E Coosh EEWA: The W3y it is s
e 4- Spilyay Tymoo June 9, 2005
Treaty is
something
special to
celebrate
By Selena T. Boise
Management Successor
Well, we get closer to the Pi-Umc-Sha
celebration, and we
think more and more about
what the celebration signifies.
I used to wonder
when 1 was
younger, and I
never really found
out until I was older.
I used to just attend
and be there for the powwow.
Actually young people don't
just attend, they socialize and
walk the circle at the grounds.
Tha? is what usually goes on,
and the young people meet up
with their friends, or meet new
friends from other places. That
becomes a way of socializing.
This year the meaning of the
celebration and the Treaty itself
is being recognized, as this is the
150'h anniversary of the signing
of the treaty.
Many think, "Why do we cel
ebrate losing all our land?" and
being placed on a smaller piece
of land in Central Oregon. But
I guess we celebrate the Treaty
and the right to hunt and fish in
our usual and accustomed
places, or our Ceded Lands. We
may have lost a large amount
of land but we kept many things
in this treaty. We are a treaty
tribe.
Just think, the white man
could have taken all the land
away from us, but they didn't.
We still have certain rights for
ourselves as a tribe.
Remember when I wrote
about the limited sovereignty
discussion held by COCC and
Cindy Starke? Well, I learned a
few things that I didn't know.
Though we are a sovereign tribe,
we have limits in place because
Congress has the power to put
these limits in place by way of
court cases. A court case can set
a precedent based on the out
come. I was browsing through our
newspapers from other reserva
tions and noticed that the
Yakama tribe, and the Umatilla
tribe are also celebrating the
signing of their treaties, because
they are also treaty tribes.
I am anxious to see how the
re-enactment of the Treaty is
going to turn out. I think it will
be an interesting thing to see.
And was it like this for the other
two treaty tribes?
What if we didn't have a
treaty? Would we have to work
at it to become federally recog
nized, like some other tribes had
to? Would we actually become
federally recognized? Would we
have received the help necessary
to be recognized?
That is something to think
about because we should all be
thankful for the Treaty and what
it signifies for us as a tribe, the
Confederated Tribes.
Spilyay
Speaks
i
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote 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: (54 1 ) 553-1 644 or 553-3274.
FAX No. (541) 553-3539.
E-Mail: spilyaytymoowstribes.org. Annual Subscription
rates: Within U.S.: $15.00.
Recovery
A letter to adult children of
addicts: I am in recovery of al
coholdrug abuse and related
violence addictions.
I did not think there was any
wrong to drink alcohol, smoke
weed, and stuff stress inward
while pregnant. I did not think
it affected my infant children to
be around second-hand clouds
of smoke, to wake up to a
roomful of empty alcohol con
tainers, to have drug dealers and
party people in and out of their
home. I did not think about the
lights being shut off, nothing in
the kitchen to eat or drink, the
toys and clothing my children
went without because their per
capitas were spent on alcohol,
drugs and pleasing selfish abu
sive relations.
I did not think my children
would some day turn to anger,
hate and resentment because 1
was a beat-up mother taking my
hangovers out on them. Because
my grandmother tried to raise
me better, I did not think we
would become another two gen
erations of dysfunctional fami
lies. After the divorce and cus
tody batde over my children, I
did not think I deserved any
better out of life. I was just an
other poor Native and did not
think there was any use to have
hope, faith and patience to keep
living.
Today I have discovered it's
not right to think negative and
that as an elder I am still respon
sible for the spiritual wellbeing
of my children and myself. Af
ter a lot of trial and error at
tempts, I've found a way to
healing for the injuries and harm
of our lives.
First year
By Ashley Aguilar
The school year 2004-2005
was full of first time experi
ences. It was my first time away
from home, paying my own
bills, having a baby, going
through surgery, going to school.
Going away to school was
exciting. I lived in an apartment
off campus. Many people think
that you would miss out not liv
ing in the campus dorms, be
cause that is where the action
is, but living in an apartment
isn't all that bad.
The drive to Haskell in Kan
sas was long. The scenery was a
drastic change from Oregon
mountains and forest. When I
was first looking at Kansas it was
an eyesore. The ground was flat,
there were no woods, and the
roads had cracks and potholes
every two feet. The hardest
thing to get used to was the
weather. It was so muggy, noth
ing like Central Oregon's dry air.
When I took my first step out
of the car it felt like I was walk
ing into a sauna.
I found a Higher Power in
God Creator, power in prayers,
and a never-ending source of
love for life. Found a good di
rection to walk on with dignity,
with humility that God Creator
blessed and privileged me with
motherhood for a good purpose.
