Spi lyay Tym
P.O. Box 870
Kings, OR 97761
h is t o r ic a l
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SOCIETY
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
August 13, 2 0 0 9
Voi. 34, No. 17
50 cents
Proposed Gorge Act change draws tribal opposition
tribal casino at Cascade Locks at the
Columbia. The casino plan is currently
Spilyay Tymoo
pending before the U.S. Department of
the Interior.
The four treaty tribes o f the Co
The proposal to amend the Gorge
lumbia River are opposed to a bill that Scenic Act presents an opportunity for
would add the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the other Columbia
Grand Ronde to the Columbia Gorge River tribes to present information as
to the history and current unique sta
National Scenic Area Act.
The act currently recognizes the tus o f the tribes, said Louie Pitt, direc
four treaty tribes o f the Columbia tor of government affairs o f the Con
River: The Confederated Tribes of-. federated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of
The four Columbia River treaty
Umatilla, the Nez Perce, and Yakama tribes have a long history o f coopera
tion in many areas, mainly fisheries,
Nation.
The Columbia River Gorge National said Pitt. The tribes have disagreed on
Scenic Area Act specifically recognizes some things, he said, “but we always
the treaty and other rights o f the four act civilly and openly toward each
tribes in the gorge area; and the act rec other.”
ognizes the tribes’ role in the manage
The idea o f including the Grand
ment of the gorge.
Ronde in the Gorge Scenic Act, he said,
U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader, was n o t m entioned to the W arm
whose district includes the G rand Springs tribes prior to the bill being to
Ronde community, has introduced a bill being introduced into Congress.
to add the Grand Ronde tribe to the
Warm Springs, like the other treaty
act.
tribes of the Columbia, will oppose the
The Grand Ronde tribe has been a idea based on the history and culture
main opponent of the Warm Springs of the tribes, he said. “A big part of
and Cascade Locks proposal to build a being Indian is knowing who you are
By Dave McMechan
and fighting for who you are,” said Pitt.
This statement from the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
summarizes the relationship among the
Warm Springs, Umatilla, Nez Perce and
Yakama tribes:
“The people o f these tribes have
always shared a common understand
ing—that their very existence depends
on the respectful enjoyment of the Co
lumbia River Basin’s vast land and wa
ter resources. Indeed, their very souls
and spirits were and are inextricably tied
to the natural world and its myriad in
habitants... Despite,some differences
in language and cultural practices, the
people o f these tribes shared the foun
dation of a regional economy based on
salmon.”
The idea o f including the Grand
Ronde among the managing entities of
the Gorge Scenic Area management
plan or the Gorge Act is very risky, said
Pitt. “You cannot open the door just a
litde ways, and have just the inclusion
of another tribe,” he said. Such a,move
would open the management plan to
inclusion of any special interest, weak
ening the plan and the Gorge Scenic
ests is the history of federal hydroelec
act, he said.
The letter to Rep. Schrader from the tric development on the Columbia River
four tribes, signed for Warm Springs and associated “in lieu and access” fish
by Council Chairman Ron Suppah, is ing sites established by Congress in par
informative, and reads as follows:
tial compensation for the Columbia
This letter is to express the unani River Tribes’ lost traditional fisheries.
mous opposition of the Confederated
The reason for this opposition is that to
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reserva include the Confederated Tribes of the
tion o f Oregon, the Confederated Grand Ronde Community (CTGR) as one
Tribes o f the Umatilla Indian Reser of the “Indian Tribes” on the basis of
vation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the ceded lands is inconsistent with the basis
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the for providing special status for the Colum
Yakama Nation to an amendment of bia River Tribes in the Gorge Act, which
the Columbia River Gorge National is premised primarily on the exercise of
Scenic Area Act, adding the Confeder treaty reserved off-reservation fishing rights
ated Tribes o f the Grand Ronde Com in the Gorge, irrespective of ceded land ter
munity of Oregon to the definition of ritories.
“Indian Tribes” covered by the Act.
It is important to note that the Co
The Gorge Act currently defines lumbia River Tribes’ off-reservation
“Indian Tribes” to include the four treaty fishing rights were reserved by
Columbia River Tribes based on the Congressionally ratified treaties and
four tribes’ life-sustaining land and fish have been judicially confirmed in a se
ery management interests in the Gorge. ries o f U.S. Supreme Court decisions
These interests are the result of cul and the continuing jurisdiction case o f
tures and livelihoods that predate pio United States v. Oregon that has been
neering settlement, and are secured by pending in U.S. District Court in Port
judicially confirmed off-reservation land since 1967.
treaty fishing rights, among other rights.
