Spilyay Tym
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O r C o ll
75
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v. 3 1
no. 8
A p r il
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Coyote News, est. 1976
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P.O. Box 870
ings, OR 97761
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2006
G am ing U pdate
Casino discussion
at state, federal levels
The U.S. Senate and the House are
considering bills that would amend the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
o f 1988.
The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz. The House bill
is sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo,
R-Calif.
Both the McCain and Pombo bills
propose eliminating o f the “two-part
determination test” of the Indian Gam
ing Regulatory Act of 1988.
The two-part test allows the Secre
tary o f the Interior to approve trust
status to off-reservation land acquired
by Indian tribes in recent years for gam
ing purposes. T he test determ ines
whether granting trust status would
benefit the tribe without detriment to
the surrounding community.
In pursuing the Cascade Locks ca
sino plan, the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs have been following the
two-part test. The McCain bill includes
language, or a “grandfather clause,”
that would allow the Cascade Locks pro
posal to go forward, as the tribes have
already expended much time, effort
and money on the project.
At a recent hearing on the Pombo
bill, Rep. Pombo and several other
House committee members also ap
peared to be sympathetic to the tribes’
situation, said Howard Arnett, tribal at
torney. From statements made at the
hearing, it would be reasonable to as
sume that the Pombo bill would be
am ended to include a grandfath er
clause like that of the McCain Bill, said
Arnett.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Corey Poafpybitty uses her kupn to dig roots. She and seven other young people w ent on the root
gathering field trip last w eek with the O S U Extension 4-H program. Chaperons for the event w ere Minnie
Tulalakus, Arlene Boileau, with help from Char Herkshan and N adene Moody. Parents who attended were
Joanie W allulatum and her husband, and Corbet Tom.
History exhibit arriving soon at museum
The Corps of Discovery II history
exhibition w ill be at the Museum at
Warm Springs starting Saturday, April
22, through Wednesday, April 26.
The exhibition features history of
the region from the time of the Lewis
and Clark expedition, which happened
200 years ago.
The central feature o f Corps of
D iscovery II is the “Tent o f M any
Voices.”
This 150-seat auditorium is a venue
for cultural arts demonstrations, folk
lore, music, living history presentations,
readings from the expedition journals
and more.
Programs reflect a spectrum of na
ture, culture and history topics. The
Indian tribes that the Lewis and Clark
encountered are featured.
In addition to the walk-through ex
hibit, Corps of Discovery II has a 25-
foot keelboat replica, a 16-foot diam
eter Plains Indian lodge and an explorer
camp complete with a 25-foot dugout
canoe.
Local residents will give presenta
tions during the five days that Corps II
is in Warm Springs. Invited to speak
from the local community are the fol
low ing people: Pat Courtney Gold,
Louie Pitt, T erry Courtney Jr., the
Warm Springs 4-H Dancers, George
Aguilar, Liz Woody, Arlita Rhoan, Suzie
Slockish, Adeline Miller, Roberta Kirk,
Fred Wallulatum, Wilson Wewa, Chief
Delvis Heath, and Viola Kalama.
The exhibition will be in the parking
lot o f the Museum at Warm Springs.
After April 26 the exhibition will travel
to Umatilla.
Recording artist performs at youth conference
Spring Break is usually a time for
kids to enjoy their week-long vaca
tion from school, either by getting
out o f town or taking a warm spot
on the couch.
But for several youth from Warm
Springs, the week was the perfect op
portunity to spend with friends and
talk about the issues that affect them.
“A New Beginning,” a youth con
ference featuring speakers, enter
tainment, and activities was March
29-30. The conference included
workshops led by several youth-ori
ented service workers from Warm
Springs. There were also a number
o f college representatives from the
Northwest, available to provide in
formation for those interested in go
ing to college.
Native American recording artist
Jana, of the Lurnbee Tribe of North
Carolina, performed a brief set the
first day o f the conference.
She talked about how she had been
the only Native American student at
her school, and had felt “left out.”
“But I believed in myself,” she said.
“If I could advise you on one thing, it
would be to believe in yourself.”
Recording for the Radikal record
Brian Mortensen/Spilyay
Jana performs at the W arm Springs
Community Center.
label, Jana scored a dance music hit on
the B illboard charts with her song
“More Than Life” in 2001, making her
the first female Native American artist
to score a Billboard chart hit.
She said her record label wanted
her to be the next Jennifer Lopez.
“There was only one problem,” she
said. “I’m not Hispanic.”
She told the group that “every
one has a special talent,” and asked
members of the audience what theirs
are. There were answers including
“basketball,” “guitar,” and “grass
dancing.”
