E Coosh EEWA: The wgy it is
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Spilyay Tymoo
June 22, 2006
i
Letters to the Editor
Chieftanship
We, the fam ily o f A lfred
Smith Jr., want to thank Chief
Nelson Wallulatum for meeting
w ith us to inform us o f the
Wasco tribal custom of choos
ing a sub-chief. This was done
in November, 2003 at his home
in Upper Shitike Creek. Thank
you, Nelson, for working with
us and teaching the accepted
way carried on through many
family generations. As per your
instructions, we went ahead and
held the ceremony, dinner, and
g iv e aw ay at the A gen cy
Longhouse in the spring o f
2004.
We would also like to thank
the m any W asco elders who
signed the document appointing
Alfred Smith Jr. as the Wasco
sub-chief. We are retaining all
the pictures taken at the cer
emony, as well as family pictures,
and the complete family tree that
goes back to the Wasco chiefs
o f the C olum bia River. We
w ould also like to especially
thank the Wasco people and oth
ers who attended the ceremony
and shared in this historic event.
From the family of Alfred
Tribal Court
each parent’s needs, wishes and
desires, rather, the child’s wel
fare, safety and best interests
take precedence over those of
the parents.
A child’s welfare and need
for governm ental protection
should not be used to help sell
n ew sp ap ers or w in aw ards.
Child welfare and protection is
sues influence a child’s develop
ment into adulthood, and, when
made public, reversing the nega
tive influences they have on the
child is made all the more diffi
cult. Hopefully the child in
volved here will not see this ar
ticle reprinted or referred to in
future “Looking Back” sections
of The Pioneer.
This article does a disservice
to the weary yet dedicated em
ployees w orking in the child
^ w elfare and p ro tectio n area
who face an unrelenting num
ber and complexity of cases. We
hope that The Pioneer’s journal
ists and editors will be more sen
sitive to the effects their stories
have on the people they write
about, especially the children,
and that in the future, publish
ing fair, factual, truthful and
balanced articles will be the stan
dard.
Sincerely,
Anita L. Jackson, Chief
Judge
Marie A. Calica, Associ
ate Judge
B arbara Jim , A sso ciate
Judge
Warm Springs Tribal Court
This letter comes as a re
sponse to the May 10, 2006 ar
ticle in The M adras Pioneer
(The Pioneer) regarding a pend
ing child w elfare case in the
W arm Springs T ribal Court.
Rather than print a fair and bal
anced article, The Pioneer chose
to present only the mother’s side
of this story. The Children’s Pro
One day my two sons ap
tective Services and the Warm proached me, asking for my per
Springs Tribal Court are bound mission to go wild horse racing
by confidentiality laws and are with their uncle Yaht.
unable, therefore, to discuss any
Jim m y Jr. was 17 years and
o f the particulars o f this case Jam ie was 15 years. M y first
with the public; we can, however, thought was, “Oh no!” That’s a
provide information about how wild, dangerous sport in rodeo.
the Tribal Court works.
“Why wild horse racing?” I told
The Tribal Court is bound by them to let me think about it.
tribal and federal law to protect
Well, w hile thinking about
the health, safety, morals, and this, it brought back memories
w elfare o f children and their of my deceased brother Jake Jr.
families. Court decisions are W hen my boys were younger
made by applying the facts of my brother Jake already had
the case to the law, and all the plans for them. He named all
decisions in this case were made three of them. One would be a
in that manner. Conjecture, in jockey, trainer and galloper on
nuendo, emotion and unsubstan the racetrack. I liked that plan.
tiated allegations cannot substi
Our family has been around
tute for rational thought and the horses all our lives. M y dad
truth in court matters.
Jacob Sr. grew up with horses.
Child custody and w elfare He rode horses, raced on the
cases are inherently emotional track. My dad’s racehorses have
and the parties are often unable, won many, many races on rec
or refuse, to make fair and ob ognized tracks and dirt tracks.
jective judgments about the out Their uncle Jefferey did a good
come. This is an understand job with wild horse racing and
able element of human nature, saddle bronc riding. He broke
and those of us who work in the his own horses.
Anyway my boys did get a li
child protection and w elfare
arena know that at least one of cense in trainer, gallop Boy and
the parties will be unhappy with were owners o f thoroughbred
the court and program decisions. racehorses. I was hoping my
A child cannot be split to satisfy boys w ould continue racin g
Horse family
horses, but it didn’t turn out that
way.
I gave my p erm issio n to
Jim m y Jr. and Jamie to go wild
horse racing with their uncle
Yaht. This was their decision and
what they wanted to do and I
wanted to support them. I’m
glad their uncle Yaht was there
to work and teach them about
the sport.
