Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2008)
P.O.Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Spilygy Ty m oo \G ^ ECRWSS Postal Patron sO c' U.S. Postage Coyote News, est. 1976 October 23, 2008 Vc ^ > 0 , ^ m f S p r i n g s , OR 97761 50 cents Trust fund continues to encourage education 4 inmates escape briefly from jail B y D a ve M cM ec h a ti Spilyay Tymoo About 1,850 tribal member youth are enrolled as beneficiaries o f the tribes’ minors trust fund. The trust fund this year is 50 years old, having been established in 1958. In that year the tribes entered the minors trust agreement with U.S. Bank, which is still the trustee of the fund. In the first year o f the program there were 791 youth enrolled as ben eficiaries. “The trust fund was originally set up so minors would have funds available for their education,” said Madeline Queahpama-Spino, director o f tribal Vital Statistics, the department that manages the disbursement o f trust pay ments to the beneficiaries. The fund operates as follows: Each month the tribes make a pay ment of $25 per enrolled beneficiary into the minors trust fund. The money is from non-casino sources. Beneficiaries are tribal members who are minors under the age of 18. The $25 is part o f each individual’s monthly per capita. Twice a year—usually in March and September—the tribes disburse pay ments to the individuals whose benefits are due. Mostly, the disbursements are made in various increments to tribal mem bers who have just turned 18, 19, 20 and 21 years old. Changes to agreement The purpose o f the minors trust fund remains the same— to help young tribal members to pursue their educa tion—-but some aspects o f the fund agreem ent have changed over the years, as times have changed. A significant change happened in 1999, when the Tribal Council acted to re-emphasize the fund’s original pur pose, amending the original agreement by adding education conditions. An example o f the 1999 amend ments reads as follows: “Those tribal members who have not completed high school or have dropped out of school, and who have consistently held below a 2.0. grade point aver age shall not have trust funds dis bursed to them until they reach the age of 21....” The 1999 amendment also says that a youth who is found to have committed an offense resulting in property damage may forfeit his or her trust fund in order to pay for the damage. See TRUST FUND on page 9 Carnival, night out, costume party on Halloween The Warm Springs Recreation Department will host a number of Halloween events in the coming week. O n Monday, Oct. 27, the depart ment will host the Spooky Indian Night O ut at the Community Cen ter. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. D rum mers jam, powwow and games start at 7. . . The tribal employee costume party is from noon to 1 p.m. at the Community Center on Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31. ■ Prizes awarded in many differ ent costume categories. The Halloween carnival is at the Community Center on the evening o f October 31, beginning at 6 p.m. Vendor set-up begins is from 3:30- 5:30. The carnival will include a cos tume contest, a decoration contest between vendors, and fun for the whole family. For more information please con tact the Recreation Department at 553-3243. Also on Halloween, the Early Dave McMechan/Spilyay Orrah David, JaDe Smith and Camisha Smith (from left) traveled with the Recreation Department to Boring to get their Halloween pumpkins. Childhood Education Center wilhhest the annual Lil’ Pumpkins Parade from 9:30-11 a.m. ~; EGE is extending an invitation to all the Warm Springs administration de partments and enterprises to donate and participate in a variety o f ways. (See page 2 fo r more information.) B y D a ve M c M e c h a n Spilyay Tymoo Four inmates escaped earlier this month from the Warm Springs Jail. Three o f the inmates were taken back into custody within a short time. The fourth turned himself back in to custody after several days at large. The inmates escaped through the roof o f the jail. The original construction plan for the jail included a design flaw that was undiscovered until the escape, said Raymond Tsumpti, director o f the tribal Public Safety Branch. The flaw has been corrected, he said. This was the first time that inmates had escaped from the Warm Springs Jail. There had been earlier escapes from the outdoor exercise yard, but never from the building itself, said Tsumpti. The jail is operated by the tribes, but is owned and regulated by the BIA. It was built in 1986. Inmates serving time there have been convicted o f misde meanors, as felonies on the reservation are handled federally. m n m The inmates who allegedly escaped are Ulysses Jefferson, Vernon Smith Jr., Mackalin Kalama and