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75
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v. 36
no. 10
May 18,
£011
Coyote News, est. 1976
May 18, 2011
U.S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Voi. 36, No. 10
May - Xawit’an Spring - Wawaxam
50 cents
-
Tribes, state host Tribal Government Day W.S. to
help in
veterans
study
By Duran Bobb
S pilyay Tymoo
W ith Gov. Kitzhaber standing at his
side, Warm Springs Chief Del vis
Heath gave the invocation at the cer
emony on May 13 in Salem, recog
n izin g A m erican In d ian W eek
throughout the state of Oregon.
The governor said that during his
first term in office he realized the
need for state agencies to work in
cooperation with Oregon’s nine fed
erally recognized tribal govern
ments.
Also present at the ceremony,
from Warm Springs were Council
Chairman Stanley “Buck” Smith,
Councilman Scott Moses, and tribal
G overnm ental A ffairs D irector
Louie Pitt.
Informational booths kicked off
the day’s events in the Capitol’s
G alleria. T ribal m em bers Paula
Miller, Denice Clements and Doris
Miller answered questions on all
aspects of the reservation.
“People seemed to be most in
terested and fascinated with our
shaptakai [Indian suitcases],” Miller
said gleefully.
Eric Queampts, from Umatilla,
gave a brief presentation on the his
tory of his reservation and the im
portance o f protecting the first
foods.
Outside the Capitol, the flag of
By Dave McMechan
S pilyay Tymoo
Duran Bobb/Spilyay
Tribal leaders and young people meet with Gov. Kitzhaberas he proclaims American Indian Week in Oregon.
the Confederated Tribes o f Warm
Springs stands at the far right of eight
other tribes, along with the nation’s state
flags.
Warm Springs’ flag is a reminder of
the reservation’s continuing endurance
since 1855, and the tribes’ ongoing re
lationship with the state of Oregon.
In Salem last week were the an
nual Oregon tribes meeting and Tribal
Agency Day, followed by Tribal Gov
ernment Day.
Native American veterans use the
services of the Veterans Administra
tion much less than non-Indian veter
ans.
No one is sure why Native veterans
do not use the full Veterans Adminis
tration (VA) services that are available
to them, said Elton Greeley, director
of the tribal Senior Department.
The VA recently hired a professor
from Colorado, Dr. Carol Kaufman, to
study the situation and suggest possible
solutions.
Three reservations in the U.S. will
participate in the study, including Warm
Springs.
Greeley presented this information
to Tribal Council last week, and Coun
cil approved Warm Springs’ participa
tion in the VA study.
Warm Springs VA representatives
Shelia Danzuka, V ioletta Vath and
Patricia White were instrumental in set
tin g up the in itia l m eetin g w ith
Kaufman, said Greeley.
See
VETERANS on page 9
Community
Key decision pending on timber harvest cleanup
The decision facing Council
Saturday
and Natural Resources
By Dave McMechan
S pilyay Tymoo
Tribal Council met with the Natural
Resources Branch last week to discuss
the timber harvest on the reservation,
and the possible impact on the Warm
Springs Forest Products Industries mill.
Tribal Council faces a difficult deci
sion regarding forestry, as the annual
timber cut from the reservation may
have to be reduced.
Council members and Natural Re
sources agreed that a workshop of two
or three days is needed for further dis
cussion. The difficulty of the situation
can be explained as follows:
To operate year-round, the WSFPI
mill would require an annual cut of at
Blackwolf wins
Indigenous
Image Award
Levi B lackw olf won the Out
standing Calendar Award at the 2011
North American Indigenous Image
Awards.
The awards ceremony was held
at the Hard Rock Hotel in Albuquer
que, New Mexico.
B lack w o lf, ow ner o f W olfn
Photographies, won the award for
his Powwow Model Calendar. (See the
story on page 9.)
Roxane Gomez, Levi
Blackwolf, Mariah Monique
Watchman and Jamie Hansen
Douts (from left) at the awards
ceremony in Albuquerque.
least 45 million board feet.
However, Natural Resources stud
ies show that an annual cut of 45 mil
lion board feet is not sustainable. Natu
ral Resources said to Council that an
annual cut of about 30 million board
feet from the reservation is a maximum
sustainable number.
The sustainable harvest would pro
tect important tribal resources includ
ing cultural foods, wildlife and water
sheds.
An unsustainable harvest level,
though, would leave the reservation
natural resources—-timber and wild
life— depleted for future generations.
The tribes’ partner in operating the
mill is VanPort International, which
markets the wood that is cut and pro
cessed at the mill.
involves current job s
already scarce—versus
sustainable management o f
the natural resource.
—
VanPort has said that the mill can
not operate efficiently and profitably
with an annual cut of 43 million board
feet.
The amount needed annually to run
the mill and potentially make a profit
would be closer to 50 million or even
55 million board feet, VanPort officials
have said.
The Natural Resources information
presented last week also looked at
scenarios to market logs in a way
that would bring higher stumpage
rates back to the tribes without ex
ceeding the sustainable harvest.
The mill, one of the last in the
region, employs about 150 people,
including many tribal members.
The decision facing Council and
NaturaLResources involves current
jobs— already scarce— versus sus
tainable management of the natu
ral resource. Tribal management is
now determ ining possible dates,
perhaps in July, for the Council and
Natural Resources workshop.
An informed decision on this is
sue is critical, Council members and
Natural Resources Branch manager
Bobby Brunoe agreed.
This Saturday, May 21, is neighbor
hood Spring Clean-Up day, hosted by
the Community Safety Team. Clean-up
activities will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A barbecue lunch will be provided to
those who volunteer to help with this
project.
The volunteer work site station will
be located at the Early Childhood Edu
cation center.
Volunteers can meet there. They will
be given safety instruction, and issued
garbage bags, gloves, and bottles of
water.
Large dumpsters will be available, so
this is a good time to get rid of all ac
cumulated litter from yards, roadsides
and other areas.
The team leader is Danny Martinez,
fire chief. A contact person is Ashley
Aguilar, o f the Grant Development
office. She can be reached at 541-553-
2204; or email:
ashley.aguilar@wstribes.org
Residents from the Hollywood Bou
levard and Tenino Apartments areas are
encouraged to participate in cleaning
their neighborhood.
Event organizers ask residents to
please restrain their dogs during the
clean-up.
Elderly or disabled people can call
Sanitation for help in removing large
junk such as old and unwanted appli
ances. Their number is 541-553-3163.
They could have someone come by on
Monday, May 23, to pick up the item.
Tiger VanPelt has agreed to assist
with the removal and disposal of aban
doned vehicles. Please contact Ahsley
Aguilar for a removal application.
She mentioned that the Spring Clean-
Up day will also be a great time for
people to fulfill any community service
hours they may have pending.
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