spilyay Tym oo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 2
December* 2 0 , 2 0 0 7
Victims of crimes may
qualify for compensation
B y Leslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
Strong turnout, participation at
Native Nations Institute conference
B y Mar en Cohn
Warm Spring? Ventures
Approximately 50 tribal lead
ers and employees attended a
two-day executive education
conference led by the University
o f A rizona’s Native Nations
Institute for the benefit of the
Confederated Tribes o f Warm
Springs;
A wide range of tribal repre
sentatives participated, including
a strong contingent of younger
members. Counfcil Vice-Chair
Aurolyn Stwyer attende^bpth
days and remarked on “the' ex
cellent turnout from diverse
programs, branches and enter
prises, including both youth and
elders.” Othet Optmcil members
and several judges were also
present.
Participants were invited tQ
share their thoughts throughout
the seminar, including several
opportunities for feedback and
one session devoted to discus
sion in small groups: that re
ported back to the whole at the
end.
“The conference provided an
open .forum” said Jefferso%
Greene, who attended as a rep
resentative of Tribal Planning.
“The platform was more com
fortable and open for giving
feedback on how we feel about
the economy and letting Tribal
Council know how things have
been going.”
The sessions began by laying
out the foundation o f N N I’s
“nation-building” program ,
which it has developed in con
ju n ctio n w ith the H arvard
Project on American Indian
Economic Development;
Over 2Q years o f research in
Indian- Country has shown that
Native communities thrive not
so much because of natural and
human resources, but rather due
to sound governing structures
with good rules, effective pro
cedures, and the trust o f the
people.
The conference leaders com
pared the “standard approach to
economic development” to the
n ation-building approach,
showing how solid institutions
that enjoy popular support can
make the difference between
success and failure o f a nation’s
economic enterprises, t v
The nation’s same institu
tions also form the basis for its
social programs and community
growth.
Trust issues rose to the sur-
face.and became an important
topic in the conference, espe
cially in the small-group discus
sions at the end. “That was the
most open,” said Greene, refer
ring to the breakout sessions.
"They all pointed towards the
sam,e issues of trust, respect,
authority o f those in power, and
looking for better Communica
tion in all parts of the Tribe.”
As an essential building block
o f trusted government, present
ers stressed the importance of
a constitutional foundation that
matches the people’s cultural
expectations for how authority
should be exercised. Through
out the sessions thtiy illustrated
their points with stories from
their work with tribes across the
O th e r im p o rtan t them es
from the first pay were articu
lating a shared vision o f the fu
ture, setting the nation’s own
agenda rather than reacting to
outside’fotces, and establishing
clear roles and responsibilities
throughout the tribài organiza
tion, which are then respected
and adhered^ to. f
“I think it’s going well,” said
Secretary-Treasurer Jody Calica
after the first day. -People are
"epgaged. The remark that really
struck me was in the discussion
when Anson Begay said, ‘I’m
hearing a lot of. 1 b u t! don’t hear
a lo g p ^ ^ s’^ J.s^ p ^ o y e es and
leaders, of ¡the Tribe we have an
obligation to Council to be
working together, and Council
has that obligation tó the mem
bership.”
T he second day focused
more on the economy and the
respective roles o f the Council,
boards, enterprises, and citizen
entrepreneurs in econom ic
growth.
The final sessions then dealt
with the problem o f changing
course, implementing the new
strategies, and creating a self-
determined future. |rsjj
Early in the second day, tribal
Appellate Court Judge Floyd
Calica spoke for many when he
questioned what Could be done
to prevent the ideas presented
at, the conference frcftn being
forgotten once work resumed its
normal course.
“There was a lbt o f conver
sation yesterday about things
like governance and ethics that
hit the nail,” he said. “But a
month from now it’s going to
be sitting on the shelf with all
the other documents. What do
we do to change that?” /■;
The last sessions attempted
to address that question by get
ting participants to talk about
how to implement what they
learned in the conference.
Stwyer is - hopeful th at new
methods will find their way onto
Council. ' -
“The gathering gives us the
opportunity to .coihmunicate
and reinforce our vision and
gain ideas from others,” she said.
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L
egal
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o l u t io n s
fo r
C
Victims o f Crime Services
hosted a training last week for t
local advocates to educate them
about the Crime Victims’ Com
pensation Program.
Rebecca Shaw, Crime victims’
compensation manager with the
Oregon Department o f Justice,
presented the information to
advocates with VOCS and two
advocates from Madras.
Previously Sammy Bruised-
Head and Mark Matthews had
both completed the training, and
new advocates were able to un
dergo the most recent training.
This means that victims will
be able to work with Victims of
Crime Services to apply for
compensation from the state of
Oregon in some instances.'
T he state .■ o f ; O reg o n
founded the program in 1977 tô
compensate victims o f crime
and their families.
The program allows the state
to ease the financial losses o f the
victim o f a violent crime, and
in some cases the victim’s fam
ily. The only requirement is that
the victim must be injured or
killed as à result o f a compens
able crime committed against the
victim in the state of Oregon.
Compensable crimes include
an intentional, knowing or reck
less act by a person resulting in
serious bodily injury or death of
another person that could be
punishable as a crime.
To be eligible the victim must
report the crime to law enforce
ment officials within 72 hours.
However, that requirement may
be waived with good cause.
In addition, the victim must
cooperate fully to apprehend
and prosecute the assailant and
cannot have been invoked in a
Wrongful act or cannot have
provoked the assailant.
Compensable crimes include
crimes like robbery, child abuse,
assault, rape, domestic violence,
hq.micitie o r p th e r serions
ctinies. Compensation for these
crimes can vary, but victims may
be compensated up to $20,000
for reasonable medical and/or
counseling expenses..
Other compensation can'in-
clude up to $20,000 for reason
able grief counseling expenses
or funeral expenses for families
o f a deceased victim.
Mental health counseling,
medical expenses, medically
necessary devices, funeral ex
penses, docum ented loss o f
support, documented loss o f
earnings, reh ab ilitatio n ex
penses, counseling for children
who witness domestic violence,
and counseling for a friend or
acquaintance who is the first to
discover a deceased body are all
examples o f what compensa
tion may include.
About 90 percent o f appli
cations received are approved.
Those that arerit approvecl are
typically denied because,1 the
crime is n o t a com pensable
crime;
However, in certain cases-the
victim may not be eligible. For
example, if an injury or death re
sulted from the victim’s' own
wrongdoing or provocation, they
are ineligible for compensation. If
an injury or death occurred due
to an accident it would also make
the victim ineligible.
Crimes that occurred before
the program became' active" in
January 1978 are also ineligible.
After the program receives
applications, they are processed
by obtaining police and medical
reports and other necessary in
formation.
Victims can sometimes be
compensated without an iden
tified perpetrator o f the.ctime
committed. To file an applica--
üon Foricompèrisàtiofr, victims
tiiaÿ w ork w ith V ictim s ojf
Crime Services. For more in
formation, call 553-2293 or visit
www.doj.state.or.us/CrimeV /
welcomel.htm.
en tra l
O
regon
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W ed.-Sat. 10 a.m . to 5:30 p.m; Tues. 10 a.m . to 3:00 p.mJ
4