Please see T R IB E S on 7
Further contributing to these inter
Casino
study update
Music meeting sees impressive turnout
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
An idea to begin a community mu
sic program has drawn great interest
from local young people and older
adults.
At the first informal meeting o f the
group, held at Elmer Quinn Park, about
50 people showed up.
Another music gathering is sched
uled for 5 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 13
in the Fish Bowl Room at the Family
Resource Center; and again next Tues
day and Thursday, Aug. 18 and 20,
same time and place.
Warm Springs artist Richard Macy
was inspired to begin the Warm Springs
Community Music Program. He ex
plained why he took the initiative with
the program:
“I was tired o f hearing all o f the
bad things going on with our youth, and
I think there is talent out there that is
unused,” Macy said.
•
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“And I love music—I think every
one does,” he said. “Music has always
been a social ambassador to bring
people together. That’s true o f all cul
tures.”
Macy wrote up a preliminary vision
statement for the Warm Springs Com
munity Music Program:
“Music is the oldest expression o f
human emotions. Music has been and
is an expression o f our identity and
our feeling, first as individuals but also
as a family, a clan, a people, or as a
nation.
“We have used music as a form
o f communication and to preserve
our history even before there was the
written word. Music instills within the
individual self-discipline and a sense
o f worthiness. Music is an innate part
o f our human existence; we enter this
w orld to the rhythm beat o f our
m other’s heart; and we depart from
this fife on the last beat o f our own
heart...”
The mission o f the Warm Springs
I was tired o f hearing
all o f the bad things
going on with our youth,
and I think there is
talent out there that is
unused. 99
Richard Macy
Program organizer
Community Music Program is “to es
tablish a viable organization for the
promotion arid development o f activi
ties related to music.”
Macy said the program is currendy
looking for a musical director. The
position may have to be volunteer for
a time, but the hope is to secure some
funding to compensate the director.
Others who are needed are volun
teer board or committee members, ei
ther youth or adults.
As a purpose statement for the
Warm Springs Community Music
Program, Macy is proposing the fol
lowing:
To provide encouragement and
support to community members in
their individual and group efforts in
various activities related to music.
A nd to develop w holesom e,
healthy activities related to all as
pects o f music in an effort to pro
vide for positive growth o f charac
ter and personality in our commu
nity members.
Some initial tasks o f the com
munity music program are to gather
information as to the interests and
needs o f those who are interested,
and acquire the needed resources,
such as instruments and a place to
practice and play.
For more information, or to be
come involved, you can reach Ri
chard Macy at 553-1241.
The Environmental Impact State
ment for the tribes’ proposed casino at
Cascade Locks is nearing completion,
said Ed Manion, project development
team leader.
The National Marine Fisheries Ser
vices in Seattle is completing their bio
logical opinion on the effect of the
project on storm water runoff and on
a nearby creek, said Manion.
When the biological opinion is com
plete, the Fisheries Service is expected
to forward the information to the BIA
for inclusion by the engineering firm
H DR in the casino Environmental Im
pact Statement (EIS).
The BIA will then send the EIS to
the Department of the Interior in Wash
ington, D.C.
Once the EIS is at the Interior De
partment, the document will go through
a signing process before inclusion the
Federal Register.
The tribes are hoping the EIS will
be published in the Federal Register
perhaps by October, said Manion.
There is a 30-day public review pe
riod after publication in the Federal
Register. The tribes can address any
significant issues that may be raised
during the public comment.
Crews mopping
up lightning fires
Fire crews this week are mopping
up a series of 12 fires that were sparked
by an Aug. 1 Eghtning storm.
N o structures were destroyed by the
fires, although some were threatened,
said Ken Lydy, assistant Fire Manage
ment officer. Most of the fires were
three to four acres in size. The largest
was the Box Canyon fire, which burned
across 856 acres.
The local agencies that responded
were Warm Springs Fire Management,
and Fire and Safety. Warm Springs
Construction also helped, as a contrac
tor with the U.S. Forest Services.
The Forest Service, and other pri
vate contractors also helped contain the
fires. At the height o f the response ef
fort, a little over 400 personnel were
on the scene, said Lydy.