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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2007)
February 15, 2007 Spily^y Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Council: (Continued from page 1) The picture at right, distrib uted and much-discussed at the meeting, illustrates the problems that have led to the need for Council reform, along with the idea that good governance is es sential in forming the basis o f a healthy community. “I f we’re really going to lis ten to the membership,” said one councilor, “the change has to come, whether we like it or not. It’s going to be a personal deci sion— it’s up to each individual whether we want to make the change for our people.” Proposed committee struc ture As a way to start doing what it can, Council considered a pro posal to adopt an internal, three- com m ittee system to help it manage responsibilities more effectively and monitor its own performance through a limited system o f checks and balances. Under the proposed system, a G o v ern an ce C om m ittee would recommend policies and procedures, an Audit Commit tee would track compliance with those policies, and a Rules Com mittee would recommend disci plinary action in cases o f non- compliance. In addition, the Governance and Audit Commit tees would have responsibilities to oversee certain other areas o f Council business. reform measure would be significant change Society in Future Accountability Effective polici ^ductive meetings Leadershi Integrity ommunication Tribal Council Reform rsonal conflict k of trust Instabili Weak performance Inefficiency Perceptions of self-deàting adequate housing Need for education Poverty Cultural loss Substance abuse Tack of opportunity Inadequate healthcare Need for jobs Government Now Society Now For details on the committees, how they would work, and why they would help Council become a m ore effectiv e leadership group, please see the accompa nying article in this issue o f the paper. Council response to com mittee proposal Council members posed nu merous questions and made sev eral observations in an active discussion about the committees and whether they could help Council do its job more effec tively. Many spoke to the need for greater trust and account ability on Council and in the tribal organization. Members were unsure whether the pro posal would work, but they also showed willingness to give the idea a serious try. “Somebody’s going to have to start following some rules around here,” said one o f the chiefs. “Right now, if somebody loses a job, they come to Coun cil; if somebody loses a court case, they come to Council. We and substance abuse systems in Native America country face substantial obstacles in their tre mendous fight against meth,” Udall said in a news release. “This legislation seeks to pro vide assistance in the fight by allowing tribes, consistent with tribal sovereignty, to apply for these grants just as states can.” In New Mexico alone, Udall said the state Departm ent o f Public Safety handled more than 400 cases involving meth in 2004. But he said the situation can be worse in American Indian communities where the use rate is more than double that o f other ethnicities. Additionally, he said when the U.S. Bureau o f Indian Affairs surveyed tribal law enforcement officials, more than 70 percent o f them said meth is the drug that poses the greatest threat to their reserva tion. American Indian filmmaker Phil Lucas was 65 B E L L E V U E , Wash. (AP) - Phil Lucas, an award-winning film producer and director who made a career o f telling the sto ries o f American Indians, has died at age 65. Lucas, a Choctaw, died Sun day, Feb. 4 o f complications fol lowing heart surgery. In his four decades as a film maker, Lucas wrote, produced or directed more than 100 fea ture films, television series and documentaries in an industry that often stereotyped Indians. “He's definitely one o f the pioneering creative forces in A m erican In d ian life ,” said Hanay Geiogamah, a professor o f theater and American Indian studies at the University o f Cali fornia, Los Angeles. symptoms. I f you address this one you don’t do a whole lot because we have other problems that are bigger.” The member’s statement cap tured widespread sentim ent. Throughout the day, several oth ers also said they wanted to be doing more to address major problem s in the community. But m em bers acknowledged that strong leadership on Coun cil would translate into doing a better job o f tackling commu nity issues. “We need to make ourselves more accountable to the people,” said one. “This same council has been on a long time. It’s got to be accountable; if we make a change, we need to be account able for that; i f we make a change and are accountable, people will see it and respect that. I think it [the committee system] would make us more accountable.” Another member, who said he thought the committee sys tem would be a step in the right direction, also said that, “We haven’t made a dent in that yet, what we’re supposed to be do ing” to move our community forward. “Once we get there maybe we’ll get the trust o f the people. We’re a long ways away.” O verall, recep tion o f the committee structure was posi Cultural growth Trust Opportunity Healthcare Education Housing Income Community development U.S. House committee approves bill to combat Indian meth use (AP) - The U-S House Judi ciary Committee has approved legislation to make federal grants available to help combat meth- amphetamine in Indian Country. The measure sponsored by Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., now heads to the House floor. Udall said larger meth legisla tion passed by Congress last year ' 'unintentionally left out" Indian tribes as possible applicants for some grant programs. “Our criminal justice, welfare Page13 Among his films were “The B ro k en C h ain ,” abou t the Iroquois Confederacy, and “The Honour o f All,” a documentary about how the Alkali Lake Indi ans in British Columbia became alm ost entirely sober in the 1980s after being 100 percent alcoholic 20 years before. Lucas also co-produced and co-directed the PBS series, “Im ages o f Indians,” about Holly wood stereotypes o f American Indians, and directed the 1994 television documentary series, “T he Native Americans,” for which he won an Emmy. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his film “Dances for a New Generation,” a docu mentary about the American Indian Dance Theater. Lucas, who lived in the Se attle suburb o f Issaquah, also consulted on television shows such “Northern Exposure” and “MacGyver.” Lucas was born in Phoenix and grew up seeing racism, which helped inspire his film career, said Gary Robinson, Lucas' pro duction partner and friend. Lucas received a visual-com munications degree from West ern Washington University in Bellingham, and had taught at Bellevue Community College, east o f Seattle, since 1999. He ran the school's annual Ameri can Indian Film Festival. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, and five children. have to close the loopholes. I f the loopholes are closed, if there are some rules people followed, it could be a lot better.” A nother coun cilor stated concern that forming new com mittees to improve the opera tion o f Council wasn’t address ing the big picture o f problems on the reservation. “Yeah, this is workable,” he said, “this is doable. But it [problems on Council] is only one o f many tive, n o t becau se anyone thought it would improve the Tribes’ situation all by itself, but because it would strengthen leadership and lay a better foun dation for meeting challenges in the future. “It’s a way to measure our performance as leadership,” re marked a member. “It helps with the need, to follow up, to be ac countable. M em bership has asked us to look at checks and balances on what we do. The three committees would help im plem ent those checks and balances. They would help us operate in way that’s feasible, that’s right. The key point I wish would happen is to build a more cohesive group on Council, to address the problem o f us un dermining each other.” Council was supportive o f looking into the committee idea further. N ot wanting to move too rapidly, however, one o f the chiefs asked for more time to study the matter. “We’re taking a major step here in trying to meet Tribal Council reform,” he said. “We ought to make sure we understand it and help the people understand it.” A m o tio n was made and passed to continue working on the idea and address it again in a later session. TIRES 915 SOUTH HWY 97, SUITE B Come in and check out our selection of A m erican m ade Products Compare Great Prices, Great Service We support America and American jobs, by selling American made products. Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. 475-9111 iä i/ 4 i* ? t T * è egon. The U.S. Bureau o f Rec lamation said last Tuesday that Slayden Construction Group o f Stayton, was awarded the $9 million contract to remove the dam, an irrigation diver sion built in 1914 on the Sprague R iv er outside the tow n o f Chiloquin. T h e 1 1 -fo o t-h ig h dam is scheduled to be removed by the end o f 2008. It is to be replaced by pumps to serve the Modoc Point Irrigation District. “This is a significant step in helping to restore the traditional fishery for the Klamath Indian Tribes, which have reserved fishing rights in the area,” said Steve Thom pson, head o f the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service California-Nevada office. 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