E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Page 4 .
Spiiyay Tymoo April 26, 2007
Letters to the Editor
Vote controvery
To the tribal membership,
This is in response to the
unsigned article labeled “Reasons
why T ribal Council election
needs to be invalidated.” Since
I am referred to as the “chief
statistician,” I feel 1 have the
right to set things straight in the
eyes of the people.
In the first place, I only rec
ommend a date. I recommend
a date based on the fact that
when the Tribal Council ap
proves the nominations, they set
the date for the election. They
approved the nominations in
Pocatello, Idaho, on March 13.
When I asked if a date was set
they said, “We’ll talk to you on
M onday.” On M onday the
March 19, I went in to Tribal
Council and I have always them,
I need at least three weeks to
get the absentee ballots out, and
time for them to be returned.
The memo that I wrote on the
13th was brought out and the
date of April 2 was set. My staff
o f three had to scram ble
around to get the absentee bal
lots together and sent. All of the
out-of-state were sent out on
March 21 and 22, the in-state
were mailed out on the 23rd.
The following Monday, we
received a ballot back from
Georgia. This shows that there
was sufficient time for a ballot
to be returned. Ballots were re
turned from as far away as Wis
consin, New Mexico, Montana,
Texas, California and Washing
ton, D.C. Up to this date, only
32 ballots came in after the elec
tion.
The people who requested
lists had both labels and a list. I
asked that the list with children
on it be brought back so we
could look at it. If we had
mailed out ballots to children, it
would have been sent back. Up
to this date, none have been re
turned, and we have never seen
this list with children on it, so I
believe this is a gross misstate
ment.
The rum ors are flying. I
heard someone say there were
up to 400 people left off the
voters list. This again is a gross
misstatement. I wrote 72 people
to let them know that they
showed up without a district.
Twenty-three of those people
returned their forms, and many
of them showed up at the polls
to vote, and were allowed to
vote. Beulah Tsumpti was in
structed ahead o f tim e that
these people just needed to pick
what district they wanted to vote
in, and sign the book. I went into
the book after the election and
loaded a district for those who
voted. W hen review in g the
book, I found that people did
not give their married names, or
they gave the wrong name, as a
result, could not be found. But
they signed the name that they
were using.
The Agency ballot does not
say, “Vote for two.”
Because of the short timeline
we had to get the ballots out,
the ballots had already been
printed when Bruce Brunoe Sr.,
decided to withdraw his name.
He did not want people to waste
their vote on him, so this was
why his name was marked out.
It did not ruin the ballot, and
has been done before when
people withdrew after the fact.
Regardless of the relation
ship to the candidates, the elec
tion and the Counting Board
have always taken their job on
the board seriously. They are
appointed by the Tribal Coun
cil, and m any o f them have
worked for years.
I have worked with 12 Tribal
Council and 12 elections. Never
in that time have I tried to in
fluence voters in any way. The
fact that I relieved Shirley Sand
ers so that she could take a
break, was all I was doing, and
all I did was write down the
names of the people coming in
the door. I was not at the count
ing table.
I was told of Eugene Austin
Greene Jr., helping Arlita carry
the ballot box to the back room
where the counters are. The
ballot boxes are big and bulky,
so Austin was being a gentleman
by carrying the box for the
counters, who are all ladies. As
far as Wilson Wewa Jr., carrying
a box, I do not know. If this is
true, they could have been help
ing the committee again after the
polls close, because the boxes
w ere d elivered
to the
superintendent’s office.
Again, if a list had children’s
names on it, it should have been
returned to Vital Statistics for
proof that this statement is valid.
The vote made to accept the
results at Kah-Nee-Ta was a
vote of the full Tribal Council,
with one member out of the
room . Six voted for; three
against, with one out o f the
room, and the Chairman not
voting. It was made prior to the
presentation by Lori Anderson,
acting superintendent, so it had
no b earin g on w hat the
superintendent’s decision was.