We all had lost a lot of pre
cious moments that arc irre
placeable. Even though we had
all become aware of the wrongs
about drinking, drugging and
acting out under the influence
- we didn't have the strength to
change.
The spirit of forgiveness is
my prayer and love for each and
every one of the mothers, fa
thers, and children struggling
with themselves to live better
than what was destroyed through
alcoholdrug abuse and related
violence.
May God Creator bless and
take care of all our relations. I
am set free. "Humsallee,"
Veronica Walsey.
A thank you
Friends, relatives and
traditionals, I would just like to
thank all my people for their
help during our family crisis of
losing the mom of the house.
Alyssia, Falcon, Marvin and
myself and our house guests all
genuinely appreciate your par
ticipation in the funeral.
I want to extend special
thanks to Ellen Thompson for
her guidance in our Indian way.
That also includes Susie Slockish
and Mary Ann Meanus for their
input. We also thank Nola for
food preparation on such short
notice. We thank Grandma
Gladys Thompson and Irene
Towe in providing material
of college
School started about the third
week of August. I thought that
everything would go quickly but
the lines were long, orientation
wasn't really that fun in the hot
gym, and classes closed quickly.
On the day that classes were
to begin, my boyfriend John
walked me to the bus stop
across the street and put me on
the bus. I didn't know how the
bus system worked, so I asked
him to help me, as he had pre
vious experience.
When we got there I got on
the bus and sat in the front.
When the bus didn't turn the
way that it was supposed to, I
assumed that it was following a
certain route. There I was, rid
ding for about 20 minutes. Fi
nally I asked the driver when we
were going to get to Haskell. He
looked at me and laughed. His
route was downtown. John put
me on the wrong bus. I was sup
posed to wait two minutes after
and catch the number five.
I ended up walking about 14
blocks to school. By the time I
got to campus I was redder than
a fire hydrant from walking so
far. The temperature was so hot
that day. I was 20 minutes late
Wishing you
Congratula
tions to our Ka
rate Kid! Jor
dan. We are so
proud of you!
You have taken
another step for
ward. First you
earned jour or
ange belt, and
now your yellow
belt! You have come so far and
you have really deserved it by
working very hard and focusing.
i
Letters to the Editor
needs for the give away and the
ceremony. Thanks to Ramona
Starr in using her gift to help us
out.
Thanks to those individuals
who provided plates, silverware,
shower curtains, sheets, flowers,
blankets, glasses, cups, etc. to
replace the traditionally re
moved items from our house.
I never had to make deci
sions for a funeral as much as
this, and all the advice and coun
sel I received sure kept my
nerves in tact.
I thank those who gave me
leads on my pursuit of a job,
the leads were positive and pro
ductive. Thanks also to the
Northenders for the 7-drum
services in my home. Also,
thanks to the Shaker Church for
volunteering to light up my
home. Sincere appreciation, RT
Thompson "Shy-Lumce."
Casino
Tribal members, I wrote two
editorials in the Spilyay suggest
ing Bear Springs as a site for the
Casino. They went ahead and
placed it at Kah-Nee-Ta. I fore
saw that was not a viable, fea
sible idea, since I knew why as
sociationscorporations would
not hold their conventions and
meetings at Kah-Nee-Ta, being
former sales manager for Kah-Nee-Ta.
"Too far out of the
way."
I foresaw that the rock they
bought at Cascade Locks was a
no-go also, because it was pur
chased land. If we've got to buy,
turn it into trust, and then build
a casino it would build "prece
dence," a legal term that means,
"If it is legal for them, it is legal
for us."
brought many challenges
for my first class. I explained to
the teacher what had happened.
She laughed at me, said she'd
probably have done the same
thing, and allowed me to attend
class.
My first class was English.
The professor seemed to be
harsh and straight to the point.
Of course there were many
who didn't like her style, but she
ended up helping me the most.
During those first two weeks,
students were dropping out of
class like flies. Many of them
returned home because they
missed too many days and fell
behind in credit hours, and were
kicked out of the dorms.
It is expensive to live off
campus. Before I could even
move into my apartment I had
to put $3,000 down plus my
$550 deposit. I don't want to
make it sound like living on your
own is easy, because it's not. Sure
Higher Education is a great help
financially, but there are more
expenses than rent. My bills in
cluded electric, gas, phone, trans
portation and most important
food. I called my mom and sis
ter three to five times a month
to ask for money. I was con
the very best..
You really are a shining star! We
love you and are very proud of
you. hove, mom, dad, and Jeston
(the little karate kid in train
'&) Happy third anniver
sary to my fiance David K.
Belgard Sr. Still waiting to
get married for two years
now, but I'll wait for you.
I love you very much.
Your fiance Dinah.