One time I rushed to Mollala
to watch my boys in a wild horse
race, then drove all the way to
G rants Pass, w here my two
other sons, Jason and Clinton,
were with our race horses. I ar
rived at Grants Pass at 4 a.m.
and we hauled our racehorses
out at 10 a.m. to the Prineville
racetrack . M y B ron co w as
needed to haul our horses to the
next race meet. We had a lot of
good, w onderful experiences
with our horses.
Another time my two sons
told me about some discourag
ing words. While wild horse rac
ing they met some negative and
discouraging people. But by the
grace o f God they also m et
some encouraging people. En
couraging words that uplifted
them. I told my boys to never
mind them negative people and
“take to heart” the people who
were encouraging them with the
sport of “wild horse racing.”
My two sons are now 24
years and 26 years and are still
wild horse racing. It’s very dan
gerous w hen you have eight
teams in the arena with wild
horses bucking, kicking, biting
and fighting to get away.
My boys always go to Tygh
Ridge to wild horse race. I don’t
understand how my boys’ team
placed third in the finals when
both times out they crossed the
finish line first.
The other two teams crossed
the line second and third, both
times out and they placed first
and second in the finals.
Some of the other teams ap
proached my boys and shared
w ords o f not understanding
how the results came out as they
did.
My boys are going to keep
on doing their best in this sport
of “wild horse racing.”
Melinda Frank.
A message
Hello, Warm Springs. I am
writing to speak my mind about
the ups and downs of living in
a small community. Mostly the
downs. To start I want to ex
p ress m y feelin gs on the
unprofessionalism on the part
of some of the people in higher
positions. For them to believe in
hearsay, and implicate others in
drug use, drug dealing with no
formal proof just really upsets
me. I see and hear it a lot about
how much this person sees so
and so with a new boyfriend or
girlfriend and not liking it. But
to try and say they know that
person and to slander or libel
them is just uncalled for. To
judge a person should be left up
to the trained judges in our jus
tice system. You don’t walk in
my shoes, nor do you walk in
my mates shoes. You are on the
outside looking in. Maybe you
should not even be looking if
you want to judge us, label us,
shun us, and try hurting us with
your petty gossip. Oh yes we are
no angels, we have pasts. But we
are m oving on from that to
gether. Its not up to you what
we decide to do with our lives.
You see w hat you want, you
hear what you want, but please
don’t always say what you want.
We don’t want everything you
do. I am mostly upset to hear
secondhand about m yself and
my mate being “watched” be
cause we are drug users and
dealers. Not true, I have been
employed at my job for 11 years.
And have never failed a drug
test or had to worry about one.
But to slander my mate for the
things she is dealing with in her
personal life and some of the
debts we are paying to the com
munity for our mistakes. To say
I know your other half and he
is my good friend but on the
other hand take it out on her
and say h u rtfu l and u ntrue
things and test her. I ask you test
me too if you are going to im
plicate me also. You are in posi
tions where confidentiality and
professionalism are a must, so
please heed my message. I am
not judging you or labeling you,
anybody in this community who
this has to do with. You should
know who you are. I ask in clos
ing, talk to either one o f us,
preferably both of us before you
go spreading rumors with no
merit. We have nothing to hide.
Misery loves company but we
don’t want your company, be
happy with yourself before say
ing how unhappy you are with
everyone else. Thank you, Or
lando Stevens.
Our sponsors
My world’s been shut behind
some doors, the shame so great
the evil pours.
Can love so true be know to
me? Can’t wait to have my heart
set free.
Each day I pray my heart will
find what’s really felt and not in
mind.
“Lord send an angel to guide
the way, to open my heart as I
kneel and pray.”
When doors come open and
evil goes out, I’ll teach it to all
what the heart’s about.
T h ere’s only one way, it ’s
through genuine love. It hap
pened to me through the Man
Above.
By Otis Johnson.
Fire safety
H ello from W arm Springs
Fire and Safety, your fire depart
ment.
We often don’t realize that
our vehicle exhaust system can
start a devastating wildfire that
can destroy homes and our natu
ral resources. Keep this in mind
while enjoying the outdoors this
holiday weekend.
Fire conditions in the north
west still remain extreme even
though the forecast calls for rain
and cooling temperatures.
We can help prevent these
destructive fires this weekend
by following some simple guide
lines:
Keep vehicles off dry grass:
Exhaust systems can heat up to
1,000 degrees and ignite adjacent
grasses and shrubs.
Check your spark arrester:
Before heading outdoors clean
your ATV spark arrester. This
w ill reduce the chance o f a
spark starting a wildfire.
Be prepared: Carry a shovel
and a fire extinguisher in your
vehicle and ATV.
We can all make a difference
in reducing human-caused fires
during this season o f high fire
danger.
