P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Spilyay
Coyote News , est. 1976
March 29, 2007
V
Voi. i
Grand Ronde seeks recognition in Gorge act
The Grand Ronde tribe is seek
ing to amend the 1988 Columbia
River Gorge National Scenic Area
Act to insert the Grand Ronde tribe
in land management decisions in the
Scenic Area.
Sources in Oregon and Washing
ton, D.C. have confirm ed that
G rand Ronde has proposed an
amendment to the law that would
include the Grand Ronde tribe in the
definition of “Indian Tribes” that
have rights and interests in the
Gorge.
Such an amendment would give
Grand Ronde consultation rights
regarding how the Columbia Gorge
Commission and the U.S. Agriculture
Secretary carry out their manage
m ent responsibilities under the
Gorge Act.
Currently, the Gorge Act recognizes
the Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla
and Nez Perce tribes as having rights
and interests in the Gorge. This entides
these tribes to a voice in management
of the National Scenic Area.
These rights are off-reservation
1855 Treaty fishing, hunting and gath
ering rights, and certain interests in land
within the National Scenic Area bound
aries. Warm Springs and Yakama, for
example, own thousands of acres of
trust land in the Gorge.
In addition, all four tribes have the
right to use Treaty Fishing Access and
In Lieu Sites along the shore of the
Columbia River within the Scenic Area.
In contrast to Warm Springs and the
other three tribes now recognized by
the Gorge Act, Grand Ronde has no
treaty rights or land ownership inter-
Grand Ronde representa
tives insist that their p r o
p osed amendment to the
Gorge -Act has nothing to do
with their opposition to the
Warm Springs tribal casino
at Cascade Rocks.
ests in the Gorge.
However, Grand Ronde represen
tatives have asserted they have ances
tral burial sites in the Scenic Area,
which they believe entides the tribe to
consultation rights regarding the man
agement of lands in the National Sce
nic Area.
The Gorge Act has not been
opened up for amendment since its
enactment in 1988.
The C onfederated Tribes o f
Warm Springs actively participated
in the drafting of the Gorge Act to
ensure that the act properly recog
nized the tribe’s Treaty and trust in
terest in the Gorge.
Grand Ronde representatives in
sist that their proposed amendment
to the Gorge Act has nothing to do
with the tribe’s strong opposition to
the proposed Warm Springs tribal
casino at the Cascade Locks Indus
trial Park.
The site is w ithin the C olum
bia G orge, but is not subject to
the Gorge A ct’s land use restric
tions.
w*
See COUNCIL on page 5
See EAGLES on page 5
Leslie Mitts/Spilyay
Eighteen tribal members are part of this year’s Madras High School track team. Competing for the team this season are: Jordan Holliday, a 15-
year-old sophomore; Emerson Culpus, a 15-year-old sophomore; Rolin Morningowl, a 16-year-old sophomore; James Scott, a 16-year-old junior;
LaRonn Katchia, a 16-year-old sophomore; Terence Wolfe, a 16-year-old sophomore; Victoria Katchia, a 17-year-old junior; Nicholas Katchia, a 17-
year-old senior; Red Sky Suppah, a 14-year-old freshman; Kelsey Haywahe, a 15-year-old sophomore; Wyatt Frank, a 15-year-old sophomore;
Karlen Yallup, a 14-year-old freshman; Briana Stacona, a 16-year-old junior; Jacoba Smith, an 18-year-old senior; Jason Smartlowit, a 15-year-old
freshman; Robert Main, a 16-year-old junior; Freddy Hernandez, a 16-year-old junior; and LexAnguiano, a 17-year-old junior.
Council update on improvement initiative
Room for improvement
In the survey, members said they
viewed tribal administration as unfair,
inefficient, and difficult to deal with.
They saw tribal policies and proce
dures as too often unclear and incon
sistent, and many felt that government
officials were mostly looking out for
themselves.
To address these concerns, Council
asked Secretary-Treasurer Jody Calica
to assemble a tribal governance team
to assess the administration and recom
mend a comprehensive restructuring
plan.
In its charge, Council asked for pro
posals on some specific issues, includ
ing what administrative structure would
best serve the tribes, what policies
should be implemented, how the ad-
Demand for
eagle feathers
creates black
market
financial documents, and compared fig
ures with other governments in rural
Oregon to get a sense of how the Con
federated Tribes o f Warm Springs
measured up.
