Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Never surrender your voice
B y S a ra h F r a n k
Victims o f Crime Services
More than 4,000 people live
on the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation and many are not
only affected by the meth epi­
demic, they are also affected by
a victim ization o f a “silen t”
matter.
Many are shamed into silence
while others are silent by fear.
Fear that if they tell the truth
they will face retaliation, espe­
cially in gang rape incidents.
Whatever the reason, they re­
main silent... and the result of
that silence is likely one of the
keys to the continuous addiction
problem in Warm Springs, in­
cluding meth addiction.
By remaining silent to sexual
assault (rape) we allow the poi­
sonous memory to decrease our
self-worth and increase our self-
medication (addiction) tactics.
We must confront the pain, tell
ourselves the truth and this will
lay the groundwork for healing.
* 1) Acknowledge that the as­
sault happened, 2) talk to some­
one you trust (as many times as
needed) and 3) release the pain
(as many times as needed). In
doing this we become stronger.
We u p ro o t the b itte rn e ss,
unforgiveness and resentment
that may have taken root since
the assault. We begin the heal­
ing process and we must remem­
ber that it is a process and will
take time. Don’t expect your­
self or another person to heal
overnight, everyone heals in
their own timing and not every­
one heals the same.
People find it easy to hurt
others, especially if they do not
see others as equal to them ­
selves. Teach your children that
all people are equal (equality)
then it won’t be so easy for them
to harm others. D egradation
occurs where there is hostility.
Decrease violence in your home
by assessing 1) what causes vio­
lence, 2) who is violent and 3)
what can be done to remove
violence. We must take a stand
to remove the violence from
the home, rather than remov­
ing the children from the vio­
lence.
Ruby White Star of National
Council of Juvenile and Family
Court Judges was a keynote
speaker at the “Strength thru
Id e n tity ” co n feren ce
in
Pendleton.
Ruby shared her story of her
childhood and the effect domes­
tic violence and sexual assault
had on her family. One of the
results was the untimely death
o f her 19-year-o ld brother.
Ruby insisted her mother was
not beaten because she lacked
self-esteem; it was because her
father wanted to control her
mother. When the batterer loses
this control and the woman has
left, her life can be at high risk.
She spoke of a Supreme Court
decision that prohibits removal
o f children from an abused
woman.
They found that the interven­
tion that was used to protect
children was actually causing
more harm to the children.
“We live in a paradigm that
condones violence.” (Paradigm
= map inlaid in the mind which
determines the way we see the
world). Programs have found
that it is too hard to stop him
from beating her, so let’s just put
the blame on “her.” Questions
are often asked such as “Why
didn’t she protect her children?”
“Why doesn’t she just leave?”
“Did she get help?” Instead let’s
start asking, “What did he do to
get better?”
*
Social norms supporting vio­
lence need to eliminated, rede­
fine how society views domes­
tic v io len ce and fa c ilitate
batterer accountability. Don’t
ju st m ake it som eone e lse ’s
problem by simply allowing him
to move to his next victim.
In closing Ruby told us about
her father’s alcohol treatment
and the completion of his ninth
step in the program. Her father
wanted to “make amends” with­
out taking respon sib ility for
sexually abusing her. Ruby said,
“I had the courage to speak and
he had to listen, for six hours
Page 5
March 30, 2 0 0 6
he had to hear every detail he
had forgotten, but I rem em ­
bered.”
Never surrender your voice,
you must get the bad things out
or it will poison yo u ....
For those who have caused
the pain to others, you must stop.
Face what you have done, seek
help and understand that it is in
acknowledging your wrong do­
ing that you can over come and
change. Seek healing and most
importantly stop the victimiza­
tion. If you believe that you are
not hurting anyone, you are
wrong.
O th er speakers in clu d ed
Veraunda Jackson and DJ Vanas.
DJ is a national motivational
speaker who encouraged his
crowd to: Focus on one thing at
a tim e, learn to bend in the
storm — so you won’t break,
celebrate your success stories,
think o f activities that boost
your spirit and act, have a good
attitude in everything and look
in the mirror and give yourself
a goofy smile (especially after
someone just cussed you out on
the phone)!
On March 22, I had the op­
portunity to go in to the Coffee
Creek Correctional Institute in
Wilsonville with the FITS min­
istry team to share my testimony.
