Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2008)
r Have a Happy Pi-Ume-Sha P.O.Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECRWSS Postal Patron June 19, 2 0 0 8 C oyote News, est. 1976 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Voi. 33, No. 13 50 cents Questions abound for huckleberries B y D a ve M c M e c h a n Spilyay Tymoo H uckleberries are n ot nearly as abundant as they once were. “When I go out now, I can’t even find any berries where we used to find them,” said Adeline Miller, tribal el der. Miller, speaking on the cultural panel at the huckleberry conference last week at Kah-Nee-Ta, said: “Sometimes I ’ll have to buy berries because I w ant to have some. We shouldn’t have to do that, because we like picking our own berries.” The U.S. Forest Service and the Warm Springs Confederated Tribes organized the conference, which fo cused on ways to restore huckleberries. Representatives o f other Oregon tribes and conservation groups also at tended; The conference speakers discussed the key issues facing the health o f the wild huckleberries, particularly the huckleberry patches on National For est and tribal land. spilyay file photo Huckleberries on national forest. Role of fire One o f the key questions facing huckleberries, as discussed at the con ference, is the relationship o f periodic controlled burns to the health o f the huckleberries. Before the arrival o f non-Indians, the Indians of the region would peri odically set fires that burned through the under story o f the forest. These fires helped the huckleberries by elimi nating the competing vegetation, said Jean Rice, forest ecologist with the Mt. H ood National Forest. Now, there are no such controlled burns on the Mt. H ood National For- est for the purpose of enhancing huck leberry habitat, she said. Instead, other methods, such as manual removal, are employed to eliminate competing veg etation. But there remains the unanswered question o f whether the fire itself — rather than just the removal o f the competing vegetation—helps the huck leberries. “Research doesn’t conclude whether they need fire or not,” said Rice. “We don’t understand the complexity of huckleberry.” I f the huckleberries just need less competing vegetation, “we can do that with chainsaws,” said Matt Jiminez, planning forester with the BIA in Warm Springs. But there may be other benefits to burning, such as creating a charcoal bed. “It’s something that is still up in the air,” he said. Even if it were proven that fire somehow helps the huckleberries to grow, there would be the problem of implementing controlled bums on the national forest, said Rice. “Fire is hard for us to use be cause we are so close to Portland,” said Rice. “And we have a very nar row window to do prescribed burn ing.” Also, she said, the Forest Service budget is being reduced, and the agency would not have the resources to prescribe burn specifically for huckleberries. Over-picking Another significant issue facing the huckleberries is the recreational and commercial pickers who har vest the berries on the public land before the tribes hold the Huckle berry Feast. The feast marks the start o f the tribal harvesting season for huckle berries. But often the berry patches in the national forests, which are usual and accustomed harvesting places o f the tribes, have already been picked over by the time o f the feast, leaving fewer berries for the tribes. See HUCKLEBERRIES on 11 153rd anniversary o f Treaty The Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs will host the 39th Annual Pi- Ume-Sha Treaty Days next Friday through Sunday, June 27-29. The three-day powwow commemo rates the signing o f the Treaty o f 1855, signed 153 years ago this month. The signing date o f the Treaty was June 25,1855. One-hundred and fifty- one tribal leaders signed the document, following a three-day Council o f the Wasco and Walla Walla tribes at The Dalles. By the terms o f the treaty, the tribes gave up ownership claim to 10 million acres of land, known since as the Ceded Lands. In exchange the tribes received the reservation land located between Mt. Jefferson arid the Deschutes River. By the Treaty, the tribes also retained rights to the traditional use o f the Ceded Lands. Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days began in the late 1960s. While commemorating the signing o f the Treaty o f 1855, Pi- Ume-Sha also traditionally has honored the veterans and service men and women o f the Armed Forces. The powwow begins with the Grand Entry at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 27. Grand Entries are also scheduled on Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., and on Sun day at 2 p.m. The Traditional Dress Parade is at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Dance contests are throughout the weekend. A health fair will be on the Wednes day before Pi-Ume-Sha at the Commu nity Center. (Morepowwow information on page 6.) Crews respond to area fires Leslie MittsZSpilyay Classes at ECE held their graduation ceremonies recently. Those graduating will be going to kindergarten next year. (More ECEpictures on 9.) Medical error takes life of traditional elder B y L e s lie M itts Spilyay "Tymoo A Yakama man with ties to the Warm Springs community died recently as the result of a possible medical er ror at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. Paxiownut ‘Floyd’ S. Shock suffered injuries as the result o f a car crash when he was traveling to Warm Springs in early May. Neda Wesley said Shock is the first cousin o f her husband, Jimmy Wesley. Shock was traveling to Warm Springs to assist her with a traditional medicine service, Wesley said. Because only a few people are left who can do this type o f ceremony, Wesley said, she is especially saddened. “I felt at a great loss,” she said. “There is no other person that does this work,” Wesley explained. “Its like you lost part o f your person.” “I mourn the loss o f that valuable person,” Wesley said. “He was my part ner. We really enjoyed doing our work.” According to Wesley, Shock felt lucky to be alive after his time in the service. She said, “He came through a war and he said ‘All I lost was my arm, a lot of people lost their lives, I’m lucky.’ That was the way he was.” Now, Wesley said, she will be search ing for someone to train in order to pass, along the traditions o f the medi cine people. Shock was born in Moxee on O cto ber 6,1943 to Wesley Shock and Velma Frank. He was raised and educated in Pendleton, the Yakima Valley and Fort Sill, O K Shock served his country in the U.S. Army during the early 1960’s. He was a member o f the Yakama Nation and the Washut religion. He worked as a welder in the Bremerton Shipyards and in various capacities for the Yakama Nation. Shock enjoyed traveling, telling sto ries, watching his great-grandchildren play basketball and was an avid sports fan. He is survived by his wife, Delores Shock o f White Swan; five sons, John Shock o f Florida, K erry Shock o f Pendleton, Leland Shock o f White Swan, Myron Shock o f Toppenish and Delvis Jim o f White Swan; one daugh ter, Karen Pinkham o f Toppenish; sev enteen grandchildren; nine great-grand children and the Wyena family. St-Charles. Medical Center-Bend announced that an incorrectly adjusted tracheostomy tube blocked his airway and resulted in his death. This happened two days before he was to be moved to another facility closer to his home in Washington. “We send our deepest condo lences to the patient’s family, and want to assure the community that this was an isolated incident,” said James A. Diegel, president- and CEQ o f Cascade Healthcare Community in a press release. “We have already found areas o f improvement and are implementing new procedures to mitigate this risk going forward.” Hospital officials said steps have been taken to change work proce dures related to this type o f treat ment. “It’s not enough to say we’re sorry,” Diegel said. “We are using this incident to educate our own staff, and also to help other health care providers across the region and the nation learn from this incident.” Warm Springs Fire and Safety and Fire Management responded to three fires around Warm Springs ori Sunday and Monday o f this week. The largest o f the three fires was at Greeley Heights. This fire was first re ported to dispatch at 4:30 p.m. on Sun day, June 15. The fire appears to have started near the residence at 2542 Mt. Jefferson St., according to Fire Management. The fire grew to 148 acres. Assist ing Fire M anagement and Fire and Safety were BLM and Forest Services resources. Crews were doing mop-up work on Tuesday o f this week. Cause o f this fire was being investigated, and appears to have been caused by accident. A fire was reported at 5:44 p.m. on Monday in the West Hills area. This fire burned across 14 acres, and is con sidered suspicious in origin. Part o f the BLM-Forest Services resources helped with this fire. They were used as over night supervision, to allow the Fire Management and Fire and Safety crews a chance to rest. Also on Monday, a fire was reported on Tenino Road, milepost 10, along side the road. This fire burned a quar ter o f an acre.
