Spilyay tymoo., August 30, 2007, Page Page 8, Image 8

Page 8
August 30, 20 0 7
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Tribal members attend Meadows huckleberry outing
B y G reg L eo
f o r the Spilyay
Anona Francis, age 6, doesn’t
hesitate when asked what she will
do with her huckleberries.
“I like huckleberry pie!” she
says;-.-
Anonals great-grandmother,
Charlotte Shike, explained to
Anona and other young tribal
members how important it is
for them to understand that this
area o f Mt. Hood is part of the
ceded lands.
She said the area continues
to be an important place for the
tribes, because it is still a place
to gather First Foods like the
wild huckleberries.
Amona ^nd her grandmother
were two of 56 tribal members :
who were guests recendy o f Mt.
Hood Meadows Ski. area. >
They picked huckleberries
and enjoyed a day on the moun­
tain. The fun-filled day included
picking berries, a sandwich buf­
fet lunch, and chairlift rides in
thé aftërnooîi' 1
‘ This event focused on contin­
ued efforts by the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs, Mt.
Hood Meadows Ski Area and the
Mt, Hood National Forest to im­
prove the traditional tribal Huck­
leberry fields on Mt. Hood.
The ski a tea posted signs
around 30 acres o f the best
Rachel Leo photos
Irma Wahnetah picks berries at Mt. Hood Meadows.
potential huckleberry lands, ask-
ingthe public to honor the tights
of the Warm Springs Tribes and
not pick the berries in this part
of the Mt Hood, a traditional
Warm Springs picking area.'
The ski area sent a bus to
Warm Springs and transported
the tribal members to the Hood
R iver M eadows area, where
tribal members did the majority
of their picking."
the same as the ski area need to
make the slopes smooth for win-
’ ter sports.
A t .the gathering, Louie Pitt,'
director o f tribal Govèmment
Affairs, commented on the im­
portance of the Mt. Hood area
to the tribes’ heritage.
“This is part of the 10 mil­
lion acres.of land that was ceded
to the ILS. government in the
Treaty o f 1855,” Pitt said. .
“We need to remember that
we still have rights to gather First
Foods here, .to remind our chil­
dren o f their heritage and to
help remember the traditional
ways.”
He than ked thé s ta ff-a t
Meadows for sponsoring huck­
leberry picking in the summer
and introducing m any tribal
members to their first ski and
snowboarding experiences dur­
ing the past three ski seasons.
“Spine of the tribal kids have
re a lly f taken ’ to
the
The event was well attended
'by tribal Elders, who apprech
ated the opportunity to pick,
enjoy lunch and the views at the
to]b of the chairlift ride.
■ Good huckleberry habitat is
the same as good ski slope habi­
tat, so cooperation between the
tribal pickers and the ski area is
a natural. The sun-loving ber­
ries need to have other compet­
ing foliage cut hack or burned,
snowboarding,” he said. “It mo­
tivates some of the young tribal
members to seek employment
doing an activity that they really
have a passion for. It also of­
fers a great opportunity for
employment of seasonal Kah-
Nee-Ta employees.”
, M ou nt H o o d M eadow s
Chairman and CEO Matthew
Drake greeted the tribal mem­
b ers, w ho enjoyed a b uffet
lunch provided by Mt- Hood
Meadows.
H u ck leb erries like w arm
sunny areas between 4,000 feet
and 5,000 feet in elevation, with
reduced competition from other
foliage on ,the forest floor. In
times past, fires would clean the
forest floor, but current forest
management practices discour­
ages burnin g c a u sin g . prim e
huckleberry areas to become
overgrown, discouraging the
growth of berries.
The first o f .the designated
areas visited, near the Hood
River Meadows wetland — the
largest w etland area on M t.
Hood, disappointed tribal pick­
ers with the relatively small num­
ber of berries. Controlled burn­
ing of the brush in the fall, just
before the winter snows would
dramatically improve the huck­
leberry habitat in this area.
Tribal members attending the
event on Wednesday, Aug. 22,
said they appreciated M ount
Hood Meadows for -the efforts
to protect these traditional tribal
picking areas and hosting this
annual event.
T rib al m em bers n eed in g
more information concerning
H uckleberry p ickin g on Mt.
H ood sh ould co n tact J u lie
Quaid, who played a key role in
organizing the event; or Louis
Pitt, Jr. at Government Affairs
and Planning. '
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Huckleberry pickers use the Mt. Hood Meadows ski Jiftto gain access to the higher altitude
berry bushes.
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BBQ brings full house
i -On August 22, the first day of marina space in Government
the Annual Ceded Lands tour, the Cove, an inlet adjacent to the pro­
Tribal Council and members of posed casino sit and Government
Tribal Government Committees -island, which is owned “ by the
on the Annual Ceded Lands Tour Tribes.
enjoyed an evening with Commu­
This presentation was followed
nity Leaders from Cascade Locks. by a presentation about Cascade
About 65 people, equally divided Locks Community efforts to bring
betw een both- com m unities eight man football back to Cas­
shared a meal, had the opportu­ cade Locks. During the last year
nity to socialize and discussed is­ community efforts have, resulted
sues of common interest at the in raising over $12;000 to bring
back the football program to Cas­
Cascade Locks Marine Paris.
Cascade Locks Mayor Roger cade Locks High school after a
F reeborn greeted the W atm * five year absence.
Springs leaders to the event and
' The successful event which
shared the occasion with Warm • attracted 65 people was part of
Springs Tribal Council Chairman the continuing development X>£ a
Ron Suppah. The leaders from ’ strong relationship between the
both .communities then has the two communities. The Ceded
opportunity to hear about current Lands Tour visited the casino site
Cascade Locks projects concern­ in Cascade Locks and Hood-
ing the development o f a sailing River before leaving fof Gorge
school and the possibility to cre­ for other points of interest within
ating, with the tribes additional the Ceded Lands.
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