She had her statem ent done
prior to the meeting, and she
said it still would have been the
same. But it was said that based
on 72 members for the election,
and four (not 44) against, she
would have gone along with the
Tribal Council’s decision.
Ordinance 44 allows the BIA
sup erintenden t to keep the
boxes for three days after the
election in the event of a dis
pute. This is in section 16 of
the ordinance.
In order to do away with the
districts, it would have to be a
secretarial election to amend the
Constitution and By-laws.
Isn’t it an abuse or misuse of
tribal property in using e-mail?
If the person who wrote this,
and those people who supported
this unsigned document do not
have the courage to sign their
document, then they should not
be slandering people by naming
names.
Each district was given the
chance to question a candidate
at each of the respective district
meetings. The Tribal Council just
approved the choices.
M adeline Q ueahpam a-
Spino, Director of tribal Vital
Statistics.
The election
Thought I would say a few
things about what happened
during the certification of the
election results. When the results
were revealed, Tribal Council
members present, including
myself, all voted to certify the
results.
Tribal members who wished
to challenge the election were
allowed into Council Chambers.
They expressed three areas
of concern:
1. Time was not allowed for
absentee voters to receive and
return their ballots by Election
Day that amounted to over 500
votes.
2. Tribal members between
the ages of 21 and 24 years were
not on the voter list, the num
ber of them unknown.
3. The relationship between
the Election Board members
and the candidates constituted
a conflict of interest.
After some discussion the
tribal members were told that
they could submit their challenge
concerns to the BIA Superinten
dent within three days of the
election.
The Tribal Council members
who were present, further dis
cussed the issues of the tribal
member concerns. The Chief
Statistician was called into the
Tribal Council Chambers and
was asked if the concerns were
true. The Chief Statistician re
sponded in saying that many
errors were made, including ab
sentee mail out, and 21 to 24
age group being left off the
voter list. The Chief Statistician
took a stance in support of all
Election Board members and
Counting Board.
T ribal C ouncil m em bers
present were given four options.
The last option being to undo
the election and have another
election. As a matter of record,
I stated that if another election
was to be held that it will be
done without my name as I
would withdraw from the elec
tion.
Soon thereafter a motion was
made to undo the election and
have another election. Not all
Tribal Council members agreed
with the motion, but the motion
passed. Reason for the motion:
absentee voters, especially those
that lived out of state, were not
given sufficient time to partici
pate in the election, and an un
known number of tribal mem
bers between the ages of 21 and
24 were not on the voter list and
not given the opportunity to
participate in the election pro
cess. There were also names of
minors included on the election
list.
Each of the Tribal Council
members including the Chiefs
took an Oath of Office to up
hold the U.S. Constitution and
the Tribal Constitution in the
best interests of the tribal mem
bers before their term begins. I
took this oath very seriously for
all tribal members.
Tribal Council as a whole and
by a m ajority vote, chose to
overturn the Tribal Council
members that thought re-elec
tion should have been in order.
Having said that, one would
have to w onder w hy two
Seekseequa members would
vote to overturn, when they
asked Tribal Council to support
them to withdraw from the elec
tion because of an error in the
election process. “Hey go fig
ure.”
In closing, those 500 people
that were not given the oppor
tunity to participate in this pro
cess, even though they lived off
the Reservation at this time, I
would venture to guess that at
least one family member living
on the Reservation would agree
that an injustice had been done.
This could be 1,000 votes to
impact the next tribal referen
dum, not to mention those be
tween 21 and 24 years of age.
That’s going to be interesting.
I mentioned earlier that I
withdrew my name if a re-elec
tion were to happen; I was
soundly convinced to re-submit
my name back on the ballot,
even after I tried to convince
my supporters to enter me in as
a write-in. I thought I’d mention
that, to address any “rumors”
out there.
