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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2009)
Spilyay Tym P.O. Box 870 W/omn O«nqgSi QR 97761 ECRW SS Postal Patron OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1230 SW PARK AVE. PORTLAND, OR 97205 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 July 16, 2009 C oyote News, est. 1976 Voi. 34, No. 15 50 cents Park dedication honors Wasco Chief By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo T he park that overlooks the reser voir o f the Re-regulating dam was once a tribal outpost from time im m em o rial. W asco C hief N elson W allulatum explained last week that the park was one o f m any such outposts located throughout the Ceded Lands. Tribal bands would travel from one outpost to another, leaving their tools at the site to be used w hen they returned. They would leave food caches at the site to be used in the winter, said Chief Wallulatum. H e told this history o f the park area at a dedication cerem ony last week, w hen W arm Springs Power and Water Enterprises unveiled a plaque dedicated to Chief Wallulatum. “I t’s a small way to show how m uch we love him,” said Tribal Council Vice- Chairwoman Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham. W arm Springs Chief Delvis H eath said, “I ’m happy to see we’re recogniz ing a person w ho’s still alive. Too often we do this after they are gone.” C h ief W allulatum , he said, “has Dave McMechan/Spilyay At the dedication ceremony, Power and Water Enterprises manager Jim Manion (right) talks with Chief Wallulatum, who is assisted by Thomas Williams. worked for his people, never for him self.” Chief Wallulatum talked about some o f the events that the tribes have ex perienced over the years, such as the c o n stru c tio n o f th e P e lto n -R o u n d Butte dams, and the addition o f pow er plant at the Re-regulating dam. H e talked about the Treaty o f 1855, and how he has used the docum ent to guide his years o f service to the tribes. “In my m ind, that is the strength I ’ve always leaned on,” he said. “I ’ve never tried to go outside our treaty, and have always tried to stay within the w ords o f the docum ent.” T he dedication plaque at the park reads as follows: Nelson Wallulatum has been Chief of the Wasco Tribe, and has served on the Warm Springs Tribal Council since 1959. During this period he has overseen all major undertakings o f the tribes, including construction o f the Pelton- Bound Butte Hydroelectic project, 40 years o f fishing rights litigation, resto ration of 60,000 acres unfairly omit tedfrom the reservation, and establish ment o f tribal energy enterprises that now help support the tribes. N o task was more important to Chief Wallulatum than preservation and protection of water and other natu ral resources, which his people have re lied on fo r thousands o f years. This p a rk is dedicated to C hief Wallulatum fo r his lifetime o f service to his people and their proud heritage. Governor signing protection law at Metolius Gov. Kulongoski is planning to sign the Metohus River basin protection bill at a cerem ony at the M etohus. T h e event is scheduled for this W ednes day, July 15 (after deadhne for this pubhcation). T he Confederated Tribes supported the legislation, which passed the Oregon Senate and then narrowly passed the House. T he new law designates the M eto hus basin an Area o f Critical State C on cern, a designation used only one other time in the state. T he immediate effect o f the law is to block two proposed developm ent projects, one involving up to 420 houses near the Metohus. T he tribes have supported protec tion o f the basin because water qual ity, fish and wildlife, and cultural con cerns. T h e trib e s have a re serv e d i n - stream w ater right in the M etohus and downstream in Deschutes river. D eer and elk populations, and p os sible cultural resources o f the basin could also be harm ed by the develop m ents, the tribes and others said. T he tribal position has been that the county land-use regulations w ould not address these and other concerns. T here is, fo r instance, n o inven tory o f cultural sites w ithin the basin area. C o u n ty o fficials said th e y h a d planned adequately for the develop m ent, and that the state should n o t in terfere in the local planning process. Tribal officials have said they are n o t against developm ent in the county, b u t beheve that, in the sensitive M e tohus basin, it is only appropriate to ensure com prehensive im pact analy- sis and m itigation, w hich is w hat the tribes do w hen they undertake devel o p m en t o n the reservation and o ff the reservation. D evelopm ent can be done in a way that m eets the interests o f ah parties, the tribal officials say. Cruz brings years of experience to Human Services By Dave McMechan K Spilyay Tymoo T jW M ore than 20 years later, hfe in some ways has come full circle for Caroline Cruz. S h e ’s w o rk in g ag ain in W arm Springs, and she’s even in the same building where she worked 22 years ago. B ut m uch has changed for her as well. H er last job in Warm Springs, be fore she left in 1987, was prevention coordinator at the Community C oun seling Center. H er job now is that o f general m an ager o f tribal Human Services. T he departments in her branch are th e C o m m u n ity W ellness C e n te r, C h ild ren ’s Protective Services, the Community Counseling Center, and the Com m unity Health Education Team. She also oversees the tribal social program s such as Vocational Rehabili tation, Senior and Disabled Services, • ■ î tt '**** ww À I méss ÑI It flL hsik -¿ a *** t :ii i Caroline Cruz the Senior Center, and the C om m odi ties program. A bout 100 employees w ork in the various departm ents o f the H um an Services Branch. H um an Services has been w ithout a perm anent general m anager for sev eral years, although the position has been filled temporarily by acting gen eral managers. Cruz has been the H um an Services general m anager since mid-May. She had been encouraged to apply for the job by tribal secretary-treasurer Jody Calica, and ch ief operations officer Gerald Smith. T he timing o f the job opening was right, and Cruz apphed for the posi tion. “It had always been in my m ind that I would come back,” she said o f W arm Springs. H er m ost recent job with the state, which she held for 16 years, was re gional coordinator o f the state Addic tions and M ental H ealth Division, Al cohol and D rug Pohcy Unit. She was the statewide coordinator o f O regon’s prevention program s; she served as lead trainer and tribal liaison to the state’s nine tribes, and was the O regon representative o f the National Prevention Network. D uring the years that she worked • for the state, Cruz remained in regular conversation with W arm Springs, both through her positions as tribal liaison, and as a com m unity m em ber w ith lo cal friends and family. T hrough her job, she rem ained in contact w ith Children’s Protective Ser vices, w ith law enforcem ent and other agencies on the reservation. She also talked regularly with secretary-treasurer Calica, and in m ore recent years with chief operations officer Smith. As tribal H um an Services general manager, Cruz has spent the past sev eral weeks reviewing the various func tions o f the departm ents in the Branch, m aking sure there is no duplication o f job tasks, for instance. She is preparing the budgets for the 2010 budget process, and already has overseen the successful com pletion o f a $250,000 methamphetam ine-suicide prevention grant (see story on page 5). Cruz is also one o f the seven com missioners on the newly form ed Joint Commission between the Confederated Tribes and Indian H ealth Services. The Joint Commission will guide health care services to the m embership. Cruz has a long career o f helping people, first as a drug counselor in the 1970s, later as prevention program di rector, state regional coordinator, and now as general m anager o f H um an Services. “I ’ve always loved w hat I do,” she said. “A nd if you love your job, then it’s like you’re n o t really working.” C hief operations officer Sm ith is am ong those w ho are happy to have Cruz back in W arm Springs, managing H um an Services. “T he advantage o f having her here,” he said, “is the wealth o f experience she has in various hum an services fields, and her experience as a m anager and administrator.” H aving an experienced person as general m anager o f H um an Services, he said, will help the branch m eet its goals and objectives in the coming years. • (Ì « b • Í j *' • « f