Johnny Smith, according to the Warm Springs Public Safety. Two o f the inmates were injured during the escape, as they jumped from the roof o f the jail. One o f the inmates suffered a bro ken ankle, and another suffered a bro ken heal. The inmates escaped on the evening o f October 9, said Lt. Bruce Fones, jail manager. The Warm Springs Jail was originally designed to hold 40 inmates. In the 1990s the number was increased to 48, and then this year to 51. There are 16 full-time jail employ ees. Allen returns as the new Early Head Start administrator B y L e s lie M itts Spilyay Tymoo Shirley A llen is back in W arm Springs after 17 years. Allen is currently working as the new Early Head Start Administrator for Early Childhood Education. Allen be gan working for ECE last month. The daughter o f Alfred and Francis Allen, she grew up in the Seekseequa district. Allen has relocated to the area with her son, Hunter Onstad, and her fiancé Louie Paul. Allen has spent years teaching in a variety o f positions throughout Ari zona, Montana and Oregon. The decision to go into the educa tional field was prompted by work with children as well as a best friend who also became a teacher and moved to Arizona with Allen as roommates at N orthern Arizona University. Allen went from teaching positions in Arizona to teaching in Montana, where she later gained experience in administrative work like grant writing. She has also coached basketball over the years. Her experience has led her to teach in a variety of areas, ranging from early childhood education to sixth grade sci ence. For several summers Allen came back to Warm Springs and led sum mer youth w orkers at N atural Re sources. After encouragement from family and community members, Allen decided to apply for the administrator position at ECE. Now she’s working to complete her master’s degree as well as to improve ECE in any way she can. “I hope to maintain a consistency here,” Allen said. “I truly believe that this particular program has not hit its potential yet.” She can list o f many goals for the program, but Allen has a few specifics that she plans to complete as soon as possible including obtaining better tech nology, developing a symbol for ECE, and maintaining a positive image in the community. Allen also hopes to return to Head Start program to a traditional ten-month school year rather than operating year- Courtesy photo Shirley Allen with son Hunter and fiance Louie Paul. round. That would decrease costs, she ex plained, which is necessary with the current economy. In addition it would give them time to make necessary re pairs and work on things that can’t be completed during the school year. “There’s so much preparation and work that it takes to operate,” Allen explained. O ne com mon misconception in volves community members thinking that all ECE does is provide childcare. While there is a tribal daycare through ECE, Allen said, Head Start and Early Head Start are in the same building and are a separate program that provides educational services. While there are educational require ments for Head Start staff, Allen added, the daycare staff is not required to have a college degree. “There is a difference and we need to honor that,” Allen said. Because o f a m andate requiring early childhood education teachers to hold a bachelor’s degree by 2013, Allen said, some o f the current teachers will be completing their degree as soon as this year. That will involve lobbying for pay increases and writing those into the budget, Allen said. Technology is another area that Allen intends to improve at ECE. Currently a committee and team are working to develop the technology at ECE— that includes writing grants for additional funds. She is working to purchase a pro gram that will allow them to function electronically, including tracking things like attendance, budget, and more. After the tribes deemed ECE one o f the essential programs on the reser vation, Allen said, she wondered why there wasn’t a universal symbol to iden tify ECE. Because o f that, they held a contest and will soon be featuring a consistent ECE symbol on t-shirts, a flag, letterheads and more. The sym bol incorporates the national Head Start logo as well. Allen’s goals don’t just stop with Early Childhood Education— she’s also striving to find out how ECE staff can help the community. For instance, dur ing a teacher in-service day in the spring Allen plans to have staff members vol unteer their time in the community. They also work with a Tribal Coun cil liaison, Allen said— currently Austin Green is assigned to the position, while Wilson Wewa serves as an alternate li aison. As for her goals for ECE, Allen said, “They are all attainable.” Next m onth ECE staff will host an open house for the Warm Springs Community.
