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OrCol1
75
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v. 3c
no. 3
February
1, £007
P.0. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Spilyay
Coyote News, est. 1976
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February 1, 2007 Voi. 32, No. 3
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Chairman Plan for fish to get passed Round Butte dam
comments
on article
B y L eslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
B y Ron Suppah
'Chairman, Warm Springs
Tribal Council
I was disappointed to read the re
cent article in the Grand Ronde news
paper entitled “Grand Ronde Contin
ues Outreach to Warm Springs.” Not
only is the article a breach of the con
fidentiality agreement regarding our
recent discussion, it is also factually
wrong.
The article starts out with the state
ment: “The Grand Ronde Tribe has
consistently opposed off-reservation
gaming.” That statement is flatly un
true. The article should have said: “The
Grand Ronde has consistently opposed
any other tribe becoming involved in off-
reservation gaming, except f o r the Grand
Ronde Tribe.” That statement would
have been true.
Let’s look at the record here. In
2003 and 2005, there were several ar
ticles ih The Oregonian describing the
Grand Ronde’s efforts to build a ca
sino in the Portland area. On March
12,2003, the following quote appeared
in The Oregonian-. “The Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde has pro
posed helping finance a baseball stadium
in exchange for permission to build an
off-reservation casino in the Portland
The Round Butte Dam is on its
way to some major improvements—
but not without a little heavy con
struction and a long-term plan for
restoring fish populations.
The tribes and Portland General
Electric are partnering to complete
a project that will include a new fish
passage facility as part of the Round
Butte Dam Selective Water With
drawal project.
It’s a project that has been in the
works for approximately 20 years,
according to Michael Gauvin, the
tribes’ fisheries management super
visor.
But the project is actually just be-
ginning, said Jim Manion of the Warm
Springs Power and Water Enterprise.
Right now those involved with the
project are initiating what was agreed
to in the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission licensing agreement.
“We have now, with PGE, hired a
contractor who will begin work this
spring to begin the construction of the
facility,” Manion said.
“It is hoped during the course of
the next three years that construction
will be complete and the introduction
of salmon above the project will be
starting,” Manion added.
When the Pelton Round Butte dam
was constructed in 1964, fish passage
facilities were included.
However, the downstream system
failed due in large part to the confu-
See CASINO on 9
for release so they can make their way
to the Pacific Ocean.
According to Manion, several agen
cies have been involved in assisting with
the design of the tower.
The design addresses two issues, he
said.
“The first is a collection facility for
allowing the passage of the salmon
above the project and getting them
back down through the p ro ject,”
Manion explained. “The second is go
ing to be to address the water quality
concerns that were identified during the
re-licensing process.”
Manion said the design of the tower
will allow for the project to adjust the
water withdrawal patterns out of the
Round Butte Reservoir.
See FISH on 8
Fish Passage Center afloat
A federal appeals court has ordered
the government to continue funding an
agency that counts young salmon and
other fish in the Columbia River Basin
and recommends water flows at hydro
electric power stations to protect en
dangered fish.
The ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals — recognizing salmon
and steelhead as “two of the great re
sources of the Columbia River” — was
a victory for Indian nations o f the
Columbia and other fish advocates.
area.”
Later that same year, on December
5, 2003, The Oregonian again reported:
“For the second time this year, the
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
has proposed building a casino to help
pay for a big-ticket Portland construc
tion project that otherwise doesn’t pen
cil out.”
On March 10, 2005, The Oregonian
reported a third Grand Ronde proposal
for a casino in Portland, this time at
the Portland Meadows racetrack.
As The Oregonian noted: “This is not
the first time the Grand Ronde has
looked at building a casino in Portland.
Previously it offered to help finance a
major league baseball stadium or a
headquarters hotel near the Oregon
Convention Center in exchange for
operating a casino in the city. Neither
idea got off the ground.”
These hardly appear to be the ac
tions of a tribe that “has consistently”
opposed off-reservation gaming.
