Pdge 10
A Look at the News of2006
January
As the year 2006 began the
C o nfederated T ribes were
m ourning the loss a valued
member of tribal government
with the passing of Warren Rudy
Clements, who died Dec. 28,
2005 due to complications of
diabetes.
L ater in the m onth Mr.
Clements, a leader in the tribes’
gaming expansion program, was
remembered in Cascade Locks
as a “human being” in the tru
est sense of the word: Former
Cascade Locks mayor Rogers
W heatley said Clements had
once portrayed “a human being
as someone who was honest and
unselfish.” In other news:
In the past, three of Nicola
Stwyer’s relatives had achieved
the tide of Miss Warm Springs.
So it was only n atural that
Stwyer should vie for the honor
of representing the Confeder
ated Tribes. In January 2006 at
the Miss Warm Springs Pageant,
Stwyer was chosen to succeed
C h ristin a Jo h n so n as M iss
Warm Springs.
Nicola Stwyer
Also in January: The federal
board in charge of place names
gave its blessing to changing the
names of 16 places in Central
Oregon. The previous names
of the places included a word
that is widely considered offen
sive among American Indians.
The possible benefits of the
biomass power project to the
Warm Springs community are
such that it could be its most
profitable venture besides the
proposed Cascade Locks casino,
the manager of Warm Springs’
sawmill said at a workshop this
month. In other Februrary news:
The Coquille Indian Tribe re-
cendy expressed its support for
the Cascade Locks gaming ex
pansion plan of the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Also in February, the tribes
hosted the 29th Annual Lincoln’s
B irth d ay Powwow at the
Simnasho Longhouse.
It was announced in Febru
ary that, as part of budget re
ductions for 2006, the tribal
Education Branch would not re
new the contract that provided
for operation o f the Warm
Springs office of Central Or
egon Community College.
March
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs and Mountain
View Hospital reached an agree
m ent o f coo peration . The
agreement benefits tribal mem
bers because they will be able
to obtain quality services at a
reasonable cost close to home.
The agreem ent benefits the
tribal organization because the
tribes are provided a discount
for medical services at Moun
tain View. In other news:
The Confederated Tribes’
proposed Cascade Locks casino
was a central point of discus
sion during a March hearing
before the U.S. Senate Commit
tee on Indian Affairs. The com
mittee chairman is Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., sponsor of a
bill that would amend the Indian
Gaming Regulator}' Act (IGRA)
of 1988. McCain is proposing
the elimination of the “two-part
determination test,” a section of
IGRA that has become contro
versial. Also in March:
Sixteen leaders from African
nations visited the reservation.
The delegates had been in Port
land as part of their trip to the
U.S. Earlier, they had also been
to W ashington, D.C. W hen
asked what they would like to
do while in the Northwest, the
delegates said they would like to
visit an Indian reservation.
A p ril
Hundreds of people visited
the traveling history exhibition,
Corps of Discovery II, at the
Museum at Warm Springs. On
a M onday in late A p ril 20
busloads of students arrived for
the exhibition. The same num
ber arrived again on Tuesday.
Along with the many young
people who enjoyed the exhibit,
many adults did the same.
Methamphetamine use in In
dian Country has reached crisis
levels, an Indian Health Service
official told a congressional panel
in April. An administration sur
vey found that 1.7 percent of
the American Indian population
was using meth, said Robert
McSwain, deputy director of
the agency. In a related local
item:
The Warm Springs Housing
Authority has adopted a new
policy to help fight against drug
and alcohol abuse on the reser
vation. Under the new policy a
person can be evicted from
housing in the jurisdiction of the
Housing Authority, if the per
son engages in illegal drug use
or alcohol abuse. Meanwhile:
The U.S. Senate and the
House continued the consider
ation of bills that would amend
the Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act (IGRA) of 1988. The Sen
ate bill is sponsored by Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz. The House bill
is sponsored by Rep. Richard
Pombo, R-Calif.
M ay
Roy Heath was among the
drummers at Lincoln’s
powwow.
■ riU M É M U M É d A M I
December 21, 2 0 0 6
Spilydy T ym o o , W arm Springs, O regon
The Nez Perce Tribe has ex
pressed its support for the Cas
cade Locks casino proposal of
the C onfederated Tribes o f
mm
Warm Springs. Meanwhile:
Tribal Council has set aside
funding for construction of a
media center that will house
KWSO and the Spilyay Tymoo.
Twenty-five students from
M adras H igh School and
Jefferson County Middle School
helped with this year’s Honor
Serniors Day, which saw another
great turnout of local residents
and many visitors. And in other
news:
A Bend company will pay
$585,000 as a result of a 1999
motor vehicle accident on the
Warm Springs Reservation. The
accident spilled more than 5,000
gallons of gasoline into a creek,
according to the U.S. Environ
mental Protection Agency.