From Warm Springs Fire
and Safety.
We would like to thank our
sponsors in Madras and Warm
Springs for helping us to attend
the young basketball tourna
ments in Grand Ronde and Se
attle. T h an k you to W arm
Springs Forest Products Indus
tries, C lif f’s A uto, E rickson
T h riftw ay, M adras M arin e,
M iller Ford N issan, Petals &
Posies, and G loria’s Espresso.
Last but not least, Earl, Rita and
Valeria Squiemphen.
W ithout your support we
could not have placed second
at Grand Ronde, and third at
Seattle. M any thanks. Sammi
O’Reilly.
The Man above
For all my life I’ve wondered
why I’ve felt a longing need to
cry.
Congratulations
I would like to say congratu
lations to Felicity VanPelt, who
just graduated from high school
in White Swan. After the diffi
culties of just growing up, she
made.
Congratulations to Mayanne
Mitchell, who went to school at
H askell. She has a very high
grade point, and was also in the
W ho’s Who on College Cam
puses.
C o n g ratu latio n s to A llen
M itc h e ll, w ho has a 4.0 at
Haskell.
I would like to congratulate
them all on their accomplish
ments. I’m so proud that they
have done so well.
Maxine Switzler.
Be careful
I hear the pine trees scream
ing. Listen to what they say: A
fire is burning us up and we can
not run away!
We are hom e for m illions
o f w ild ones in th is w ood:
birds, tree frogs, chipm unks,
squirrels, w ho’ve left us while
we stood.
Run! Run, cousins! Hop and
fly! Escape this wicked day. Do
not look back to your shady rests
for we cannot run away.
The flames chew at our roots
and lap our sap away.
They gnaw into our hearts,
but we cannot run away.
We shout and scream in ter
ror for help if someone could
stop this fire burning, deep, deep
into our wood.
Alas our charred remains fall
in ashes all around. The heat will
germinate our seeds lying on the
ground.
W hen our pine tree babes
grow up, list’ to what they say.
Don’t let fire kill them for they
cannot ru n away. D ancing
Light.
;
v ___________I ____________ )
Serving in Iraq
Hello, my name is Lawren
Slockish. My father is Wilbur
Slockish Jr., and my mother
is Suzie Slockish.
For those o f you who
don’t know, I have been de
ployed over to Iraq. I have
been gone since Oct. 2 of
2005 and I won’t return till
eith er M arch or A p ril o f
2 0 0 7 .1 am just writing to let
some o f you know that if
you would like to write me the
address is:
Spc. Slockish Lawren
B Btry 1/125 strike
CSC Scania
APO AE 09331
So if you feel like writing
me, even just to say hello, I
w ould really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Sincerely, Spc Slockish,
Lawren.
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave M cMechan
Management Successor: Selena T. Boise
Advertising Manager: Sam Howard
Staff Writer: Brian Mortensen
Media Advisor: Bill R hoades
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Our offices are located in the white house at 1100 W asco
Street.
A n y written m aterials subm itted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 870, W arm Springs, O R
97761.
Phone: (541) 553-1644 or 553-3274.
FAX No. (541) 553-3539.
E-Mail: spilyaytym oo@ wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $15.00.
cS.
-ay»-
C ongratulations, students!
C on gratu lation s to Shay la
Trank and Shirley Allen. On June
3 they received their degrees.
Shay la re
ceived h er
'A ssociates o f
S cience” De-
gree in Envi
ronmental Sci
ence, Fisheries
and W ildlife
fro m S alish
Kootenai College.
Shirley received her “Bacherlor
o f Science” degree in Elementary
Education from the University o f
Montana Western.
We are very proud o f you two.
The graduation ceremonies were
beautiful. Our fam ily was happy
to be there to witness this event.
Grandmas Anna and Norene,
aunties Margie and Jolene.
C on gra tu la tio n s K ayann
Katchia fo r
g ra d u a tin g
f r o m
F la n d rea u
Indian
School.
From
the H erksh an s.
We would like to recognise
and congratulate our daugh
ter Tianna
Herkshan
on obtain
ing a 3.8
GPA the
f i r s t two
trim esters
and a 4.0
th is la st
trimester. We are both very
p rou d o f yo u . Keep up the
g o o d w ork ! L o v e , D a d
and D anni.
\
Thank you fo r writing to
the Spilyay Tymoo.
C on gra tu lation s to our
d a u gh ter/s ister
N icole
Herkshan f o r graduating on
M ay 23
f r o m
Flandreau
Indian
H i g h
School. We
are all very
proud o f y o u ! L ove, D ad,
D a n n i, P a u l, T ia n n a ,
R a c h e lle , C h a rlie a n n ,
D a lto n ,
K ahne,
Cheydon an d T asha.