It is true that the Grand Ronde pro
posed to meet with representatives of
our tribe and offered to finance the con
struction of a casino along Highway 26
on the Warm Springs Reservation.
It was agreed by both parties that
those discussions would be kept com
pletely confidential until both parties
agreed otherwise. Grand Ronde has
unilaterally sought to make this a pub
lic manner.
Grand Ronde refused to provide
our representatives with a copy of their
proposal until our tribe provided them
with copies of our studies, showing that
an on-reservation casino was not eco
nomically viable. We did not feel that
we were obligated to provide Grand
Ronde with copies of our confidential
and proprietary studies of gaming on
our reservation.
On August 24, 2006, a meeting was
held am ong representatives o f the
Grand Ronde Tribe and representa
tives of Warm Springs, including our
gaming economist, Bob Whelan, from
the economic firm of ECONorthwest
in Portland. At that meeting, the Grand
Ronde presented their economist’s fig
ures on the projected results of a ca
sino constructed on our reservation and
financed by the Grand Ronde.
sion in downstream currents— some
thing that the new design is expected
to fix.
Because of that problem, hatcher
ies were constructed as a solution. The
new project aims to restore fish to their
natural habitat and create a long-term
plan for their survival.
The fish passage facility will come
in the form of a 270-foot-high under
water tower arising from the bottom
of the lake behind Round Butte Dam.
A 130-foot-wide disc at the top of
the tower will draw in most of the sur
face water, turning the current and fish
back downstream toward the dam, ac
cording to information from the PGE
website.
Fish will be screened at the intake
and trucked downstream of the dams
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Rico Thompson is retiring after 37 years of working as a maintenance
mechanic with IHS. He has been at Warm Springs IHS for over 31
years, having transferred here from Chemawa. His wife Ellen attended
his retirement party last week at the clinic. At the same time,
Roberta Queahpama, administrative officer, is also retiring. She has
been with IHS for over 30 years.
The Museum at Warm Springs
Fifth Annual Honor Dinner has
named W. Richard West Jr., execu
tive director of the National Mu
seum of the American Indian, as
w in n e r o f th is y e a r ’s T w anat
Award.
T he m useum nam ed W asco
Chief Nelson Wallulatum, and the
late Warren R. Clements as recipi
ents o f the M useum At W arm
Springs L ifetim e A chievem ent
awards.
Each year the museum presents
the Twanat Award to an individual
whose efforts on behalf of Native
Americans can serve as an example
for all Americans.
West is the founding director of
National Museum of the American
Indian.
“His visionary leadership led to
the creation of the National Mu
seum of the American Indian, the
C u ltu ral R esources C enter in
Suitland, Maryland, and the George
Gustav Heye Center in New York
City,” said Dora Smith, of the Mu
seum at Warm Springs.
The World is a better place be
cause of W. Richard West Jr., and
the indigenous people are the ben
eficiaries of his devotion and his tire
less work on cultural, educational,
legal and governmental issues, said
Smith.
At the end of 2007, West will be
leaving the National Museum of the
American Inidan as its executive di
rector.
Lifetime Achievements
Chief Nelson Wallulatum is the
lifelong Chief of the Wasco Tribe.
Chief Wallulatum has served as the
Wasco Chief and on Tribal Council
for over 40 years.
In choosing him for the Lifetime
Achievement Award, the museum
points out that Chief Wallulatum has
time and again made the difference
in the batde to protect and retain
treaty rights such as fishing and wa
ter rights.
He has testified many times be
fore Congress on issues — such as
the Native American Graves Pro
tection and Repatriation Act - sig
nificant to all tribes.
Chief Wallulatum is a traditional
leader, an elder statesman, an histo
rian, and one of the greatest lead
ers of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, said Smith.
‘ This year the other recipient of
the Lifetime Achievement Award
is the late W arren R. “R u d y”
Clements.