All other tribes would follow
suit and buy land also because
precedence would have been
established. Already the coastal
tribes wanted to buy land next
to the Rose Garden and the
Portland Meadows and Yakama
to Vancouver. That would warp
our projected income at Cascade
Locks.
We wasted time with the gov
ernor trying to get the compact.
The spcarheaders of the Casino
relocation had no insight that the
federal government would be
another bottleneck, and now
they say in a year it is still a go;
(fat chance). But the federal
government, I truly believe, will
not set precedence for casinos
to be built on off-rez property,
because they know they will
open the door for chaos politi
cally with a flood of Indian
tribes following suit.
After we have exhausted our
efforts on Cascade Locks, we
will be looking at more years of
waiting for a different site. Why
not build it at Bear Springs on
the Rez? It is an hour's drive
from Gresham. It would keep
most of our Central Oregon
patrons, a close enough drive for
Springer employees to keep their
residence and commute. There
is already a ranger station there,
letting us know there is a water
system, electricity, and telephone
system.
During winter months Ur
banites would rather choose the
casino hotel than Timberline
during their skiing retreats. Not
enough traffic? Try crossing
highway 2,6 during lunch break
without some kind of wait. Why
wait for an inevitable denial
from the governments, when we, (
stantly broke and jobs were
hard to find because somebody
can always do more work for
less.
In September I found out I
was pregnant. It was good news
but I knew that I would suffer
financially. Luckily in Lawrence
there are many programs to help
pregnant women. Of course, I
took advantage of them and
applied for medical assistance,
Any person would apply for
that, rather than pay for all the
treatments, appointments and
the actual live birth.
School was going great. I
made it to every class and
turned in every assignment. I
never missed a day and my pro
fessors noticed that because not
many students make it to every
class.
About the third week of Sep
tember I felt really sick, but I
still made it to class. One par
ticular day, a Thursday, I had to
walk to school because we had
no money for the bus and John
wasn't getting paid until that Fri
day. I knew I had to walk so I
started at seven o'clock in the
morning. It took me two hours
John and I
would like to thank
everyone who sup
ported us while we
were at school and
in our time of need.
We greatly appreci
ate those who
prayed for my daughter Mia Roe
Kalama while she was in the hos
pital those first five to six weeks
of her life. Right now she is
healthy and strong and we are
proud parents. I would especially
can be breaking ground immi
nently at Bear Springs? We are
still talking millions at Bear
Springs. Not as much as the
Cascade Ixicks, but how greedy
can wc get? Encourage your
Tribal Council reps toward this
idea for your districts, and let
visionaries be heard. RT Th
ompson aka Shy-Lumcc.
Incarceration
To the editor, diis short news
is to let the people know that
Andrew (Tiger) David has been
incarcerated in Port Angeles,
Washington for the past 10
months.
His crime was negligent ho
micide. This is a crime involv
ing driving under the influence
of alcohol. The wreck he was
involved in caused the death of
the lady in the other vehicle. I le
went to jury trial, which lasted
four days and the jury found
him guilty. I le was sentenced to
1 1 years behind bars.
Tiger wishes to send this
news to all of you that know
him. 1 le will be sending an ad
dress where they send him to
do his time. Then he will want
some pen pals.
Tiger also wants to announce
the birth of his new son that was
born April 27, 2005, Johnnie
Lee David, welcome him. Thank
you and God Bless. Family of
Andrew (Tiger) David. .
Thank you for writing to
the Spilyay. Please keep in
mind that letters can be no
longer than 350 words in
length, one submission per
issue. Thank you.
to walk to the clinic in what
would usually take 30-40 min
utes. I would walk a few steps
then get tired and sit down. I
was mad at myself because I
felt too sick to go to class and I
didn't want to miss, because one
of my classes would exempt me
from the final if I didn't miss
any days.
When the nurse called my
name I was nearly passed out
on the chair in the waiting room.
I was exhausted from the walk.
I passed out in the exam room
and came to a few seconds later.
I woke up to a nurse and doc
tor looking at me. They asked
me if I was on drugs and I said,
No I'm pregnant. Then they
asked me if I was drunk and I
a said, No, I'm pregnant.
They drew some blood and
found that my white blood cell
count was at 22. Normally it's
supposed to be at 14. They tried
to find out what my body was
fighting so hard against, and a
few minutes later they were
rushing me to the emergency
room.
(Ashley is working this summer
at the Spilyay. Her article will con
tinue in the nest edition.)
like to thank my
mom for coming
down while I was
still in the hospital
and my dad who
supported me and
wished he could be
there. Family is
very important to us and we're
glad to add a few additions to
it. Thank you Joe, Melinda,
Chester and Shaaya for being
there for us when you had other
things to do. Ashley R. Aguilar.