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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2006)
P.O.Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Tyro< C o y o te N ew s, est. U n i v e r s i t y o f Or e g o n Library ECRW SS Postal Patron R e c ei ve d o nx 10-20-06 S p i ly ay tymoo V oi. 51, N o. 21 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 5 0 cents VOCS makes difference in many lives B y L eslie M itts Spilyay Tymoo Ever wonder why Victims o f Grime can’t help victims o f all crimes? So have many other people, accord ing to M a rt M atthews, director o f Victims o f Crime. The problem, he said, lies in the funding— Victims o f Grime is funded by several grants that allow them to assist people who have been^ffeOted by “person crimes.” Person crimes involve dim es like assault, en d an g erm en t and abuse (ariiong many others), while property crimes involve crimes such as arson, theft or trespassing. The difference between the crimes is what makes the services o f Victims' o f Crime available to some victims and not others— though they readily refer other services to those that they can’t assist While they would like to help ev eryone involved in any kind o f crime, Matthews explained, “We can’t do that because o f the constrain ts o f the grant.” . Victims o f Crime employi five ad vocates, Matthews said, as well as an advocate supervisor. Viola G overnor is one advocate who works with those involved with elder abuse, whilp others like Sara Seott work with vKthns.'Gf assault and oat-r T heir office isn’t your typical Office setting, either. Rooms are dedicated to storing clotting donations and there are play areas for children—that’s be cause' they used to use their facility as a shelter. While they can’t do that anymore because o f liability issuers, Matthews said victims can be transported and housed in off-reservation shelters. In addition, he said,-‘they can help if a victim has to go to court, or pro vide tran sp o rtatio n to events like doctor’s appointments or counseling sessions; ' Rachel K. Smitif works as the Vic tims o f Crime investigator and batterer facilitator. H er job involves helping the abusers rather than those who are abused, and she believes they need to hear an im portant message. “They come in complete denial,” she i said. After going through the program, Smith said, m ost o f them change that attitude. “For the m ost part they want to talk; they need someone to talk to,’* she explained. “I f I can get them to say something happened, I feel that I’ve accomplished a lot.” During the program (which focuses on creating a process o f change, for those who batter), Smith said, “We talk a lot about personal responsibility and choice.” | (Continued from page 1) Unfortunately, it’s a program that may be tu t due to funding issues. But Smith believes in the program ‘so much that she’s willing to continue running it by volunteering her time. “We also n eed to ed u cate th e batterers,” she said. “It’s a choice* but there are programs that help.” For victims, Matthews said, there is 24-hour access to advocates via an emergency phone. “Advocates will go to the hospital in the middle o f the night; they’ll go to the scene/’ he said. Those who choose to seek assistance through Victims o f Crime sign a con fidentiality agreement that states who they wish to share their information with— and that doesn’t always include the police department, Matthews said. See VOCS on 7 Trust case settlement eases budget cuts B y D ave McMechan Spiiyay Tymoo Settlement o f part o f the trust case brought by the tribes against the federal government has reduced the need for some tribal government budget cuts over the next few years. There is still a need, though, for some reductions, mainly because o f a drop in tim ber revenue to the tribes. The Tribal Council will meet with the membership in coming weeks at district m eetings and a G eneral Council meeting to discuss the pro posed 2007 budget. The Simnasho District will meet on Monday, Oct. 16 at the Simnasho Longhouse. The Agency District will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at the Agency Longhouse. _ T he G eneral Coùncil m eeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 30 at the Agency Longhouse. For the meetings, dinner is at 6 p.m. and the meetings start at 7 p.m. Settlement o f phase one o f the trust lawsuit is expected to result in a $20 million payment to the tribes. The settlement money can be used over the next few years, from 2007 through 2010, in developing the annual budget. Use o f the settlement funds will help minimize impacts to the community o f the reduced timber revenue, said Ron Suppah, Tribal Council chairman. In tended use o f the settlement money is described in the proposed tribal supple mental budget for 2007, posted late last month. “The proposed budget projects in creases for operation and economic development o f $42,419 and decreases in revenue sources o f $2.14 million, and decreases in program operations and other uses, o f approximately $1.82 million, resulting in a deficit posted budget o f approximately $451,532,” Suppah said in a budget letter to the membership. Ì The final budget will nèed to be: bal anced, so the $451,532 deficit will have to be eliminated. Tribal managers and directors are currently working On ways to eliminate the deficit. The situation would have been much worse, in terms o f budget cuts, had it n ot been for the settlement o f phase one o f the trust case, said Ray Potter, the tribes’ chief financial officer. There is some department reorga nization proposed in the 2007. KWSO and the Spilyay, for instance, are moved to Government Affairs, and the Tribal Relations branch is eliminated. Records, Mail and Reception, and Vital Statis tics are in the Adminstrative Services Center. New culture group at high school B y L eslie M itts Spilyay . Tymoo ^ Film conveys serious message B y L eslie M itts Spilyay | Tymo o Two standing ovations later;« the students didn’t lôok nearly' as $iet- yous as they had before the film began in Bend’s Tower Theatre. S tu d e n ts fro m M adras H ig h School’s youth development team, which is led by : tw o Warm Springs students, premiered their new film '“Sifeht Message” on O ctober 4 to an audience that filled