SCfl
OrColl
E
75
.S&8
v. 30
no. 18
Septeibsr
1, 005
Spilyiy
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Univeriity of Oregon Library
Recti ved on: 09-06-05
Spilyay tyioo.
ECRWSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
i PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Coyote News, est 1976
September-1, 2005 Vol. 30, No. 18
ymc
Fee to trust
meetings
at Gorge
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has
scheduled an additional public open
house, as part of the comment period
for the Confederated Tribes' resort and
casino project in Cascade Locks.
The additional meeting, in addition
to the four already scheduled, is in
Stevenson, Wash. The added meeting
comes in response to requests from
Washington residents.
The purpose of the open houses is
to provide information about the pro
posed casino project, and to solicit pub
lic input on potential issues to analyze
in the environmental impact statement
(EIS).
Although these will not be formal
public hearings, court recorders will be
available to record statements attend
ees may wish to make. Maps, back
ground information and staff will be
available to present information and
answer questions. Refreshments will be
provided.
The open houses are part of a 45
day public comment period for the EIS
that the BIA will use to analyze the
casino proposal. The schedule of open
houses is as follows:
Thursday, Sept. 15 from 6 - 8:30
p.m. Port of Cascade Locks Gorge Pa
vilion, Marine Park, 355 Wa-Na-Pa
Street, Cascade Locks.
Saturday, Sept. 17 from 9:30 am -Noon.
Same location as above.
Monday, Sept. 19. from 5 - 8 p.m.
Benson High School cafeteria, 546 NE
12th Avenue, Portland.
Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 6 - 8:30
p.m. Hood River Inn, Gorge Room,
1108 East Marina Way, Hood River.
Wednesday, Sept. 28 from 6:00 -8:30
p.m. Rock Creek Center, 710 SW
Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson, Wash.
Each open house will include a one-
hour presentation of the proposal.
Interested parties can also comment
in writing on the project by September
30 in the following ways:
Please see CASINO on page 16
2 fatal
wrecks in
recent days
Two fatal motor vehicle accidents
on the reservation in recent days have
taken the lives of two tribal members.
A wreck on Saturday, August 27,
took the life of Oliver Moses. He was
47.
On Monday, August 29, a wreck on
Upper Dry Creek Road took the life
of Darla (Davis) Sam. She was 44.
Mrs. Sam was on her way to work
at the time of the accident that claimed
her life. She worked at Traditional Trea
sures gift shop.
Her vehicle left the roadway at a
dangerous turn on Upper Dry Creek.
Her vehicle rolled.
Mrs. Sam was transported by ground
ambulance to Mountain View Hospital
in Madras, and was then flown by
AirLife to St. Charles Medical Center
in Bend. She passed away at 3:30 p.m.
on Monday, August 29.
The wreck that claimed Mr. Moses'
life happened at 10:15 p.m., Saturday
at milepost 1.5 on Tenino Road.
One other person, the passenger
Shelly Greene-Boise, was injured in the
wreck. She was flown by AirLife to St.
Charles in Bend, and later released.
Alcohol is thought to be a factor in this
wreck, according to police. Investiga
tors said that Mr. Moses failed to ne
gotiate a curve at a high rate of speed.
Veteran finally receives war medals
By Brian Mortensen
Spilyay Tymoo
It took years for Chesley Yahtin
to be able to talk about what he ex
perienced as a young man during the
Korean Conflict.
Now he can talk about it, and with
that freedom finally comes recogni
tion from the government he
served, in the form of medals he
earned more than 50 years ago.
Yahtin, 74, received a Federal
Express envelope two weeks ago
that included three medals, includ
ing a Korean Campaign Ribbon with
five battle stars and a Korean De
fense Medal. I Ie also received cer
tificates honoring his two Purple
I learts, which he earned in two in
cidents occurring less than six
months apart in 1950 and 1951.
"I guess you could say this is sort
of a relief," he said.
Yahtin was 'also given an honor
able discharge from the U.S. Army,
reversing a dishonorable discharge
he received shordy after he was sent
back to the US. from Korea.
The push to rightfully award
Yahtin his medals and reward him
for his service began when Julie
Sullivan, a reporter from The Or
egonian, was in Warm Springs do
ing research for a story in late 2003.
"She talked with my daughter,"
he said. "My daughter must have
I.
! f u : , i
; I "J - i
i I ' hi"0'''
i. .
r r i
Brian MortenwnSpilyay
Korean War Veteran Chesley Yahtin with war medals.
told her I was a veteran, and she got fate of children on the Warm Springs
her talking to me about it. It went from Reservation was a short piece on Yahtin
there." and the medals he was missing. Then
In the same issue as the Portland Sen. Ron Wyden started working on it.
newspaper's controversial story on the "They questioned me on what had
happened, so I explained it to them,'
Yahtin said.
lie was 19 yc"ars old when the Ko
rcan Conflict began June 25, 1950. 1 Ic
had been stationed in Sapporo, Japan,
as part of the U.S. occupation of post-
World War II Japan. But when Prcsi
dent Harry S. Truman declared war,
Yahtin was moved to the southern tip
of Japan for serious combat training
for about a month.