She emphasized the importance of
education, and said she had set aside
money for “AAA,” which stands for
athletics, artistic ability, and academ
ics for Native American students who
would like to go to college.
She sang three songs, including
two popular hits, “I W ill Always
Love You,” ‘You Make Me Feel Like
a Natural Woman.”
Thursday’s portion of the con
ference included talks from Jillene
Joseph, the executive director o f the
Native Wellness Institute, a member
of the Gros Ventre Tribe o f Fort
Belknap, Mont.
A group o f dancers from the
Chemawa Indian School from Sa
lem also performed during the first
day of the conference.
—
—
B y B ria n M o rte n se n
x w iz m s fim
Political debate
The Cascade Locks casino proposal
was the topic of discussion during a
recent debate among candidates for the
Democratic nomination for governor
of Oregon.
Gov. Kulongoski, considered the fa
vorite to win the nomination, has sup
ported the Warm Springs tribes’ eco
nomic development plans, including the
Cascade Locks casino.
During the recent debate, a chal
lenger to the nomination, former state
treasurer Jim Hill, criticized Kulongoski
for his support of the Cascade Locks
proposal. Kulongoski defended his de
cision, reminding his opponent that the
tribes had been prepared to build on
tribal land in the scenic tourist town of
H ood River, and w ould have been
within their rights to do so.
TV ad campaign
Meanwhile, the Confederated Tribes
o f the G rande Ronde — owner o f
Oregon’s largest casino, Spirit Moun
tain - has launched TV ads blasting
Gov. Kulongoski for endorsing a com
peting casino, the Bridge o f the Gods
at Cascade Locks.
The ads mark the most concerted
effort ever made by one of Oregon’s
tribes to influence the outcome o f a
statewide political race.
W arm Springs gam ing enterprise
representatives say the latest Grand
Ronde ads are significant because they
take aim at the incumbent governor for
going against the wishes o f the Grande
Ronde tribe in approving the compet
ing Cascade Locks casino.
“This is the politics o f punishment,”
said Len Bergstein, o f the tribes’ gam
ing enterprise. “Never before have they
set out with the sole purpose in mind
to punish a policymaker who had the
audacity to oppose them.”
(The A ssociated P ress contributed to
this article.)
IHS says meth use is at
crisis point on reservations
(AP) — Methamphetamine use in Indian Country has reached crisis levels, an
Indian Health Service official told a congressional panel last week.
An administration survey found that 1.7 percent o f the American Indian
population was using meth in 2004, said Robert McSwain, deputy director o f
the agency. Meth use has steadily grown since 2000, he said.
“It is a crisis for individuals, families, communities, agencies, and govern
ments across the country,” McSwain told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Kathleen Kitcheyan, chairwoman o f Arizona’s San Carlos Apache tribe, broke
into tears as she described her tribe’s high suicide rate and babies born addicted
to drugs — much of that due to high meth use on the reservation.
About half o f babies born on her reservation test positive for alcohol or
drugs, she said, and about a quarter o f patients tested in the tribal hospital’s
emergency room have meth in their systems.
“For too long, this problem has been neglected,” she said. “We have the great
spirit of our ancestors in us, but I am afraid the spirit of our ancestors will die.”
Tribal and government officials at the hearing said the reasons for escalating
meth problems on reservations are many — long distances to treatment centers,
poverty, boredom and high rates o f alcoholism. They also said it is hard for law
enforcement to penetrate reservations because many people know each other
and are often suspicious of undercover agents.
Witnesses argued that agencies need to be better coordinated to deal with the
problems, Congress needs to authorize more substance abuse dollars for Indian
Country and reservations need to step up efforts to educate tribal members
about the meth problem.
“My great fear is that we don’t have nearly enough resources dedicated to
this,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the top Democrat on the committee.
Dorgan said treatment should be prioritized along with enforcement.
Karrie Azure, a coordinator for a North Dakota Indian drug and alcohol
initiative, said at the hearing that only about 3 percent of addicts in her state
recover from the drug because treatment does not last long enough.
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said recovery is difficult because treatment
centers are scarce.
“We’ve seen greater attention paid to meth, but the resources available to
Indian Country have been limited, and the nationwide approach has been less
than cohesive,” Burns said. “This fractured approach and lack o f resources has
a direct effect on the rapid spread of meth throughout our Indian reservations.”
Burns and Dorgan are the chairman and top Democrat, respectively, on the
Senate Appropriations interior subcommittee, which oversees the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. Both said Wednesday that they have introduced legislation to help
bring more dollars to reservations for meth prevention.