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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2007)
Mofe News from Indian Country „ However, had not been seri ously ill until his immunity weak ened recently and he developed pneumonia, Johnson said. W alkabout was b o rn in Cherokee County, O kla., on March 31,1949, and lived much o f his life in Oklahoma before moving to eastern Connecticut about seven years ago. A t the time o f his death, Walkabout and his wife, Juanita Medburv-Walkabout, lived in a portion o f eastern Connecticut th at is hom e to many Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan and oth er N ative A m erican tribal members. Walkabout, a Cherokee o f the Blue Holley Clan, was an 18- year-old Army Ranger sergeant when he and 12 other soldiers were sent on an assassination mission behind enemy lines on Nov. 20,1968, in a region south west o f Hue. However, they ended up in the enemy's battalion area and came under fire for hours, dur ing w hich he was seriously wounded. Several o f the other 12 men were killed at the scene, while the rest later died o f their injuries. Walkabout's citation for the Distinguished Service Cross said he simultaneously returned fire, helped his com rad es and boarded other injured soldiers onto evacuation helicopters. “A lthough stunned and wounded by the blast, Sgt. Walkabout rushed from man to man administering first aid, ban daging one soldier's severe chest wound and reviving another sol dier by heart massage,” the cita tion states. “Only when the ca sualties had been evacuated and friendly reinforcements had ar rived, did he allow himself to be evacuated.” He retired at the rank o f sec ond lieutenant. In a 1986 inter view with The Associated Press, Walkabout said his 23 months in Vietnam left him with dis abling injuries and memories that refused to fade. “War is not hell,” Walkabout said. “It's worse.” He said he struggled with failed marriages, thoughts o f suicide and years o f self-isola VFW Laides Auxiliary offering scholarships through patriotic art contest Young artists are invited to submit their artwork in the La dies Auxiliary Young American Creative Patriotic Art Scholar ship Contest. The deadline to submit items is March 31. Stud ents m ust be in the grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 to enter the contest. F o r in fo rm a tio n co n ta ct Pinkey Beymer, president o f the V F W W arm Springs Ladies Auxiliary E lliott Palmer Post 4217; or Lucy Gadberry at 553- 0492. In the national competition, the first-place winner receives a $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 scholarship. Second place receives $5,000; and third place, $2,500. Winning entries will be dis played at the Auxiliary National Convention. Entries must be done during the current school year. Each student may submit only one entry. Each entry will be judged on the originality o f concept, pre sentation, and patriotism ex pressed; the content o f how it relates to patriotism and clarity o f ideas; the design technique, total impact o f the work; and uniqueness. Award: ‘It is quite an honor for us’ (Continued from page 1) They received the award dur ing the annual Northwest D is patch Conference recently, Lydy said, and it came as quite a sur prise. “Usually I ’m not speechless, but I was that night,” Lydy said. “We’re pretty proud o f it.” In the past, Lydy said, only one other facility with the Bu reau o f Indian Affairs has re ceived the award: the Yakama Nation in 1992. “It’s something that does not happen to small offices,” Lydy said. “It is quite an honor for us.” M ost offices that receive the award have a staff o f at least eight people who work full-time throughout the year. In Warm Springs, only two people work in the dispatch of fice in the summertime. According to Lydy, that of ten means a lot o f extra work on the part o f the two employ ees. He said, “W hether it be seven in the morning or mid night, they’re here.” Norm an Lucei has worked with Fire Management for over two decades— and since 1994 he’s worked in dispatch, he said. Now, as the Initial Attack D ispatcher, Lucei is humble about the work that he does. “It’s pretty busy,” he said— especially because during four days o f the week, only one per son is in the office. In fact, during the summer Lucei is on-call 24 hours a day. “We’re lucky if we get an eight hour day during the sum mertime,” Lucei said. “Espe cially if it’s really dry.” Luckily, Lucei said, during the summer they have people from Forestry who are also trained in dispatch. For Lucei, the answer isn’t simple as to why he stays moti vated. “T h e sm ell o f sm oke, I guess, is what everyone says,” he explained. “When the smoke bell rings, everyone runs.” As for the award, Lucei said, “It kind o f stunned me a litde bit when they announced our names.” Lucei agreed that it was an honor for a smaller office to re ceive the award. “There’s a whole lot o f other dispatch offices that are a lot bigger than this one,” he added. r Brenden named Kah-Nee- Ta Star Performer of the Year Sheila Brenden, who works at the Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino kitchen, was recently named the resort Star Performer fo r 2006. She was nominatedfor her great attitude and outstanding customer service. Congratulations, Sheila! Mdrcb 15, 2006 Preserving languages goal of grant program Billy Walkabout, decorated Vietnam W ar hero, dies at 57 H ARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Billy Walkabout, a native Cherokee whose actions in Vietnam made him among most decorated soldiers o f the war, died March 7 at a hospital in Norwich, his step daughter said Sunday. He was 57. Walkabout received the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, five Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. He was believed to be the most deco rated Native American sol dier o f the Vietnam War, ac cording to U.S. Department o f Defense reports. Walkabout, who lived in Montville, died o f pneumo nia and renal failure, said his stepdaughter, Randi Johnson o f Norwich. He had experienced com plications related to his expo sure to the Agent Orange defoliant used during the Vietnam conflict, she said, and he had been on a kidney transplant waiting list and un dergoing dialysis three times a week. Spiiyay Tymoo tion when he would spend six months at a time alone. “Everyone I went to high school with thought I was dead fo r years. T h e y 're amazed when they see me and they say, ‘You're not dead.’” Walkabout said. He said he often refused to sleep near his wife, afraid he would strangle her in his sleep or try to push her un der the bed to protect her from the bombs he imagined were going off. Over the years, however, he found solace in the Na tive A m erican powwows where he often was an hon ored guest, leading the tradi tional dances in time to the pounding drums and chant o f the singers. “I'm at peace with my self,” Walkabout said in 1986. “I've got my dignity and I've got my pride. ... I never lost the war in Vietnam, 1 never lost a day o f it. Even when I was wounded, I didn't lose. When I fought, I won. I won my wars.” BRO W N IN G , Mont. (AP) - Preserving what remains o f som e A m erican Indian lan guages is the goal o f a grant pro gram planned by the National Council o f the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. The council said grants to be o ffere d later this year, in am ounts from $ 2 ,5 0 0 to $25,000, are intended to fund tribal language programs o f fered through schools and com munities. Mandan, which was critical to the success o f the Lewis and Clark expedition, is among the fading languages. Members o f a committee that will guide allocation o f the grants include Browning resident Darrell Kipp. He founded the Piegan In stitute, which strives to research and preserve languages. Kipp described Am erican Indian languages as ' 'libraries o f ancient knowledge" and said that when a language dies, ' 'that wisdom is lost forever." Funding for the grants in cludes in terest on proceeds from sales o f a Lewis and Clark commemorative coin. Church Revival There will be a Church Revival at the Full Gospel Church from Saturday, March 24 through Friday, March 30. Services begin each evening at 7 p.m. This is the third year o f the Revival, hosted by Easton and Tina Aguilar. 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