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P.O. Box 870
W arm Spri^ OR 97761
Spilygy
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February
15, £007
Coyote News, est. 1976
Council
weighs
reform
measure
B y M aren Cohn
Warm Springs Ventures
Tribal Council met for a long and
productive day in continuation of its
efforts to address the need for im
proved tribal governance.
The meeting explored a system of
Council self-management through the
creation of three internal committees.
If adopted, the committee structure
would enable Council to keep better
tabs on both itself and its appointed
officers though a system of checks and
balances.
Nine Council members attended the
meeting, which the OSU extension
team of Clint Jacks and Teresa Hogue
fac ilitate d . T he co n su ltin g firm
Hamstreet & Associates presented the
committee system and explained its
operation.
Council expressed serious interest in
the proposal and agreed to consider it
further in a future session.
“These committees will not mean
adding a whole new layer of positions
or paid p e rso n n el,” said Clyde
Hamstreet in response to a Council
question.
“These are not new tribal commit
tees. Rather, they would be a part of
Council and consist of Council mem
bers only. The only exception might be
a non-voting financial expert to serve
on the audit committee, which would
oversee the Tribe’s financial affairs. The
purpose of the committees is to help
Council manage itself better and be
more accountable in doing its job.”
The governance meeting, held Jan.
29, marked Council’s fourth special
session for addressing issues raised in
last summer’s opinion survey. In its ini
tial two-day workshop last October,
Council passed resolutions directing
different reservation groups to coop
erate in drafting a new economic strat
egy and provide recommendations re
garding an administrative reorganiza
tion.
With the February 15 deadline for
submission of those plans approach
ing, Council continues to work on gov
ernance as the third prong of its re
form efforts.
Strong desire for change
The recent meeting opened with a
review of the governance reform pro
cess to date. Several Council members
stressed the need for Council, tribal
committee members and other person
nel do a better job of conforming to
the tribe’s constitution, bylaws, laws and
regulations.
The desire for greater accountabil
ity was on nearly everyone’s lips the
entire day.
Some councilors voiced frustration
at the sheer size of the problems fac
ing the tribes and feeling powerless to
find solutions.
At the same time, nearly everyone
present spoke passionately about the
need to come up with ideas that would
benefit the people.
Despite some ruffling of feathers,
there was widespread agreement that
positive change had to begin at home,
i.e., with Council itself.
The group appeared to accept the
view that, while better governance
might not lead automatically to im
proved economic and social conditions,
those conditions were unlikely to get
better without it.
See COUNCIL on 13
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February 15, 2007 Vol. 32, . .o. 4
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Celilo Village hosting 50-year commemoration
Celilo Village will host a two-day
commemoration of Celilo Falls. The
events begin on Saturday, March 10,
the 50-year anniversary of the in
undation of the falls by The Dalles
dam. Events continue through Sun
day, March 11.
Events include a canoe ceremony
on the banks of the Columbia. Celilo
Park, across the freeway from Celilo
Village, will be the setting for the Wy-
Kan-Ush-Pum Village. The village
will be set up on the banks of the
Columbia, and will include at least a
h alf dozen tepees and a canvas
longhouse.
Inside each tepee will be tribal,
museum and environmental organi
zation exhibits highlighting the his
tory and importance of Celilo Falls,
tribal salmon culture, and Columbia
River health. The following is a sched
ule of events:
Saturday, March 10
9:30 a.m.: Canoe ceremony — Celilo
Village chief will greet a Puyallup ca
noe group on the banks of the Colum
bia River.
10 a.m.: Opening ceremony at Celilo
Longhouse.
11 a.m.: H onoring cerem ony at
longhouse.
3 p.m.: Traditional salmon dinner
6 p.m.: Celilo Legacy Powwow and
stick games.
All-day: Celilo Falls history exhibit
and tribal, salmon and river displays at
the Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum Village in Celilo
Park.
Sunday, March 11:
10 a.m.: Traditional Washat service
(invitation only)
Noon: Traditional salmon dinner.
3 p.m.: Remembering Celilo: Elders
share their memories and recollections
of Celilo Falls and Celilo Village
All-day: Celilo Falls history exhibit
and tribal, salmon, and river displays
at the Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum Village in
Celilo Park.
Additional teepees can be accom
modated in this area for other arts and
crafts vendors. The Celilo Longhouse,
as the heart of Celilo Village, will be
the center for all official and ceremo
nial aspects of the commemoration.
The opening ceremony, dignitaries’
speeches, salmon feast, and the pow
wow will take place inside the longhouse
on Saturday.
