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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.