Spilygy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
A pril 7, 2010
Page 7
Chairman states BIA Forestry,
other funding concerns at hearing
A Congressional subcommit
tee on Interior Appropriations
conducted a hearing in Washing
ton, D.C., recendy on proposed
2011 federal appropriations af
fecting Indian Country.
Tribal leaders from several
tribes including Warm Springs
attended in order to give testi
mony on the appropriations is
sues o f importance to the tribes.
O n behalf o f the Confeder
ated Tribes o f Warm Springs,
Tribal Council Chairman Ron
Suppah testified before the sub
committee, stressing the impor
tance o f adequate funding for
forestry management.
“Warm Springs is a forestry
tribe,” Chairman Suppah said.
“Timber is a principal source of
our revenue and jobs, and the
health and good management of
our forest is very important for
us.”
Unfortunately, he said, “BIA
has been starving its forestry
Courtesy photo.
Tribal Council Chairman Ron Suppah and other tribal officials met recently with BPA
Administrator Steve Wright. The meeting was a chance for the tribes and BPA to assess
additional ways to collaborate for the benefit of salmon. Tribal Council and the BPA
officials met at the Round Butte dam, where the tribes and PGE have developed a new
fish collection and passage facility.
program for years. It gets only
about one-third o f the per-acre
funding of the Forest Service.”
Since 2003, in flatio n has
gone up 17 percent, “while BIA
Forestry has only gone up 5.3
percent,” Suppah said.
“At Warm Springs, this unfair
trea tm e n t o f BIA F o restry
funding has seriously eroded our
forestry staff. Eleven o f our 27
full time positions are perma
nently unfunded. Our ability to
plan and manage our forest has
been crippled.”
To co rrec t the situation,
Suppah recommended to the
subcommittee that the BIA For
estry budget see a substantial
increase.
“T h e In te rtrib a l T im b er
Council suggests increasing For
estry to $31.2 million just to
keep up with increases given
other agencies in recent years.
That, we believe, would be a
start, and we support that.”
Suppah recommended resto
ration of $1 million to the Tim
ber Harvest Initiative program.
“And add $5 million to For
est Development,” he said, “to
reduce the national thinning and
replanting backlog o f 900,000
acres.” O n the Warm Springs
Reservation, Suppah said, the
thinning and replanting backlog
is 60,000 acres.
He spoke to other issues as
well, including the need for ad
equate funding of law enforce
ment on the reservation, health
care, and education.
Regarding education funding,
Suppah said, “For BIA Johnson-
O ’Malley, Warm Springs urges
it be funded at $25 million, That
is the only BIA elementary and
secondary support for the great
majority o f tribes whose children
are in public schools, and its
decline must be reversed.”
—
by Dave Me Meehan
Indian health improvement act made permanent
W A SH IN G TO N , D.C. —
The Indian H ealth Care Im
provem ent Act— the corner
stone legal authority for the pro
vision o f health care to Native
Americans—was made perma
nent w hen President Obama
signed the bill on March 23.
The authorization of appro
priations for the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act had ex
pired in 2000, and while vari
ous versions o f the bill were
considered by Congress since
then, the act now has no expira
tion date.
“We are grateful to President
Obama for his unwavering and
long-standing support for the
en actm en t o f the In dian
Healthcare Improvement Act,”
said H ealth and Hum an Ser
vices Secretary K athleen
Sebelius.
“This is critical to moderniz
ing and improving the health
care we provide to American In
dians and Alaska Natives.
“This administration is intent
on honoring the obligations of
our government-to-government
relationship with American In
dian tribes, including the prom
ise of adequate health care.”
Since 2000, tribes and tribal
organization have been strongly
advocating for the updating and
reenacting o f the IHCIA, said
Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, director
o f the Indian Health Service.
“T he provision o f health ganizations to purchase health
care services to American Indi benefits coverage for IHS ben
ans and Alaska Natives is a key eficiaries.
• Authorizes IHS to enter
c o m p o n en t o f the federal
government’s trust responsibil into arrangements with the De
ity, and the updating and per partments o f Veterans Affairs
m anent authorization o f the and Defense to share medical
IHCIA helps to fulfill this re facilities and services.
• Allows a tribe or tribal or
sponsibility,” said Roubideaux.
The version o f the IHCIA ganization carrying out a pro
signed into law on March 23 gram under the Indian Self-De
differs in several respects from termination and Education As
the original version passed by sistance Act and an urban In
dian organization carrying out a
Congress in 1976.
The new law includes many pro g ram u n d er T itle V o f
major changes and im prove IHCIA to purchase coverage
ments to facilitate the delivery for its employées from the Fed
of health care services, such as: eral Employees Health Benefits
• Enhancem ent o f the au Program.
• Authorizes the establish
thorities o f the IHS director, in
cluding the responsibility to fa ment o f a Community Health
cilitate advocacy and promote Representative program for ur
consultation on matters relating ban Indian organizations to train
to Indian health within the D e and employ Indians to provide
partment of Health and Human health care services.
• Directs the IHS to estab
Services.
• Provides authorization for lish comprehensive behavioral
hospice, assisted living, long health, prevention, and treat
term, and home- and commu ment programs for Indians.
nity-based care.
The IHS provides a compre
• Extends the ability to re
cover costs from third parties hensive health service delivery
system for approximately 1.9
to tribally operated facilities.
• Updates current law regard million of the nation’s estimated
ing collection o f reim burse 3.3 million American Indians
ments from Medicare, Medic and Alaska Natives.
aid, and C H IP (C hildren’s
Health Insurance Program) by
Indian health facilities.
• Allows tribes and tribal or-
Mg
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Charles Thomas Edwards
Charles Thomas Edwards
passed from this life peace
fully with his loving family
at his side, on Nov. 14, 2009
in Chester, Calif. He was 76.
Mr. Edwards worked on
the Warm Springs Reserva
tion starting in 1983. He
found his work in the Utility
Department to be most re
warding. He retired in 1997
to Lake Almanor, Calif.
Mr. Edwards was born on
Nov. 23, 1932 in Santa
Monica. H e and his family
later moved to Redmond,
Oregon. He was married to
Jessie A cord, a longtim e
childhood friend, and they
had two sons and a daugh
ter.
In passing Mr. Edwards
leaves his loving wife of 56
years; son Fred and his wife
Brenda of Lake Almanor;
daughter Nona and her hus
b an d P aul D aley o f
Rockwall, Texas; his grand
children.
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