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OrCo 11
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V.
32
n.o. 6
P.0. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Spi lyay
i M arch
2007
ECRWSS
Postal Patron
Acquisition Dept./Serials
March 15, 2007
Coyote News, est. 1976
Voi.
Knight Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1205
U.S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
,gs, OR 97761
50 cents
D istricts choose Council candidates
*
-
B y Dave M cM echan
S pilyay Tymoo
The three districts held their Tribal
Council nomination meetings this week.
The nominees will be reviewed bv
Council to make sure all those nomi
nated qualify for election to Council;
and then election will be set.
The new Tribal Council will take
office in May 1; so early April is a likely
time for the election. The newly elected
Council w ill be the Twenty-Fourth
Tribal Council of the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs. As of Tues
day morning (deadline for this paper),
those nominated were as follows:
J
Agency District:
Bruce “Mickey” Brunoe Sr., Mike
Clements, Eugene Austin Greene Jr.,
Daisy Ike, Lonny James, Cassie Katchia,
Bernice M itchell, Je ff Sanders Sr.,
Mary Sando-Emhoolah, Alex Smith,
Alfred Smith Jr., Gene Smith, Randy
Smith, Stanley “Buck” Smith, and Rita
Squiemphen.
Walter “Spud” Langnese III and Ur-
bana Brunoe Manion were nominated
but declined.
Seekseequa District:
Reuben Henry, Lauraina Hintsala,
Wendell Jim , Myra Johnson Orange,
Julie Quaid, Brenda Scott, Alvis Smith
.
III, and Wilson Wewa Jr.
Simnasho District:
Harold Blackwolf Sr., Frank Char
ley, Gerald Danzuka, Ellison David,
C alvin “B u m stead ” Q ueahpam a,
Raphael Queahpama, Earl Squiemphen,
Emerson Squiemphen, Aurolyn Stwyer,
Earland Suppah, Ronald Suppah Sr.,
Raymond Tsumpti Sr., and Vincent
Guy Wallulatum.
Close to 2,600 voters
The total number of eligible voting
members of the Confederated Tribes
is about 2,590, said M adeline
Queahpama-Spino, director of Vital
Statistics.
The largest district is Agency with
about 1,800 voters. Simnasho Dis
trict has about 950 voters. And the
Seekseequa District has 230 voters.
Three representatives each will be
elected from Agency and Simnasho,
and two from Seekseequa.
Those voting members on the
reservation can then turn their bal
lots in at the polling place in the
Community' Center. Off-reservation
members vote by absentee ballot.
(Note to candidates: Please come by
or contact the Spilyay Tymoo in order
to subm it y o u r candidate statem ent.
Thank you .)
Celilo Legacy
f Oregon L ibra ry
03 - £ 9"®7
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Tribal canoes arrive at Celilo Village, during the events commemorating the 50 year anniversary of the flooding of Ceiilo Falls. About 1,000 people
showed up for the events, which lasted two days, Saturday and Sunday, March 10-11. Events were at the park, and at Celilo Village, where the new
longhouse was the scene of commemorative ceremonies. Celilo Falls was located eight miles upriver from The Dalles dam, and was flooded on
March 10, 1957, ending the tribal fisheries site that had existed since time immemorial.
Different
approach
to adoption
election
B y Dave M cM echan
S pilyay Tymoo
Tribal members ages 18 and over
will be receiving registration forms in
the mail soon for an adoption election
to be held this summer.
This year the BIA is handling the
adoption election, rather than the tribes.
The past two adoption elections con
ducted by the tribes failed for lack o f
sufficient voter turnout.
The BIA, or secretarial process has
no minimum turnout requirement; so
this year the results for each individual
adoption candidate will be valid, said
Lori Anderson, BIA administrative of
ficer. If a candidate receives a major
ity o f yes votes, the person will be
adopted into the Confederated Tribes.
If the person does not receive a ma
jority o f votes in favor, the person is
not adopted into the tribes.
The change in process came after
review o f the tribal Constitution, which
indicates the adoption elections should
be secretarial rather than tribal, said
Anderson.
The voter registration forms should
be returned to the BIA within 14 days
o f receiving the forms in the mail, in
order to be eligible to vote. The elec
tion will be held 90 days after the reg
istration process, said Anderson. Any
one who wants an absentee ballot
should request from the BIA.
There are about 100 adoption can
didates, said Madeline Queahpama-
Spino, director o f Vital Statistics.
The previous two adoption elections
were held in the fall o f 2001 and then
in early 2002. Both o f these failed for
lack o f turnout. The last successful
adoption election was conducted in
October 1996.
To qualify for inclusion on the bal
lot, a person much be at least 1/8 In
dian, and a descendant o f a Confeder
ated Tribes member or former mem
ber. Local residency is also a require
ment. According to the residency re
quirement, the candidate must have
lived on the reservation for three years
in order to qualify for the ballot.
Fire Management recognized as best in Northwest
B y L eslie M itts
S pilyay Tymoo
Hard work paid off for the staff at
Fire Management.
Warm Springs Fire Management
recently received the annual “Outstand
ing Unit Award” from the Northwest
Interagency Coordination Center.
According to Stephen Dickenson,
emergency operations manager, each
year the staff at the Northwest Inter
agency Coordination Center presents an
award to the outstanding unit of the
year. The award, he explained, recog
nizes people who display confidence,
excellent levels of service, good atti
tudes and quality work ethic in general.
As for Warm Springs Fire Manage
ment, he said, “They did exactly that.”
■ While the staff remained exception
ally busy with local matters in Warm
Springs, Dickenson said, “They also pro
vided service to both their neighbors.”
Crews traveled to the Deschutes
National Forest and Mt. Hood National
Forest, Dickenson said, and also pro
vided camp crews.
Submitted photo
Norman Lucei and Ken Lydy display the award they received from the
Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
“Mostly these ten-person crews go
out and help us establish and maintain
living conditions out in these fire
camps,” Dickenson said.
“They really are the unsung heroes,”
he added. For those out fighting fires,
the camp crews provide an extensive
amount of support back at camp,
Dickenson said.
When crews return back to camp,*
Dickenson said, “You want to be able
to sleep in a good area and have a cold
drink of water. These are the people
that work tirelessly to make sure these
fires are supported.”
Ken Lydy, assistant fire management
officer, said the camp crews spent a
total of 376 days at camps last year—
with multiple crews traveling through
out Washington, Oregon and Califor
nia.
“The community really delivered the
camp crews last summer,” Lydy said.
In return, he said, “They brought back
into the community almost half a mil
lion dollars.”
In the past, Lydy said, crews have
traveled throughout the U.S. Two years
ago crews traveled to New Orleans af
ter Hurricane Katrina, he said.
The local Hot Shot crew program
also provided support this summer,
Dickenson added.
Those crews spent a total of 83 days
in the field.
But the Northwest Interagency Co
ordination Center wanted to recognize
more than just the amount o f work that
Fire Management does.
One o f the major reasons for the
award, Dickenson said, involves the
level o f customer service provided.
According to Dickenson, “Ken Lydy
and his staff give you cheerful, good
service. You can call them in the
middle o f the most difficult o f situa
tions and they will say, W h at can we
do for you?”’
As a team, Dickenson said, the staff
at Fire Management is very positive
and upbeat.
Besides providing support to fire
crews throughout the northwest this
summer, Dickenson said, there were
plenty o f fires nearby and locally that
had to be dealt with.
The ability o f Fire Management to
handle so many things at once com
bines with their competency as a staff
to make them the outstanding center
o f the year for 2006, Dickenson said.
See AWARD on 11