Another event marking the 50-year
anniversary of the loss of Celilo Falls
is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday,
March 3 at the Hood River Hotel, lo
cated at 102 Oak St. in Hood River.
This event, called “An Evening To
Remember Celilo Falls 50 Years Later,”
will feature a 27-piece full-size photo
exhibit from six different collections,
historic movie footage and audio from
Celilo Falls, and a speaker to talk about
life at the falls. The event is organized
by the Columbia Riverkeeper program.
For more information contact Kim
Leslie, Columbia Riverkeeper program
administrator at (541) 387-3030.
Election of
Council
coming up
David Belgard photo for the Spilyay
Tommy Lee WhitePlume dances at the Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow, held Feb. 10-12 at the Simnasho
Longhouse. More powwow photos on page 8.
Tribal members in late March or
early April will elect the Twenty-Fourth
Tribal Council of the Confederated
Tribes. The next Council will then take
office on May 1.
Nominees for the Council positions
will be named at upcoming district
meetings, to be held in mid-March or
sooner, said Madeline Queahpama-
Spino, director of tribal Vital Statistics.
Tribal members will receive their
ballots in the m ail in M arch, said
Queahpama-Spino.
Those voting members on the res
ervation can then turn their ballots in
at the polling place in the Community
Center. Off-reservation members vote
by absentee ballot.
According to recent Vital Stats in
formation, there are 1,429 local voting
members of the Agency District, and
428 absentee. The Simnasho District
has 807 local voters, and 242 absen
tee. And Seekseequa, 184 local and 55
absentee.
Three representatives each will be
elected from Agency and Simnasho,
and two from Seekseequa.
Another election that tribal members
may see this year is the adoption elec
tion. An adoption election would hap
pen after the new Council is in office,
said Queahpama-Spino.
Composite Products develops global niche
B y L eslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
Not many would expect to find a
direct connection between a small
Warm Springs factory and various
countries in Asia, Europe and the
Middle East.
But that is exactly what has been
developed through Warm Springs
Composite Products.
The successful company pro
duces fireproofing material made of
tectonite along with other product
fines that are growing steadily—cre
ating a unique opportunity for ex
porting.
In the last year alone, the export
market revenue increased from 10
percent to 26 percent.
Add that to other revenue and
Composite Products is expecting a
30 percent increase over last year’s
profits in 2007—a total about $8
million.
Composite Products employs 40
people full time, and over 80 per
cent of the employees are tribal
members.
Their unique way of handling their
employees is part of what CEO Duane
Darnell says makes them so success
ful.
According to Darnell, it is especially
important to cross-train employees.
T hat w ay they are m o tivated to
progress and move up in the company.
“I don’t hire people that can’t do a
lot of important things,” he explained.
When the company was founded in
the early 90’s, he said, many workers
hadn’t ever been taught skills required
in their job.
Now, Darnell said, “We’ve got a
good team here.”
In addition to giving employees the
chance to build skills, it also gives them
a chance to work together.
“You’ve got people training other
people,” D arnell explained. “That
model works better for us in this com
munity.”
According to Darnell, “There really
isn’t a lot of politics in our company.”
“I want them to enjoy working
here,” he added.
Jacob Coochise, sales and market
ing director, said, “The nice thing about
our company today that you couldn’t
say five or six years ago is that we have
a lot of tenured employees.”
Coochise has firsthand experience—
he originally began working for Com
posite Products as part of a cleanup
crew.
That job eventually grew into work
ing as a lead man, then plant manager
and now as a college-educated sales and
marketing director.
That sort of growth is ideal, Darnell
said.
Though both men can recite uses
for their products and methods of cre
ation, there really isn’t a simple answer
for what makes tectonite.
It is created from diatomaceous
earth—meaning that it is made of soil
full of crushed organic material like
recycled newspaper, fiberglass and skel
etal material.
Tectonite is heat and fire resistant,
and as a result it is used as a compo
nent of fire-rated doors.
In addition to materials made of
tectonite, workers at Composite Prod
ucts are also producing items like re
pair cement, doorframes and more re
cently, items dealing with ballistics that
are being sold for use in military ve
hicles.
“We’ve gradually developed Com
posite Products into a Composite com
pany,” Darnell said.
One thing that has helped the com
pany expand is the ability to customize
or complete an order of any size.
According to Coochise, “We’re very
open minded about things.”
While larger companies are unable
to provide custom orders, Coochise
said Composite Products can provide
orders that meet the customer’s needs.
“That’s where we have an advan
tage,” he said.
Another advantage involves a séries
of certifications attached to their prod
ucts.
According to Coochise, “Everything
that we do is driven by our certifica
tions.”
See COMPOSITE on 12
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