Fifteen years ago I had said
that I would represent the Dis
trict as long as they wanted me
to, and when they thought my
work as a Representative was
done, they would let me know
at the polls, when that time came
I would walk away without look
ing back.
It’s been an honor and a
privilege to have been a District
representative these past years.
I thank those that had confi
dence in me, without me hav
ing to “campaign.” If I were to
campaign, I would never do it
at a Memorial.
Respectfully,
R aym ond
C a lic a
Tsumpti, Sr,
Auxiliary
To the following people, busi
nesses and community,
On b eh alf o f the Ladies
Auxiliary Elliott Palmer Post
4217 in W arm Springs, we
would like to thank you for your
support:
The soldiers, officers, and
members of the Elliott Palmer
Post 4217; Elton Greeley, Warm
Springs Senior Program for the
use of the Senior Building and
copier; the Museum at Warm
Springs for use of the building.
Buddy Poppy sales: Black
Bear D iner in M adras, Case
Equipm ent in Bend, Madras
Pioneer newspaper, DMJ Auto
motive in Warm Springs, Warm
Springs Forest Products in
W arm Springs, N issen and
Meyer Accounting in Redmond;
$120.56 raised through these
sales!
Buddy poppies are the VFW’s
official flower and represent the
blood shed by American military
service members. The flowers
were made by disabled, hospi
talized and aging veterans in VA
hospitals, dorms, and state vet
erans’ homes. The money sup
ports the Relief Fund to help
members, veterans and their
dependents.
If you would like VFW La
dies Auxiliary information, or to
donate to the Buddy Poppy sales
for Warm Springs, contact us at
PO Box 248 in Warm Springs
and thank you. Support our
upcoming blood drive in Warm
Springs through the American
Red Cross — watch for the date
in early summer.
Pinky Beymer, president,
and Auxiliary members.
Appreciated
I want to personally thank all
the people that voted. Your vote
is very important. Thanks to all
that supported me as a write-in
candidate.
Change is needed, but change
will be slow.
My grandfather once shared
with me, “Sometimes, you might
have to give up something to get
what you want.”
Thanks to my family whom
have always rallied for me and
my endeavors in life and espe
cially to my wife Cheryl for al
ways being here for me.
Terry Courtney.
Traditions
“Living a good life,” that is
what our ancestors wanted to
preserve for all of the tribal
members. That is what our trea
ties are all about. Most of us
have grown up learning a lot
about our cultural needs and the
traditional ways of life. We are
the caretakers o f not only
nature’s gifts, but also of the
children in our lives that are the
future.
We all live in one world and
we all need to work together to
keep the ways of life in balance
with nature.
Our ancestors knew how
im portant it was to be ever
thankful to the Creator of all
things and not just on Sunday.
We never had Sunday or
Wednesdays. Every m orning
was worship time every day.
Alcohol or drugs never were
a part of our traditional ways
o f life. Indian pride? Life is
tough all over.
Why do our people some
times prefer alcohol over the
salmon, the deer, the roots, even
the welfare of their families?
Why?
Did you forget what your
grandfather or grandm other
used to say? Have you passed
on the customs and traditions
that our ancestors preserved for
us back in 1855? Are we self-
destructing or do we even ap
preciate life?
T erry Courtney.
Seniors Day
A ttention to all com m unity
members:
The Warm Springs Senior
Department is requesting your
help, by making any type of
donations possible for this year’s
Honor Seniors Day.
The theme for this year’s
Honor Seniors Day is “A Dream
Come True,” and is to be held
at the Agency Longhouse in
Warm Springs on Friday, May
11, 2007.
If you are unable to make
any donations, you can be a
volunteer helper.
Any and all donations will be
gready appreciated and can be
delivered to the Senior Depart
ment building at 2331 High
Lookee.
Donations can also be picked
up by a staff member of the
Senior Department.
For more information, please
contact the Senior Department
by either a phone call to our of
fices at (541) 553-3313, or by
stopping by the office located
at 2331 High Lookee St.
