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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2008)
P.O.Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Spilyay Tyro ECRWSS Postal Patron so I August 28, 2008 C oyote News, est. 1976 Voi. ò 3 No. 18 - - ' U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Fish habitat, passage improving Brent Merrill photo courtesy of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum (left) and Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath rode in the parade at the Nesika lllahee Powwow, hosted this month by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Kiksht the focus of HeHe language conference B y L e s lie M itts Spilyay Tymoo The Kiksht language became a sub ject on many people’s minds with an event at HeHe recently. The Language Program hosted a conference for those involved w ith the preservation o f Kiksht. The conference was possible through a grant. Apprentices Deanie Johnson and Pam Cardenas said the three-day event aimed to get more people involved with the preservation o f Kiksht, the Wasco language. A requirement o f receiving a particular grant was that they hold a conference, Johnson said. Two days o f the conference were dedicated to grammar lessons for em ployees o f the language program . Hank Millstein, a linguist who had worked previously with the Language Program, traveled from California to conduct the lessons. He helped-them to understand more about how Kiksht works, Johnson said. For instance, he worked with them on tenses and how the language can break down—in some cases one word can m eanaw hole sentence; she added. Only two fluent speakers o f Kiksht remain: Gladys Thompson o f Warm Springs, and Nelson Moses from the Yakama reservation. Moses also attended the conference, though he had to leave before it ended because of a death on his reservation, Johnson said. Though Moses attends events with the Language Program when he is in vited, Johnson said, it is often hard for him to find time. Because Moses serves as a tradi tional religious leader in his community, he is often called upon to perform cer emonies. “He’s a busy man,” Johnson explained. For the Kiksht language, Johnson, Cardenas and Valerie Switzler serve as apprentices. They spend time learning from T hom pson, 93, w ho is also Johnson’s grandmother. Community members with Wasco heritage or with ties to the language were invited to the conference, Johnson said, and in particular elders who could possibly help with the preservation ef Switzler gave a presentation about ■time she spent in Hawaii for a study forts- were- sought out. An invitation featuring a photo of abroad program. Switzler is currendy Wasco elders was sent to many com attending college in Kansas and munity members, but due to funerals spent time in Hawaii learning about a limited number were able to attend language immersion programs. the conference. However, Cardenas In Johnson’s opinion, the entire said, those who were able to attend conference was an uplifting experi made the event very positive. ence. “I think it went well because o f the “Sometimes we feel, or I feel, like elders that attended,” Cardenas said. we’re all alone and nobody else Cardenas brought a book o f old cares,” Johnson said, but the event photos to the conference to use to helped bring more people together. The grant money that paid for spark conversation between elders, she said. Johnson said she felt the confer the conference is only part o f the ence went well because her main goal financial assistance they are receiv was to inform the community about ing as part o f their language preser what they are doing to preserve the lan vation efforts, Johnson added. “It’s guage as well as future plans. In addi grants that are carrying this lan tion, she said, she hoped to be able to guage,” Johnson said. “It’s helped draw more people in to help. up tremendously.” They also wished to thank Neda Besides local elders, Johnson said, several young people attended as well Wesley and Eliza Brown-Jim, as well as teachers from the Early Childhood as their helpers, for the wonderful Education program and two commit meal they prepared at the conference. Cardenas and Johnson said they tee members from the Culture and plan to hold a conference next sum Heritage Committee. In addition to other activities, Valerie mer as well. Career takes pharmacist to many countries J u s tin e T h o m a s Spilyay Tymoo A career in medical pharmaceuticals has led one tribal member all over the world before returning to Central Or egon. Marcella (Brunoe) Barta was al ways interested in pharmaceuticals. She started working at th e H ealth and Wellness Center 16 years ago, when she was 16. Barta is the daughter of Gar land and Suzan Brunoe. After graduating from Madras High School in 1994 Barta joined the Youth With The Mission (YWTM), and trav eled to China, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Hawaii. She stayed in Hawaii for a year, go ing to a training school where she met her husband. After her training school Barta and her husband went as a team % to Australia for two months. According to Barta, “I loved school, I want to go back;” After Bata’s YWTM experience she moved to Minnesota where she attended school for seven years. Barta spent three years learning about pre-pharmacy and four years in pharmacy school where she kept a 4.0 GPA. Barta got into a pharmacy program designed for Native Americans. Barta also used this program when she was still in high school to get an idea and feel for her dream o f working in a pharmacy. “The helped me out a lot,” Barta said. The program she went through gave her free summer tutoring, and summer classes to prep for the next school year. 4f $ i .............. Marcella Barta Barta did a general practice phar macy residency at Oregon Health Sci ences University (OHSU) in Portland t J ■ for one year. She practiced in on cology and pediatrics. After college, Barta worked at OHSU after her residency for two years in pediatrics, then worked in southwest Washington medical cen ter for six months in neonatology. When she moved to Bend in 2006, because o f her husband’s job, she started commuting to work at the Safeway in Madras for one year. Barta is now working at S t Charles as a full-time night pharmacist. In Barta’s opinion, completing her education was extremely important. “I know it is very important, even though I had to go to school for so long and work so hard,” Barta said. “It is important to get your degree and be able to support yourself and your family.” Crews this week are working on a gravel placem ent program on the Deschutes River, just upstream from the Warm Springs Bridge. The work ers are on both the reservation and non-reservation sides o f the river. The work, sponsored by the Con federated Tribes and Portland General Electric, involves placement o f gravel in configurations designed to mimic natural gravel bars. The work is part o f an overall fish eries im provem ent program by the trib es and P G E , as a resu lt o f relicensing o f the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectic Project. The upstream dams have stopped periodic flooding that brought gravel and logs downstream, creating spawn ing grounds. The current project is in tended to mimic this process. Scientists will monitor transport of the gravel by river flows, and its use by spawning salmon and trout to determine if similar projects might help improve fisheries on the Deschutes. Meanwhile, the tribes and PG E are restoring fish passage around the Pelton and Round B utte dams through a unique, 273-foot underwater tower and fish collection station. The new underwater tower is de signed to modify currents and tempera tures to mimic natural conditions and attract migrating fish into the collec tion facility. The fish will be sorted, and young salmon and steelhead will be trucked downstream below the dams to continue their journey to the Colum bia River and the Pacific Ocean. When they return as adults, the fish reaching the lowest dam will be sorted, and the salmon and steelhead will be trucked above Round Butte Dam to reach the upstream rivers to spawn. “The new tower is the result o f a commitment the tribes made 10-plus years ago when relicensing was in its infancy,” said Bobby Brunoe, general manager o f the tribal N atural Re sources Branch. “This helps restore a fishery that has been a vital part o f our culture,” said Brunoe. Construction on the project, which is located above Round Butte Dam in Lake Billy Chinook, is well under way with crews on target to have the facility constructed and operational in spring 2009, at a cost o f about $108 million. Labor Day weekend activities at museum The Museum at Warm Springs and the Lensch Fund will present a Labor Day weekend dance performance from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, August 30. The perform ance will be by the Unity Dance G roup at the museum grounds. Living Traditions From 12 noon to 4 p.m. on Satur day, August 30, the museum Living Traditions program will present a bead tapestry demonstration. The demonstration, in the museum lobby, features Bead artisan Sandra McGilL For more information call 553-3331.