June
The tribes unveiled a name
and logo for the proposed ca
sino in Cascade Locks during a
special ceremony in June. The
Bridge of the Gods Columbia
River Resort Casino is the pro
posed name, and refers to a
Wasco legend. In other news:
Tribal Council gave Warm
Springs Power Enterprises au
thority to explore water market
ing opportunities. To reflect the
expanded role of the enterprise,
the name will change to Warm
Springs Power and Water. Ex
amples of potential water mar
keting opportunities are water
bottling, or the leasing of water
for municipal or commercial
use, said Jim Manion, manager
of the enterprise.
Six old houses that were be
yond repair were torn down in
the campus area. Eventually, all
the houses on the north side of
Wasco Street are to be demol
ished, making way for a large
park area.
Tribal members from across
the state came together for a
regional methamphetamine con
ference last week at Kah-Nee-
Ta High Desert Resort and Ca-
stno.
July
In the past the tribes worked
together, which is why the cur
rent controversy is such a dis
appointment. “I guess they don’t
look at history,” said Ken Smith,
chairman of the Kah-Nee-Ta
board of directors. In an inter
view for the KWSO W arm
Springs show, Smith shared his
views on the casino controversy
that exists between the Confed
erated Tribes of Warm Springs
and the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde. And this:
Legislation that would block
Indian tribes from building ca
sinos off their reservations con
tains a grandfather clause that
could help the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs in their
proposal for a casino in the
Columbia River Gorge. The
House Resources Committee,
which includes U.S. Rep. Greg
Walden, R-Ore., in July approved
a bill by committee Chairman
Richard Pombo, R-Calif., aimed
at halting further development
of off-reservation gambling.
Elsewhere:
Eagle-Tech Systems has en
countered its share of setbacks,
ranging from a temporary work
stoppage on the new Commu
n ity T echnology C enter to
slower-than-hoped-for financial
progress. But with a solid busi
ness plan and two recent grants
under its belt from the Kellogg
Foundation and the U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture, the Warm
Springs Ventures information
WBBÊSÈt
ing the financial condition of and many other employees are
working to revive languages
the enterprise, in other news:
The Confederated Tribes of that are slipping away from
Warm Springs were recognized tribes— some more quickly than
recently as a national “Success others. With the recent passing
Story” in the effort to combat of Madeline Mclnturff, at age
alcohol and other drugs on the \ 91, only two fluent speakers of
reservation. The tribe received Kiksht (the Wasco language) re
the award in B altim ore last main: Gladys Thom pson, of
Warm Springs Forest Prod weekend at the concluding lun Warm Springs, and a man on the
ucts Industries is struggling with cheon of the Seventh Annual Yakama reservation.
one of the w eakest lum ber leadership conference of the
markets in recent years. As a Underage Drinking Enforce
result, the 136 full-time regu ment Training Center. And this
lar WSFPI mill workers will see from the language program:
significant cost-saving changes
Val Switzler heard “happy
this year and in 2007. Because birthday” sung to her four times,
of the seriousness of the situ and each time it was sung in a
The Confederated Tribe’s
ation, the WSFPI board and different language. That’s not Managed Care program is fac
m anagem ent reported this uncommon with the tribes’ lan ing a severe shortage of dollars
month to Tribal Council regard- guage program, where Switzler for healthcare services off the
reservation. The Managed Care
program is currently dependent
upon funding from the federal
governm ent through Indian
Health Services. The funding is
increasingly inadequate, said
M ike M arcotte, d irecto r o f
Managed Care. In other news:
A form er director o f the
Warm Springs Housing Author
ity is facing charges of theft, and
m aking false or frau d ulen t
claims. Elsewhere:
Results are in from the opin
ion survey conducted in Warm
Springs earlier this summer, and
they speak to several important
areas of interest to the Confed
erated Tribes. With tribal mem
bership responding to questions
about values, politics, and the
economy, the survey offers a
wealth of information and guid
ance to tribal leaders and policy
makers. WSFPI board chairman
Mike Clements told Council that
the mill is not about to close,
Wes and Meg Tucker are greeted by Chesley Yahtin and
“but we have some concerns
other veterans following the Saturday Pi-Ume-Sha Parade.
that we want to share,” said
Wes and Meg Tucker are the parents of U.S. Army Pfc.
(dements.
Tom Tucker, who was killed in June in Iraq. The Tuckers
(Continued in the next Spilyay.)
were the guests of honor at the 2006 Pi-Ume-Sha.
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