We, here at the Senior
Dapartment would like to thank
you for your time and consid
eration on this matter.
Sincerely,
The S ta ff at the Senior
Depatment.
ing. It is not easy. It is very ex
pensive nowadays. We should
be happy for what one person
has. We all don’t have what oth
ers have but it doesn’t mean we
work hard for it too.
So it shouldn’t be like that.
We’re all humans, and we do
want to learn if they teach us
and there are those who really
want to.
And the other concern is
court issues that do arise to us
as clients. Whatever happened
to just playing fair or just equal
opportunity. We do also do what
they call hearsay and not a
whole lot listen to both sides and
only want to hear and say just a
fraction of what is really being
done and the attitude and rude
behavior and cut out the gossip
and what happened to confiden
tiality and be there to do their
job and not for what they call
when you want. We do want to
be treated as clients and be
treated how they would like to
be treated. Okay, it is gladly ap
preciated, and it’s all good but
comes with time and respect
that would also be nice. And
whatever happened to our cul
ture and heritage and our lan
guage. What are our tribal lead
ers doing to improve if anything
should arise. Some of us would
like to learn these, such as fish
ing, hunting, root-digging, berry
picking, and culture for our fu
ture generations. And our treaty
rights as tribal members. One
day a younger generation might
be Tribal Council or office. We
are seriously losing a lot or miss
ing a lot. The younger genera
tion needs to be taught that re
spect and listen to elders and
parents. Don’t let children rule.
Teach and they will listen or talk.
Speak up. Make a stand and
represent the C onfederated
Tribes of Warm Springs Or
egon. No one can take that away
from us. (It is called pride and
respect and trust and loyalty.)
Thank you for your time. One
day we m ight be our future
leader. Thank you community.
Sincerely, Rachel Saludo.
Concerns
In Montana
To our community of Warm
Springs,
This is a concern we will call
“Equal opportunity, and fair
ness.”
For all that read or who
choose to listen and think the
same as well do think out loud
but never say anything. Well I
am a tribal member here and
would like to take time to share
how we feel about some con
cerns or issues and fairness. Well
here are our major ones, for
example we have overcrowded
housing, too many in one home.
We should do what some people
call sweat equity or assist with
homes and help clean or basi
cally get homes done sooner.
Help out, it’s better what people
say, “One hand w ashed the
other,” and we are all humans,
want to make it better for ev
eryone. We need to make a stand
and listen not only hear but lis
ten to who is talking. And we
can resolve these if a commu
nity will stand as one.
And the other concerns are
jobs for us as tribal members.
Whatever happened to taking
time to teach or train us. There
are still some people willing to
learn and want to work. But we
all think we cannot do it, there
is no such thing. We walk side
by side not in front or behind.
We should improve job fairness,
training or at least give that per
son a chance and take a good
look at what we all should do. It
is hard to have one family work
Hello, everyone.
I’m just writing to let every
one who’s wondering how or
where I am. Well, I’m physically
better than before, everything
else is so-so. Be living in Mon
tana for a litte longer.
Probably be back maybe next
summer, who knows? I don’t.
Anyways, I sure could use some
mail from anyone curious, won
dering, bored, whatever.
So if you so desire, I will re
turn all, so don’t be scared.
H ope to hear from you
soon.
A n th o n y J. G o n za le s,
AO2108412
2340 Mullan Rd.
Missoula, MT 59808.
Spiiyay Tymoo
(C oyote News, Est.
1976 )
Publisher Emeritus:
Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Management Succes
sor: Selena T. Boise
Reporter: Leslie Mitts.
Advertising Manager:
Sam Howard
Media Advisor:
Bill Rhoades
Spiiyay Tymoo is pub
lished bi-weekly by the
Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs.
Spiiyay Tymoo, P.O. Box
870, Warm Springs, OR
97761.