Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2006)
Page 9 November 23, 2006 Spilyay Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon Team fighting problem of elder abuse B y L eslie M itts \Spilyay Tymoo ; Elder abuse is something that ¡is far too common, according to the committee that is trying Ito combat the issue locally. The Elders Multi-disciplinary ¡Team was originally established ¡after the tribes partnered with l the Department of Human Ser vices and received some grant ¡funding to help prevent elder ¡abuse, according to W ilson j Wewa from the Senior Program, According to Wewa, “Our i group comes together to discuss potential cases that might end up in court or have a propen sity to be repeated.” The team partners the Senior j Program with IHS, Victims o f Crime Services, BIA Social Ser vices, Tribal Social Services, | Housing and various other de- ! partments to help those citizens ¡who. may be victims o f elder ¡abuse. * Ea£h month the team holds ¡a closed meeting to discuss-is sues that are kept completely I confidential. Elder abuse is something that I has a very broad range, accord ing to V iola G ovenor, w ho works w ith victim s o f elder abuse through Victims of Crime Services. In some, instances elders are the subjects of theft or physical abuse, but often other problems can indicate another type of el der abuse. Wewa said the team has re viewed issues regarding physical abuse, enftotional abuse, fiancial abuse, and even self abuse. Self abuse, he said, would involve cases where a senior citi- . zen isn’t taking medication that is prescribed to them. Even dehydration during the summer can indicate self abuse, he added. “Dehydration is the door to a lo t o f other ailments,” Wewa explained. G ovenor and Wewa agree that financial abuse is exception ally Common. “Financial abuse is probably the m ost prevalent in Warm Springs,” Wewa, said. Govenor said financial abuse f could include family members who take food from a senior citizens home or who stay with an elderly family member with out contributing to the house- hold income. “They just take them for granted,” she said. A cco rd in g to Wewa, the problem usually lies in the close connection between the elderly victim and the perpetrator. “Because o f the love that many o f our seniors have for their children and their grand children, they become a victim,” he explained. Wewa added, “T hat’s when it falls into the realm, also, o f emotional abuse.” “It’s worse than being physi cally hit, I think, to have emo tional pain,” Govenor said. “You carry it around in your heart and it hurts, it’s painful. This is what most o f our elders go through.” Other cases can involve fami lies who throw parties after their elderly family member has gone to bed for the night, Wewa said. “Sometimes they think that isn’t a problem because the el der isn’t objecting to that action,” he said, but that isn’t the case. According to Govenor, it’s a problem that often isn’t explored because senior citizens don’t want to upset their family mem bers. Seniors ask for increase in bonus A group of 15 seniors met with Tribal Council last week, suggesting that the year-end bonus be increased. Lyle Rhoan Sr. spoke of the financial hardship that many seniors experience. Winter brings higher bills with the need for heating, he said. Many seniors, he said, rely on the bonus to make it through the winter months. Elton Greeley, director o f the Senior Center, was asked to be a spokesman of the group that met with Council. Greeley said that the seniors who attended the meeting would like to see an increase in the bonus. At the same time, Greeley said, his department has received information from tribal management that the tribes ate still struggling financially. “It’s just never been really been brought up by the elders | themselves,” she said. “They don’t want to get their family in trouble.” “Elders came in to talk about abuse but that’s as far as it went,” Govenor said. “They’ll endure the stress. It really does cause a lot of stress to them, especially if they have health problems already,” she explained. A cco rd in g to G o v en o r, “They can’t believe that, their family/members are causing sp much pain. This is a lot for an elder to endure.” The committee can help se niors by filing a petition on be half o f the victim. They are then able to work with the pros ecutors’ office to find a solution, and someone from the commit tee is assigned the case so they can check up on the senior citi zen regularly. Those needing assistance or anyone who wants to report sus pected elder abuse can call the Senior Program at 553-3313 or Victims o f Crime Services at 553-2293. Eagle Tech opens tech center ' Eagle-Tech Systems has opened its new technology center that features 12 state of the art computers; The computers are avail able to new and existing small business owners, students and any one else who is interested. The center will feature Internet access and general computer use, as well as provide a meeting place for the Warm Springs Area Chamber of Commerce. In the future, computer trainings will be available. The center will be open Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is located in the old clothing factory at 4202 Holliday Street. For more information, contact Arlissa Rhoan at 553-3276 or Daniel at dberumen@eagletech.org. F o r u m to p r o m o te b u s in e s s , e n tre p re n e u rs Eagle-Tech Systems will host an informational meeting on Nov. 28 entitled “What’s New in Warm Springs.’'’ The hour-long information session aims to lay groundwork for business and entrepreneurial development,.as well as provide in sight into the developments of several projects in Warm Springs’ business sector. Community members can learn how these projects will benefit th em — which will include an update on the new Tech Center, a message from the Chamber of Commerce, and a question and answer session. Appetizers will be provided. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Old Clothing Factory at 4202 Holliday Street. For more information, call 553-3276. Community Cleanup There is a planning meeting this week for an upcoming comm unity clean-up project. The planning meeting Is from 10 a.m. to noon this Wednesday, Nov. 22 in conference room 3 of the administration build ing. Community Involve ment Is requested. J N e x t de atipie to submit,, items to the Spilyay Tymoo is Friday, Dec. 1. D esign Leslie MittsZSpily ay Jasper Jack and Fawntan Arthur took some time out from their Head Start B2 class to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal on Nov. 14 at ECE. ■■■■■M i Fish commission announces Internet site dedicated to Celilo Falls project The Columbia River In ter-Tribal Fish Commission has unveiled a new online blog as p a rt o f its Celilo Legacy project. The blog will serve as a clearinghouse for public dis course, information, events, activities, and memorials that will mark the passage of 50 years since the inundation o f Celilo Falls. Celilo Falls was inundated by The Dalles dam on-March 10, 1957. “There is tremendous in terest in Celilo Falls right now among the educators, media, arts communities, historians and the public,” said Jeremy FiveCrows, CRITFC editor and webmaster. “By hosting this blog, we hope to provide links b e tween these groups and open a dialogue among them. By coordinating these efforts and offering this resource, we can show how meaning ful Celilo Falls was to the tribes, indeed to the entire region.” A blog is an online journal providing opinion, commen tary or news on a particular subject. The Celilo Legacy blog features an online jour nal, photo album, and calen dar. The journal will include announcem ents, historical stories and essays, a photo album o f Celilo Falls p h o to graphs, and a calendar listing Celilo-related events happening throughout the regibn leading up to beyond the: March 10th an niversary. “Celilo Falls evokes images, emotions and passions for many people in this country. This blog is intended to give people an accessible forum to express as well as listen,” added FiveCrows. “Visitors have the ability to make comments on the entries and are encouraged to add their own perspectives, stories, and an nouncements.” L ocated betw een O regon and Washington, Celilo Falls was a unique natural feature formed by the Columbia River approxi m ately 100 m iles E a st o f present-day Portland, Oregon. During high water, nearly one million cubic feet o f water per second -five times the flow of Niagara Falls - would pass over the basalt rocks, creating a roar that could be heard many miles away. For centurie’s, the salmon caught here drove tribal econo mies and created one o f the W estern H em isphere’s great market places. O n the morning o f March 10, 1957, th é gates o f T he Dalles Dam closed and choked back the Columbia River. Six hours later Celilo Falls was gone. Primary contributors for the Celilo Legacy blog are: Jerem y FiveC row s (Nez Perce), CRITFC publications e d ito r and w ebm aster; Charles H udson (Mandan- Hidatsa), CRITFC public in form ation manager; Eliza beth Woody (Warm Springs), renowned author, poet and the director o f the Indig enous Leadership Program at E cotrust; and Carol Craig (Yakama), author and out reach d irecto r fo r the Yakama N ation Fisheries Department. CRITFC’s Celilo Legacy project is an outreach effort that uses the occasion of the 50th anniversary o f Celilo Falls’ inundation to educate people about the past histori cal importance of Celilo Falls and gather oral histories from those who fished there, dis cuss the effects o f the falls’ inundation on the tribes and salmon today, and open a re gion-wide dialogue in the hopes that we can all work together to prevent such an act o f environmental, cul tural, and biological violence from ever happening again. The blog is accessible by going to www.critfc.org and clicking on the “Celilo Legacy blog” image, or by simply entering^ “www.crj^c.^jyz/ celilo” in'your browser. •Shaw Flooring • Manufactured Stone Windows • Flooring • Cabinets • Tlle/Vlnyl Counter Tops • Area Rugs • Fire Places Special • Siding • Vinyl Fencing Orders Welcome! • Molding • Light Fixtures ^ ¡ 0 ^ ns take, cave cfo a l l tfcnv design needs! 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