"Of course, we were pretty close
just across the way from there, so from
that day on, everything changed for us.
All our equipment got shipped to thd
other end of Japan. That was the first
time I handled a weapon with ammo,'
he said. "I had to ride the train with
our equipment."
After the intensive training, Yahtin's
unit was sent to In-chon in South Ko
rea.
He didn't expect to be caught in th
middle of the United States' latest mili
tary campaign. Only a year before, ha
was in Madras going through his firsn
year of high school.
"What had happened is my grand
father was somewhat against the whitd
people, pretty much," he said. "Hd
would say they always lie, and. . . he kept
me out of school because he didn'd
want me involved with white people,
So it was kind of late for me to start
school. I didn't start until I was 10 years
old."
Please see MEDALS on page 10
Council focuses on methamphetamine problem
By Dave McMechan
Spilyaj Tymoo
The Tribal Council last week dis
cussed the problem of methamphet
amine on the reservation.
Councilman Raymond Tsumpti,"
general manager of Public Safety, ,
asked the drug issue be included on
the Council agenda, as the problem
has been escalating in the commu
nity. Tsumpti suggested that the
Council should consider making the
drug problem a top priority for the
tribes.
As part of the Council presenta
tion, investigators Greg Sanson and
John Webb discussed the problem
of methamphetamine, or crank, on
the reservation.
"Over the past 10 years I've seen
a dramatic change in the types of
drugs found on the reservation,"
said Stinson.
Not long ago, he said, marijuana
and cocaine were more common
than methamphetamine. Now, meth
is the most common drug in the com
munity, "because it is so easy to make,"
said Stinson.
"There is a crisis here," he said. "Be
tween 80 and 90 percent of crimes on
the reservation are directly related to
meth use."
The drug is becoming more com
mon, and more potent, said Webb.
"Eight to 10 months ago we would see
meth usually in a powder form," he
said. "Now we see it as crystal."
The state in recent months has
passed a law making it more difficult
to acquire ingredients to make meth
amphetamine, said Stinson. However,
the drug is arriving in the community
from out of state, including from
Mexico.
The investigators said methamphet
amine is a very dangerous drug, because
people who are using it lose the sense
of right and wrong. As an example, a
person on meth will continue to pick
at a sore on the skin, almost until reach
ing the bone, not realizing the harm
being inflicted.
People on the drug begin to halluci
nate and become paranoid, and they
are more likely to be violence. The in
vestigators said that during a recent
search of a residence, a suspect fired a
gun, narrowly missing an officer.
The tribes need to consider allocat
ing more resources toward fighting the
problem, said Councilman Tsumpti. The
police, for instance do not have a drug
dog, which would make the searches
much more effective.
"How serious are we?" he said. "We
need to think about the young people,
because they are the future leaders."
Tsumpti said that all departments of
the tribes, and the whole community
need to be involved in the fight.
Council members discussed mea
sures that may be taken to eliminate
the drug dealers. For instance, unwanted
people can be excluded from the res
ervation, said Warm Springs Chief
Delvis Heath.
Paiute Chief Joe Moses said if there
are changes that need to be made to
fight the methamphetamine problem,
u It's a problem of the na
tion, and our nation is at
jeopardy because of this. "
Chief Wallulatum
then the Council should make them.
Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum
said, "The battle against drugs is
everyone's batde. It's a problem of the
nation, and our nation is at jeopardy
because of this."
He said the Council might consider
forming a committee to coordinate the
fight against methamphetamine. The
tribes have been fighting alcohol abuse
for ages, he said, but the drug problem
is something new.
Councilwoman Carol Wewa said diat
methamphetamine is causing devasta
tion to families. She said the Council
should hold a workshop on priorities,
to consider making this drug problem ;
a specific top Council priority.
'V
K1
U7
v- r
a
A V
r "
.-a- - . - -JA Ln? r ' - -:-
' a-. n
differ3!
... -n .a-1V.Ji.j,j. -'
Gene Harvey Sr. performs
the Eagle Dance during
Friday night's program at
the Tenth Annual
Huckleberry Harvest.
The harvest is held at the
Museum at Warm Springs,
and at Kah-Nee-Ta.
The event, featuring auctions
and tribal performances, is
the mani annual fund-raiser
for The Museum at Warm
Springs.
This year the Huckleberry
Harvest raised an estimated
$85,000, about $5,000 more
than had been anticipated.
(See the story on page
16.)