Spilyqy Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon
December 22, 2005
A Look at the News of 2005
January
Skate park
The new year began with the
opening of the Elmer Quinn
Skate Park, which quickly be
came a popular place for young
people.
Cougars
The beginning of 2005 also
saw concern among some on
the reservation that cougars
were becoming a potentially se
rious hazard. In response Tribal
Council approved a new man
agement plan allowing tribal
members with approved tags to
hunt cougars during a 10-month
season from August through
May. Also, cougars on the res
ervation can legally be shot them
if they arc posing a danger to
human life or to livestock.
Charter school
Other news from January
2005: Spurred on by efforts at
other Indian reservations in
Oregon, and by what many
tribal members believe is ineq
uitable treatment from the
school district that serves stu
dents from Warm Springs, the
Education Committee of the
Confederated Tribes has intro
duced the idea of opening a
charter school. The idea is to
have a charter school for middle
school and high school-age stu
dents. The proposal was brought
out by members of the Educa
tion Committee at a January
meeting of the Jefferson
County 509-J School District.
Christine Johnson, 24, was
crowned Miss Warm Springs
2005 in a Jan. 24 ceremony
at the Agency Longhouse
Jan. 24.
$16.4 million settlement
The 1 6.4 million McQuinn
blowdown and HcHe fire settle
ment agreement was the topic
of discussion at a gathering in
late January 2005. About 150
people attended the hearing.
Tribal members commented
that at least part of the setde
mcnt money should be distrib
uted per capita. Some also com
mented that the federal govern
ment should not have the right
to approve or disapprove the
tribal plan for use of the setde
ment money. The $16.4 million
resolved the long-standing law
suit by the tribes against the fed
eral government regarding mis
management of the McQuinn
blowdown timber sales.
Biomass generation
Geovisions, the tribes' envi
ronmental services company,
announced the beginning of
work on a study to determine
how efficiently wood - includ
ing fallen trees, unwanted trees
like juniper and smaller trees
can be harvested from federal
lands outside the reservation
and brought to Warm Springs
mm Jill' AT ' .
i kcj
l it- 2S. VV
for processing. Work on the
study could begin as soon as
February week.
February
New gymnasium
The new Warm Springs El
ementary School gymnasium
opened in February. The build
ing was officially dedicated with
an opening prayer ceremony
conducted by Warm Springs
Chief Dclvis I Icath. Commu
nity members were then invited
to see and appreciate the new
structure during an open house
on Feb. 1 8. Dawn Smith, prin
cipal of school, said the new
gym turned out very nicely.
"The floor is beautiful. It's
maple," Smith said. "We tried to
keep basic lines, so it's not clut
tered." The school emblem, an
eagle, is hand-painted into the
jump circle at the center of the
floor. The gymnasium has a
high-vaulted ceiling with wooden
beams. High on the wall is the
tribal emblem of three teepees.
Besides the spacious main floor,
the gym includes a stage and a
physical education office.
Celilo longhouse
The Celilo Village longhouse
was torn down in late February,
making way for a new one. Be
fore the old longhouse was torn
down, community members,
family and guests gathered one
last time in the building. "It was
sad. Some people were crying.
There are a lot of memories in
that longhouse," said Celilo resi
dent Delila Heemsah. Heemsah
said the Confederated Tribes,
Tribal Council and Chairman
Ron Suppah are to be thanked
for helping supply poles and lum
ber for the new longhouse.
Warm Springs Forest Products
Industries also helped, she said.
Meth problem
Whose problem is metham
phetamine anyway?
The answer, it would seem,
is everyone in a community, as
the drug has become a scourge
to Western states over the past
couple decades for its addictive
qualities, low price relative to
other drugs, and the swath of
crime that follows meth use in
a community. The problem was
the subject of the day-long
"Methamphetamine: Whose
Problem Is It? Part II" seminar
in February at Living Hope
Christian Center in Madras. Sev
eral hundred people - including
many from the reservation - at
tended the eight-hour seminar,
that included panel discussions
with law enforcement officials,
community activists, business
owners helping law enforce
ment, drug treatment counse
lors, and those who have per
sonally experienced meth's de
structive power.
March
River permits
The month of March saw a
legal victory for the tribes, in
regard to protection of the
Deschutes River. The
Deschutes is one of the state's
most popular rivers with boat
ers, and this great popularity led
to over-use, the Confederated
Tribes had said for years. Pro
tection of the river requires a
boater permit system, the tribes
have argued, while commercial
river guides, nearby municipali
ties and others took an oppos
ing view. A federal judge sided
with the tribes, and created a pre-
Cv' "rr
M7
At Cascade Locks in April, Tribal Council Chairman Ron Suppah signed gaming
agreements on behalf of the Confederated Tribes.
cedent that could have ramifi
cations for all permitted rivers
in the U.S. The judge's ruling
provides the Ixwcr Deschutes
with the first boater permit sys
tem using a "common pool"
system to obtain permits. This
could not have been accom
plished without the participation
and influence of the tribes. . .
I
Youth center
The doors of the new center
opened in March. The Spectrum
Youth Center is located in the
VFW-Ladies Auxiliary building
on Hollywood Boulevard. The
building has been remodeled by
the group Extraordinary Young
People, based in Portland. The
model for the youth center,
which is working in cooperation
with the Recreation Department
and others on the reservation,
is one that the group developed
on the Crow Reservation.
