Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
October 27, 2005
No easy task starting
Victims of Crime Services
By Sarah Frank
Victims of Crime Services
spokt to an VJderncently who
thartd her story of domtstic vio
lent and rtmemhtred bow there urn
hp programs for women who wen
abused. Not only was then no safe
place to go, but community mem
bers, family and law enforcement
believed it was a personal family
problem and chose to turn the other
cheek,
I called and spoke to Orthelia
Patt, who was one of Warm
Springs' first advocates for victims
of domestic violence. This is her
story:
It started by battered and
abused women coming to my
home for a safe haven in Miller
Heights. I had to stand my
ground while being confronted
by their spouses or significant
others demanding that they
wanted the victim to come out
of my home. When I chose not
to follow their orders I was ver
bally abused and received
threats of physical abuse.
I did this on my own because
there was no safe place for the
victims. I called the police and
asked law enforcement what
was available for the victims. At
that time, the law enforcement
had the attitude that this was a
personal matter and did or could
not offer much more. I volun
teered to take the victims to the
police department to take pic
tures of their cuts and bruises.
Many times after the victim
filed a complaint there seemed
to be too much fear and intimi
dation from the victimizer that
the victim would drop the
charges.
After the fifth incident I got
an appointment with Bob Jack
son, Tribal Social Services direc
tor, and inquired if it was pos
sible to find safe havens for vic
tims of abuse. He called me a
month later and asked if I
would be interested in attend
ing a conference for abuse. He
asked who would be interested
in advocating for such a pro
gram on the reservation. I se
lected Jewell Minnick.
When we returned we liter
Events calendar
Project Graduation Can and Bottle Drive: Satur
day, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. at Erickson's Sen
try Market parking lot. Proceeds help fund the senior
all-night drug and alcohol free party for the graduat
ing class of 2006. Call for can and bottle pick-up.
Monroe, 475-3555 or 977-2697 (cell); or Kirk, 475
9209 or 420-4260 (cell).
Mylo Jones Thanksgiving Basketball Tourna
ment: Nov. 25-27. Mens 6 foot and under plus one.
You can have two big guys - only one on the court at
a time. Toppenish, Wash, tribal school, Stanley
Smartlowit Gym. $275 entry fee. $75 deposit will hold
spot. First 12 teams, eight-man roster. First place:
leather sleeve jackets. Second, awards. Third,
awards. All stars and MVP awards. For more infor
mation contact Glen or Mildred Jones, (509) 901-2372
or (509) 901-2373; or at work, (509) 865-5121, ext.
4295.
Credit
announcement
The Tribal Credit
Department is not
accepting personal
loan applications un
til Monday, Oct. 31.
The announce
ment is due to the
current backlog of
applications at
Credit.
Only exceptions:
Funeral loans, medi
cal emergency, home
loans, business
loans.
Applications can
be turned in on Oct.
31. Thank you.
ally knocked on doors to be in
vited on to business agendas to
share the conference
information. We finally suc
ceeded to get on Tribal Council's
agenda, and some had the vic
tims give testimony on their per
sonal experience with the law
enforcement and tribal court.
Once we got the attention of
Tribal Council our goal was
to acquire mandatory arrest of
the victimizer, and removal
from the household. We even
tually received support from
Tribal Council to have manda
tory domestic training for our
judicial system and for the law
enforcement.
The main reason for this
training was to assist the judicial
and law enforcement agencies'
attitude toward domestic
violence. We had our first meet
ing with approximately 60 vic
tims in the basement of the old
clinic (now the Family Resource
Center).
The women present seemed
to feel empowered and voted
to appoint a board of directors
to oversee the Victims of Abuse
activities. We were able to seek
enough funding sources to al
low staff to establish and imple
ment what is known today as the
Victims of Crime facilities.
I had to maintain my current
employment in Purchasing, and
Shirley Sanders and Jewell at
tended other conferences. Bob
Jackson needs to be publicly
thanked for assisting in imple
menting the Victims of Crime
Program. Our thanks to Jim
Soules, because he
established the mandatory arrest
in Prineville for domestic
violence. He was always avail
able to discuss issues
and concerns. It took a lot of
personal time, patience and per
sistence, but we were deter
mined to overcome all the road
blocks and hurdles because we
believed in helping the
victims. We strongly felt this
would help end the cycle of
continued victimization in future
generations.
supermarket"
Locally owned
and operated
475-3637
"Serious
about
Soruicc"
A challenge
to leave
Domestic violence con
tinues to be a major prob
lem in the Warm Springs
community. Getting and
staying out of an abusive
relationship can be very
challenging.
A woman who has
been abused has many
barriers to overcome. Bar
riers can include, but are
not limited to a lack of fi
nancial support, housing,
transportation, emotional
stability, support to keep
children, job skills, and
education. Among these
barriers, often the most
overlooked, is emotional
stability. A woman who is
constantly criticized and
or belittled by her mate
can become very fragile
emotionally. It will take
time for her to heal and
become strong.
Why do women re
turn? For the most part, they
love the abuser. The bond
between the abuser and
abused can be very strong.
Some women and men
build their whole being on
their relationship and their
family. If domestic vio
lence was a part of their
parent's life then the chil
dren learn the behavior
and begin to see it as "just
a way of life."
The national average
number of times a woman
will return to an abusive re
lationship is seven times; in
Indian Country the average
is 12 times.
Set HEALING on page 10
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