SCA
Or Co 11
E
73
.568
v. 30
no. 10
May 12,
2003
Spi lyay
I P.O. Box 870
Univtriity of Oregon Library 97761
Rectived oni 05-16-05
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May 12, 2005 Vol. 30, No. 10
Coyote News, est 1976
50 cents
ymo
Fishing stopped
due to small
salmon run
Treaty tribes of the Columbia River
stopped ceremonial fishing last week,
due to the small return of salmon. This
year only about 100,000 salmon arc
expected to swim up the fish ladders at
the Bonneville Dam on their return
journey to spawn, less than half the
250,000 that had earlier been forecast.
Fishermen of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs had already
caught the tribes' 2,000-fish ceremo
nial quota when the tribes agreed to end
fishing
The other tribes - Yakama, Umatilla
and Ncz Perce - had not reached the
2,000- fish limit when the tribes ended
ceremonial fishing Yakama Nation had
1,148 fish; Umatilla, 744; and Ncz
Perce, 120.
Bruce Jim, chairman of the Con
federated Tribes of Warm Springs Off
Reservation Fish Committee, said this
was the first time the tribes had agreed
to end ceremonial fishing early, due to
the small return of salmon. Ceremo
nial fish are used during funerals, mar
riages and other community events.
Scientists don't have an explanation
for the scarcity of the 2005 Chinook
run, especially given that 437,000 fish
swam past the Bonneville Dam in 2001.
Their offspring should be returning this
year.
Some blame federal hydropower
dams for the scarcity, but biologists
aren't sure what accounts for the sur
prising turn for the worse. "The hydro
system is a big killer of fish - but it's
always a.big killer of fish," said Stuart
Ellis, fisheries scientist with the Colum
bia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
(CRITFC). "I don't think it's necessar
ily fair to blame them with killing all
these missing fish."
Along with the issue of the low
salmon run is the problem of sea lions
feasting on the fish at Bonneville Dam.
Last week fisheries workers chased
off sea lions with underwater firecrack
ers and noisemaking guns that biolo
gists hope will keep them away for
good.
But if this scare tactic fails, the states
of Oregon and Washington may have
to ask for federal permission to trap
or even kill the sea lions, which are
protected under federal law, just like
the salmon.
At the rate the sea lions are gobbling
up the passing salmon - each eats from
25 to 50 fish a day - biologists are
caught between saving salmon and try
ing to avoid injuring their protected
predators.
The states and the Army Corps of
Engineers, which operates Columbia
River dams, had to get special permis
sion from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
and the Coast Guard to run last week's
two-day hazing experiment at
Bonneville Dam.
The operation involved dropping 21
"seal bombs," underwater firecrackers
that send a mild shock wave that
spreads about 20 to 30 feet beneath
the surface of the river to scare the
sea lions. There is no harmful effect
on the fish, biologists say.
Indian tribes have already asked
Oregon and Washington fishery offi
cials to request federal permission to
kill sea lions that prove to be repeat
offenders at the dam. Approval could
take years, however. The other alter
native is trapping the animals and relo
cating them, but approval could take
from six months to six years under
current federal law.
"The sea lion predation problem in
the Columbia River has increased
seven-fold in the past few years," said
Olney Part Jr., CRITFC executive di
rector. Set FISH en page 9
Wfien tfoz Rac 0Lati TDifa!
Aguilar writes a fascinating book of tribal history
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tjmoo
The way it was long ago, when
the river ran wild! It is a great and
sweeping subject, sometimes contro
versial, always fascinating.
Ten years ago George Aguilar set
about documenting a history of In
dian names of his family. His mo
tive was to give his grandchildren
an idea of who they are and where
they came from.
At first he used information from
tribal Vital Statistics, Bureau of In
dian Affairs Realty, and old census '
information, some dating back to
the 1880s. The research grew over
time, until Aguilar had written a book
of great interest to readers well be
yond his immediate family.
His book is When the River Ran
Wild! Indian Traditions on the Mid
Columbia and the Warm Springs
Reservation. The 272-page book will
be published in June by the Univer
sity of Washington Press and the
Oregon Historical Society.
There have been a number of
books written about the Indians of
the Columbia River, but When the
River Ran Wild! is much different
from the others. As AguUar explains:
"Many people have written
about our people from the view of
looking into our way of life. In this
situation, this is an uneducated Na
tive American that is writing look
ing to the outside from the inside,
and telling it the way it was."
Aguilar was born in 1930 at The
Dalles. His father was Estanislau
(Easton) Aguilar, born in the Philip
pines. His mother was Evelyn Polk.
His father drowned at the Cascade
Rapids while fishing with George's
D
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fvl ''' ' ' ' ' t,
Dav McMachanSptlyiy
George Aguilar with the manuscript of When the River Ran Wild!
grandfather James Polk Jr. His mother parents, James Jr. and Hattie Polk, at
died a short time later. their home in the Wolford Canyon on
George Aguilar was an orphan at age the reservation.