In choosing Mr. Clements for the
award, the museum points out that
Clements truly inspired all who had
the privilege to know him, adding
that “He was a blessing to the people
o f the C onfederated Tribes of
Warm Springs.”
He championed projects such as
the update of the tribe’s Compre
hensive Plan, tire Museum At Warm
Springs, Kah-Nee-Ta, the Bridge of
the Gods, to name a few.
See MUSEUM on 9
Fish Passage Center
Since 1982 the Bonneville Power
Administration has funded the opera
tion of the Fish Passage Center, based
in Portland.
The center provides technical assis
tance and information to fish and wild
life agencies, Indian tribes, and the gen
eral public on matters related to juve
nile and adult salmon and steelhead
passage through the Columbia River
and its tributaries.
Scientists from the Fish Passage
Center monitor 20 dams and fish traps,
collect data on Chinook, steelhead,
coho, shad, sockeye, pink salmon and
lamprey.
They monitor river conditions, in
cluding temperatures, and use the in
formation to make flow and spill re
quests to the power administration and
operators of the dams to improve the
survival rates of_ migrating fish.
Dam spillage
In 2005 U.S. District Judge James
Redden of Oregon took control of
hydroelectric dam operations along the
Columbia and Snake rivers after con
cluding the Bush administration failed
to protect endangered salmon.
Data from the Fish Passage Center
figured in Redden’s order to spill more
water over the dams to help young
salmon reach the ocean, rather than
running the water through turbines to
generate electricity. The spillage cost an
estimated $60 million in lost hydroelec
tric generation.
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, then in
serted a provision in a spending bill di
recting BPA to find another organiza
tion to count fish.
See PASSAGE on 8
Members enjoy day at Meadows
Tribal members had a chance to
enjoy a day of wintertime fun with a
“Tribal Member Ski Day” sponsored
by Mt. Hood Meadows.
This year, tribal members also saw
some familiar faces because of a new
employment program that makes it
possible for tribal members to travel
between Warm Springs and Mt. Hood
Meadows for seasonal employment.
The children, who had the day off
for a teach er in -se rv ic e day for
Jefferson County Schools, enjoyed per
fect mountain sunshine during the trip
on Jan. 26.
In addition to transportation, Mt.
Hood Meadows Ski Resort provided
lift tickets, equipment, and lessons from
professional ski and snowboard instruc
tors, as well as lunch for all participants.
The trip was enjoyable for all tribal
members, according to Wayne Miller
Jr., a chaperone for the trip.
He said , “A fter a full day o f
snowboarding at Mt. Hood Meadows,
we are very happy that the tribal ski
day-program is available to W arm
Springs Tribal members.”
Miller added, “Vista Express ski lift
was the highlight of his day. The view
from up there was breathtaking, I could
even see W arm S p rin gs and M t.
Jefferson from there.”
For Miller, the trip includes the added
bonus of spending time with his children.
“My sons have come up here each
year with the Meadows-Warm Springs
Kids Ski program and love it,” Miller
said. “Being able to be here with them,
seeing how happy they are and being
part of it means a lot to me.”
See SKI DAY on 8
Care packages awaiting addresses
Care packages are ready for mailing
to tribal members who are serving in
the armed services.
In order to send all of the packages,
the mailing addresses of all those who
are serving are needed, said Charlotte
Herkshan, volunteer coordinator of the
care package program.
To anyone whose family member is
serving, this is a request to please con
tact the Spilyay with the mailing address
information. Please come by the of
fice at 1100 Wasco St.; or call at 553-
3274. Or write to P.O. Box 870, Warm
Springs, OR 97761; o r‘send an e-mail
to spilyay@wstribes.org.
Also, the Winter Nights Culture Club
is making items for those who are serv
ing. The items will be included in the
care packages, said Herkshan.
“We have a lot to send. We’re just
waiting for the addresses,” she said.
University
of O ur r e egon
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