Although Decker’s report was pre
liminary and did not include a detailed
analysis, his presentation confirmed the
membership’s sense that there is much
to improve in tribal administration.
“Many of our findings track the
results from last year’s survey of tribal
membership,” Decker said. “A big task
ahead for the administration is to en
hance its effectiveness by communicat
ing high expectations for employees,
improving teamwork and collaboration,
and establishing accountability for re
suits. By results, we mean better, time
lier service to tribal members. The
good news in our findings is that most
people in tribal government are inter
ested in improvement and finding bet
ter ways to deliver these services.”
H ,i
IÜ
Tribal Council spent an afternoon
last week hearing a team from Warm
Springs Ventures report progress on
two major initiatives currently under
way to improve the reservation’s ad
ministration and economy.
The presentation marked the first
report back to Tribal Council since
Council passed two related resolutions
last fall.
The first resolution charged several
reservation groups to evaluate a series
o f economic projects. The second
asked for a similar evaluation of tribal
administration.
The resolutions required the differ
ent teams to return to Council with
proposals for specific action plans for
improving both areas.
Tribal Council set the evaluation
process in motion in October, after •
learning the results of the summer’s
membership opinion survey.
The Tribal Council election is
Monday, April 2. Cast your bal
lots at the Community Center
between the hours of 8 a.m. and
8 p.m.
Tune in to KWSO 91.9 FM
for candidate interviews and in
form ation. See page 5 for a
schedule of candidate interviews
on KWSO.
The results of the election will
be will be posted around the com
munity on Tuesday., April 3. Fur
ther election information will be
in the next edition of the paper.
The issue of eagle feathers being
sold on the black market is gaining na
tional attention—and it’s something that
could potentially become a local prob
lem.
While it’s not a widespread problem
locally, the poaching of eagle feathers
and other parts is contributing to the
establishment of a black market nation
wide.
According to Doug Calvin, acting
wildlife and parks manager, “We’ve had
some issues in the past with some eagles
taken illegally.”
Though it’s not necessarily a local
problem yet, Calvin said, “It’s obviously
a national issue.”
But illegal trafficking of eagle feath
ers and other parts isn’t something that
has a long history, Calvin said—-it has
only become a problem during the last
10 to 20 years.
Nationally, the poaching of feath
ers is being linked to the need for feath
ers as decoration on costumes for pow
wows—-though many are quick to point
out that selling feathers on the black
market goes against traditional practices.
Because of an increased demand for
eagle feathers, the method of legally
obtaining the feathers has become a
lengthy process. “That’s why I think that
it’s a supply and demand issue, cur
rently,” Calvin said.
Federally recognized tribes can le
gally possess eagles, eagle parts and
feathers for religious and ceremonial
use.
To obtain legal feathers, tribal mem
bers must file a request with the Na
tional Eagle Repository in Commerce
City7, Colo.
At this point, Calvin said, the wait
period can be as long as two to three
years.
The repository collects eagles that
die naturally or accidentally—and in the
past decade, requests have skyrocketed,
causing a long waiting list.
Calvin said they have sent several
eagles to the repository in recent years.
One eagle died from old age, and an
other died while fighting with another
bird. However, eagle populations are
also currently growing steadily and the
effects are something that can be seen
locally.
In this area, Calvin said, “We’re for
tunate in that we have a handful of
residential pairs.” In addition to eagles
that migrate through surrounding ar
eas, Calvin said, there are some that
reside in local nesting areas.
f
Last week’s presentation, which took
about two and a half hours, reviewed
the current status of nearly five months’
worth of activity on the part of some
50 people.
Election is
Monday
B y L eslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
W tr*
B y M aren Cohn
Warm Springs Ventures
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
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ministration could better respond to the
needs of the people, and how to focus
better on performance and results.
The secretary-treasurer put two
teams together. The first included over
a dozen members, most drawn from
the administration. The second, a citi
zens advisory committee, consisted of
Terry Courtney, Frank Charley, Viola
Kalama, Brigette Whipple, Russell Char
ley, and D elford Johnson (though
Johnson had to resign later due to
scheduling conflicts). Tom Decker, a
consultant working with the Portland
turnaround firm Hamstreet & Associ
ates, led the project. Decker gave the
administrative part of the status report
to Council.
His report covered the assessment
process and the findings about tribal
administration that resulted from it.
Decker conducted 18 extensive in
terviews with senior-level administra
tors, met several times with the gover
nance team and the citizens advisory
committee, examined tribal budgets and
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