21 months. He was raised by his grand- "It was here that I was brought up
"Nearly 75 yean of my
lifetime have come and
gone since bearing of the
sparse historical events
from the old-timers. It's
my turn now."
Georgo Aguilar
in the old Indian traditional mctlxxls.
Just watching, doing, and above all
being a good listener, I acquired the
learning of these old methods."
When the River Ran Wild! in
cludes some of what he learned of
these traditional Indian skills and
knowledge. The book includes chap
ters on traditional uses of plants and
animals, fisheries, the history of In
dian names, customs, the Treaty of
1855, warfare, religion and beliefs,
myths and legends.
His book is a history of people
and places that are gone. "Some of
the elders still remember, however,
and some have heard stories of the
times when the river ran wild through
the Columbia Gorge. Those times are
no more," writes Aguilar in the epi
logue to When the River Ran Wild!
After the book is published next
' mbnth j Aguilar will go'dn a speaking
tour around the region. I le will be at
the Museum at Warm Springs for a
book-signing on June 23, also the
opening of the museum Treaty of
1855 exhibit.
He began 10 years ago writing
what was to be a personal and family
history. In the end the book became
filled with fascinating and little-known
history of the people, history and
culture of the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs.
Bear Drive housing taking shape
By Brian Mortensen
Spilyay Tymoo
Spend a few moments with Tom
Strong at the site of the new family-sized
houses under construction
on Bear Drive in northwest Warm
Springs, and you almost feel pride
oozing out of him. He feels pride
in hiring an all-tribal crew for the
concrete and framework of each
house.
He feels pride in how the 20
houses, once they're all built, will
look, how well they're built, and how
energy and maintenance-efficient
they will be. But he said what gives
him the most pride is that the people
who will live in the four- and five
bedroom homes will themselves
have pride in their new homes.
The four homes at the east end
of Bear Drive, part of the first
phase of the three-phase project, are
scheduled for completion, ready for
the families to move in, by June 30.
"We want them to be nice," said
Strong, who is the tribal construc
tion manager. "We want the people
to take pride in their homes. We
want to give them something nice,
instead of just throwing up a house
that's a project house."
Strong said the houses would, in
fact, be modem dwellings, with heat
pumps, and ventilation to prevent
molding, addressing a concern
Strong has in terms of the longev
ity of the houses.
i
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Brian MortenwnSpilyay
Alvis Smith III, left, and Kanim Smith Jr., work on the frame of a house on
Bear Drive. The six houses now being built are the first of a group of 20
that may be finished within two years.
"We're raising the bar on the life
expectancy of homes, and we're doing
it with tribal members," Strong said,
adding that the life of an average house
is about 50 years. He said he expects
each of the new homes to last at least
65 years.
Of the first four to be soon com
pleted, two of them, four-bedroom
homes, are 1,396 square feet, while the
other two, five-bedroom houses, are
1,588 square feet
The dwellings are administered
through both the tribal Housing De
partment and US. Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), called Mutual
Help housing. Strong figures the houses
will cost as much as $60 to 70 per
square foot. Other recently built homes
on the reservation may have cost as
much as $80 a square foot, mainly due
to overhead from hiring outside con
tractors. "We've got qualified tribal members
here," said Strong. "I really like to hire
tribal members. That's a big thing for
me. Well try to put as many tribal mem
bers to work as possible, and we'll put
out a good product."
Two of the framers on the crew,
Strong said, worked for Kirby
Nagelhout Construction, including job
foreman Alvis Smith III and carpenter
Andy Stacona. Also on the crew are
Kanim Smith Jr., Frank Reese Jr., Ron
Bennett and Austin Smith.
"I've always believed we have the
skill here, but we've always gone out
side the reservation," Strong said.
After the first six houses of the first
phase are built, a second phase of eight
homes is scheduled, followed by a final
phase of six houses. Strong said his
. crew may be ready to pour concrete
for the second-phase houses within
weeks.
"We figured 24 months on all 20,
and we'll probably do it in 20 months,"
he said. "We do want to shoot for some
thing underneath 24 months because
there is some incentive. Anytime you
do work through HUD, there is incen
tive, for quality and building under time
limits."
Each of the homes will use a forced
air furnace and each will be wired and
fitted for a heat pump. For an addi
tional $2,000, the homeowner can get
a heat pump. They each have an archi
tectural roof, and covered carports.
By eliminating die contractor, Strong
said, the 1 lousing Department was able
to hire a tribal member to run a back
hoe and dig all of the water and sewer
lines. "We did a lot of the major stuff
right out of our office," he said.
The houses on Bear Drive will have
a different look than the older houses
.in the Greeley Heights ncighborruxxl,
across Quail Trail.
See HOUSING on page 9