nearly .every -seat in the theatre. The students, along with Bend- based H udson Productions and vari ous anti-crkrie agencies, began pre- production on the film nearly a year ago- “Silent Message” focuses o n child sexual abuse. * , A 30-minute documentary on the making o f the film aired before the film itself—documenting the labofr that went ipto the project as well as séveral first-pérsbh accounts about child sex abuse. , The emotion in the . room was evi dent as a young girl spçke o f experi encing years o f abuse——som ething from the real world that reflects the reasons students chose to make “Silent î^essage.” The filing- features three characters from the same high school w ho each face different experiences with sexual abuse— “Clint/’ a star wrestler struggles with violentf eaCtions after recent con ta c t w ith fu s abuser (and father). “M aria” reaches o u t to '’.counselors about her history o f abuse only after realizing that her younger sister may be her father’s next victim. Thé third part o f the film focuses on “Lily.” A shy girl, lily is still being abused regularly by an uncle. , A t the end o f the film, Lily takes her own life after being raped at a party and dis covering that she is pregnant. W arm Springs re sid e n t Alyssia M eanus-Thompson stars in the filmas Lily, along with several students from the youth development team who worked as crew members or back ground actors on the film. / C o m m u n ity -m em ber F o ste r Kalama plays Lily’s;iincle— One who attempts to reach out to her because he suspects' she is being abused. - ■ Involved team members include Niick Katchia, Tonya Boise, Victoria Katchia and LaRonn Katchia. In addition, comm unity i mem bers Rebecca and Shelly Taylor and Rena and Marilyn Suppah were in volved in the film. A crowd o f professionals was.on hand to discuss the crimes involved with sexual abuse and how to seek help,-while interviews with profes sionals in the victim’s assistance and law enforcement fields aired during the documentary. Following the film, members o f the youth development team took the stage for a quespon and answer -session. • See MESSAGE on 11 Gaming board considers Kah-Nee-Ta future The Warm Springs Gaming E n terprise B oard o f D irectors and management held their board retreat recently at Welches. One o f the main purposes, o f the retreat was to dis cuss thè future o f Kah-Nee-Ta re sort w ithout a casino, add the next steps in the development o f a mas ter plan. The directors m ust begin explor ing options to enhance the appeal o f Kah-Nee-Ta once the tribal casino moves to the Columbia River Gorge. The hope is that by expanding or improving the resort, it would be able to achieve higher revenues, espe cially in the o ff and shoulder sea sons, and do so in a m anner that would yield a positive free cash flow* said K en Smith, gaming board çhair- man. The hope, he said, is thatK ah-N èe- Ta would be able to finance its own recurring capital expenditures and ex pansion, which are necessary to keep Kah-Nee-Ta competitive in the market. - To begin with, significant funds will be needed for a “face lift” to bring the property up to standard. “We need to determine potential products and services that will move Kah-Nee-Ta into a more competitive position in the m arket place,” said Smith. A num ber o f ideas have been iden tified, such as condom inium s/ time shares, upgraded full service spa, ex pansion o f the golf course an d /o r con stru c tio n o f a- ch am p io n sh ip g o lf course, multi-dimensional water park, family entertainment, expanded RV grounds / parks, airstrip or airpark, expanded defined trail system. * Jeff Ford, chief executive officer o f K ah-Nee-Ta, was assigned to provide a report within 60 days on the costs that will be associated with developing m ore inform ation on each option. The gaming bcjard also exchanged ideas related to the management prir orities for 2007, followed by a re p o rt on the A ugust 29 G eneral Council meeting on the gaming en terprise. The master plan for Kah-Nee- Ta is an ongoing process and the board will be seeking input from tribal members as the project moves forward. A new after-school cultural group will soon allow female students to learn more about their culture. Timur Gaston, title seven teacher at Madras High School, is bringing to gether students and Warm Springs com munity members in order to help gifls learn about beadw otk, dancing and more. The first step, she said, is to hold an informational meeting and allow the group to choose a name. Next she hopes to involve comm u nity members who have the knowledge to pass on to the students. Foster Kalama, a liaison for MHS, runs a cultural group for boys that involves teaching them about playing the flute and drum s (am ong m uch m ore), G aston said. B ut the girls are currently lacking that kind o f oppor tunity. “I ’ve had several girls say they’re interested,” G aston said. Several women from the commu nity have expressed concern to school officials that the girl’s cultural needs are not being met, according to Gaston. T hat concern .-is what led her to start up the group this year. T he group already has, two sewing machines they acquired from the school as well as numerous craft supplies do nated by Shirley Smith. “W hat I need are other tribal mem bers that are willing to give up an af ternoon,” G aston said, because she needs people willing to instruct the girls and share any kind o f knowledge that they have. " Many o f the girls already have cer tain skills, she said, that they learned from parents or grandparents. But that isn’t the case for everyone, G aston added. Part o f the class will focus on mak ing traditional regalia for those who don’t have any or who have outgrown what they did have. ; A main concern is how to get sup- plies-r—while G aston said she is work ing on finding grants to cover the costs, she said that donations are always wel come and needed. To become involved or to make a d o n a tio n , c o n ta c t G a sto n at tgast6n@509j.riet or by phone at 475- 7265, extension 390. While e-mail is the best form o f communication, Gaston asked that you wait to call until after 3:15 when school is out for the day. G aston also said the com m unity members are welcome to attend the group once it begins meeting.