This was another “baby step” to
my heating. Each of us has a
part in helping others and I
would tike to thank all of you
who have helped me, you know
who you are... Thank you!
In closing, the V ictim ’s of
Crime Services would tike to
in v ite you to the P rayer
Walk on April 3 beginning at 12
noon. A ll denominations are
welcome to participate. We will
also have two “D arkness to
Light” presentations on April
11 (12-4 p.m.) at the Community
Center and April 21 (6-9 p.m.)
at the Family Resource Center.
Let’s stand for what we be­
lieve in, not just what we are
against. We believe that every­
one deserves to have a safe and
peaceful home! Silence Increases
Violence....
Bottle drive to benefit graduation party
P ro ject G raduation for M adras H igh
School’s 2006 graduation, has scheduled a can
and bottle drive Sat., April 8 from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. at Erickson’s Sentry parking lot.
Proceeds help fund the class of 2006’s all-
night drug and alcohol free party graduation
night. To have bottles and cans picked up,
call Monroes, 475-3555, or Kirks, 475-9209.
KWSO looking for local talent
KWSO, 91.9 FM, in Warm
Springs is looking for talented
musicians and performance art­
ists from Central Oregon for its
“Home Fire” show, its showcase
of local music.
Cassette tapes and compact
discs can be sent to KWSO, P.O.
Box 489, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
For more information, con­
tact Jennifer Miller at 553-1968
or at jmiller@wstribes.org.
Child Protective Services offices
from 8:30 to 10 a.m., and the
parade follows at 10 a.m., mov­
ing from the CPS offices to the
community center.
E aster is A pril 16, and an
Easter egg hunt begins at 10:30
a.m. at the Community Center,
and a craft table is set up to start
at 10:30. Presentations are at
11:30 a.m., followed by lunch
at noon. Activities, including an
obstacle race and arts and crafts,
is from 1 to 2 p.m. Door prizes
are given throughout the day.
A Prevention Walk is sched­
uled for 11 a.m. April 26. Bal­
loons and T-shirts are distributed
to participants at the start of the
walk. Prayer and a balloon re­
lease is in front of the Commu­
nity Center, and lunch follows
in the Community Center Social
Hall at noon.
Last w eek, W arm Springs
Tribal Council chairman Ron
Suppah signed a proclamation
declaring April as Child Abuse
P revention M onth in W arm
Springs, calling for “youth-serv­
ing prevention programs to of­
fer p o sitiv e altern ativ es for
young people and encourage
youth to develop strong ties to
their tribal community,” and that
“all citizen s should becom e
more aware of child abuse and
its prevention within the com­
munity, and become involved in
supporting parents to raise their
children in a safe, nurturing en­
vironment.”
For more information on any
of the CPS-sponsored events in
April, contact CPS at 553-3209.
Sen. Gordon Smith wall
meet with residents during
a town hall m eeting on
Wednesday, April 12, at the
Madras Aviation Building at
the airport. The meeting will
be from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
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CALL 475-6663
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755 S.W. Hwy 97, Madras, OR 97741
Events to raise
awareness of abuse
April is Child Abuse Preven­
tion M onth, and the W arm
Springs Child Protective Ser­
vices (CPS) staff has several
events planned to help raise the
community’s awareness.
The CPS staff invites the
community to participate in any
and all events scheduled through
the month of April.
The staff is at various loca­
tions through the month to dis­
tribute inform ation on Child
Abuse and N eglect Inform a­
tion. A sheet for children to
color was distributed last Friday,
and the colored sheets will be
on display throughout the com­
munity beginning April 7.
CPS staff and volunteers will
flag trees with royal blue ribbons
and distribute information on
child abuse prevention to the
community. Royal blue is the
universal color for Child Abuse
and Neglect Prevention.
A basketball jamboree and
skate park contest for kids 12-
17 is set for April 7, a Friday
kids are not in school, from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. at Elmer Quinn
Park. On the basketball court is
a 3-on-3 basketball tournament,
along with free throw shooting
and half-court shooting contests.
Prizes are awarded that day.
Contact Liz Nava at 553-3209
for more details.
A com m unity parade and
barbecue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
April 15. Members of the com­
munity are encouraged to deco­
rate their vehicles and participate
in the parade.
Vehicles set up in front of the
Senator
visiting area
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