April
CASCADE LOCKS - The
Confederated Tribes signed an
agreement with the state that
could lead to the most impor
tant economic development pro
gram in the tribes' history. The
agreement, or gaming compact,
provides the necessary state ap
proval for development of a
tribal casino at Cascade Locks
on the Columbia River. The
approval process now moves to
the federal level. State approval
is vital and influential during the
federal process.
Howlak Tichum
In April Warm Springs
mourned the loss of one of
its premier leaders. Zane
Jackson, 81, passed away
the morning of April 18.
Mr. Jackson's health had
been declining for a few
years. He had resigned
from the Tribal Council
because of health reasons.
Zane Jackson served
longer tthan any other
elected member of Trial
Council. He was first
elected to Council in 1971.
Before politics, Mr. Jackson
had a career in the timber
business. He was a veteran
of World War II.
0
0
o y
ft ,sVvv ,1' A
.- ', , ----1
May
Unexpected decision
The tribes learned this month
that federal approval of the
gaming compact for Cascade
I.ocks has to wait until the ca
sino site is in federal trust. The
process of putting the property
into trust may take about a year.
This was an unexpected devel
opment, and a disappointing one
for the tribes. But in the end the
goal of building a casino at Cas
cade Locks can still be accom
plished, said Ken Smith, who is
working on the project. "It's a
bump in the road, and we'll
move on," he said. "I don't think
it slows the process."
At the mill
Workers continue to put to
gether the towering red steel
structure that is taking shape at
Warm Springs Forest Products
Industries. As this work contin
ues, the promise of electricity
generated and sold from the fa
cility is beginning to take shape.
June
When the River Ran Wild!
The way it was long ago,
when the river ran wild! It is a
great and sweeping subject,
A l V
f5
W.
ilk. : L4k
At the Agency Longhouse in March, Louise Jackson
helps prepare servings for the Root Feast. ,
sometimes controversial, always
fascinating. Ten years ago
George Aguilar set about docu
menting a history of Indian
names of his family. At first he
used information from tribal
Vital Statistics, Bureau of In
dian Affairs Realty, and old cen
sus information, some dating
I'tfJ , to" jfh 880sl Jjje research
grew over time, until Aguilar had
written a book of great interest
to many readers. His book is
When the River Ran Wild! In
dian Traditions on the Mid-Co-lumbia
and the Warm Springs
Reservation. The 272-page book
was published in June by the Uni
versity of Washington Press
and the Oregon Historical Soci
ety. Hydro license
The Federal Energy Regula
tory Commission in June made
the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs and Portland
General Electric the joint li
cense holders for the Pelton
Round Butte project. This is the
first hydroelectric license held
jointly by a tribe and a utility.
Pelton-Round is the largest hy
droelectric project within the
boundaries of Oregon.
Treaty celebration
A highlight at Pi-Ume-Sha
this year was the re-enactment
of the signing of the Treaty of
1855. The re-enactment took
place on Saturday, June 25, 150
years to the day of the actual
Ami
1
treaty council gathering and sign
ing. Many people volunteered
their time and effort to make
the re-enactment a success.
Duran Bobb wrote the script,
using the treaty council minutes,
and he also contributed in many
ways throughout the production,
Tribal members who are descen
dants of the signers were re
cruited to play the parts of the
Indians at the council. Many
members of the community also
volunteered to play the extras.
July
New longhouse
July saw the opening and
blessing of the new longhouse
at Celilo Village. Tribal leaders
from the Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs, Yakama Na-.
Don, Umatilla and Nez Perce na
tions will be on hand. The Con-!
federated Tribes of Warm
Springs has been of great help
in developing the new;
longhouse, said Delilah
Heemsah, life-long resident of
Celilo. j
Ventures reorganized
Warm Springs Ventures, the
business and economic develop-;
ment corporation of the tribes,
is being restructured. The tribes,
contracted with Hamstrect and
Associates to do an assessment;
of Ventures and its businesses,'
said Jody Calica, secretary-trca-!
surer. Hamstreet and Associates;
is a firm that helps in turning!
around businesses. Meanwhifc,;
Tribal Council meanwhile has!
appointed an interim board Cf,
directors of Ventures. "We an-;
ticipate operating under this ar-,'
rangement for about six;
months," said Calica. ',
August
New Judges
Tribal Council has appointed
three new trial judges to the
Tribal Court. The new chief
judge is Anita Jackson, and the
associate judges are Marie Calica
and Barbara Jim. The previous
Chief Judge was Lola Sohappy,
who has retired. The previous
associate judges were Walter
Langnese and Wilma Smith. The
associate judges' terms had ex
pired, and Tribal Council earlier
this year directed staff to adver
tise the positions. - ,
Governor's support
Gov. Ted Kulongoski sent a;
letter to the BIA stating that a
tribal casino at Cascade Locks
would not be a detriment aijl
would benefit the local commif
nity, the tribes and the state. Th
casino proposal, the letter stated
"is a winning deal for the trili
and for all stakeholders in Ofi;
egon, but mostly the proposal
a winning deal for the tribes atj3
the people in and around Cas
cade Locks." The letter from tb
governor is in response to setf
eral questions from the BIA fim
garding various aspects of stf
ing a casino at Cascade Locks.
EIS process
Meanwhile in August, the
Confederated Tribes began the
evaluation of how a casino at
Cascade Locks would impact the
environment. The evaluation
process will result in an environ
mental impact statement, or EIS.
The EIS process is a large, nec
essary step toward bringing the
25-acre development site into
trust.
(The jeer in review m ill continue
in the next paper.)