribal chiefs and elders and
more experienced hunters.
G J
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