OrCo11
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75
. S68
V . 36
no. 11
June 1,
Spi lygy Tym
1 ,2011
June
Coyote News, est. 1976
Acquisition Dept./Serials
Knight Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1205
Voi. 36, No. 11
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
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June Atixan Spring Wawaxám
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Pi-Ume-Sha to mark 156th year of Treaty Court, bill
O ne hundred and fifty-six years ago
this month, on June 25, a Monday, the
tribes agreed to the Treaty of 1855.
The tribes accepted the treaty
following a three-day Council of the
Wasco and Walla Walla tribes, held at
The Dalles. One hundred and fifty-one
tribal members put their names to the
treaty.
By the terms of the document, the
tribes gave up their ownership claim
to, or ceded, 10 million acres of land,
which the tribes had lived on since time
immemorial. The Ceded Lands became
a large part of north central and eastern
Oregon, which joined the Union in
1859.
By the treaty, the tribes kept the
reservation land between Mt. Jefferson
and the Deschutes River—641,118
acres—and the right to the traditional
use of the 10 million ceded acres.
One hundred years later, in the
1950s, tribal members had the idea of
hosting an event in late June to
commemorate the anniversary of the
treaty. According to recollections, the
story is as follows:
Fifty or so years ago, atwai Grant
Wahenekah delegated Sam Colwash and
his wife to travel to various powwows
across the nation. During their
observations, Sam and his wife took
notes on how other celebrations were
conducted, protocols, the judge
Courtesy photo.
Annalise Whipple, candidate for the Pi-Ume-Sha Junior Court, is selling
powwow raffle tickets in the community. Or call 541-553-3503 for tickets.
selection, amounts paid to
participants, etc.
When the couple returned to the
reservation, they and others formed
a group to brainstorm ideas, said
Millie Colwash.
“Wherever we met,” Adeline
Miller said, “we’d put money into
the fund. W hatever we could
contribute, even if it was just one
dollar.”
Some of the group members
included Emily Wahenekah, Prunie
Williams, Art Mitchell, Larry Calica,
Adeline Morrison, Larry Macy,
Lizzie Rhoan, Clarence McKinley,
and “8-Ball” Jim.
“We decided to call it Paiyumsha,”
Adeline said. “That just means let’s
have fun. It was for the whole
reservation, all people to come
together to celebrate.”
Harrison Davis recalled, “The
first dance that they had at the first
powwow was the Round Dance.
They had three grand-daughters of
the treaty signers there. Nina Patt,
Evaline Sim tustus, and Elaine
Clements.”
This June 24-26, the tribes will
host the Forty-Second Annual Pi-
Um e-Sha Treaty Days. For
powwow information, see Cassie
Katchia (541-553-0203) or Louise
Katchia (541-460-0224).
Smith joins Hilton Garden Inn as GM
By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
Carlos Smith, who got his break in
the hotel industry at Kah-Nee-Ta
when he was 20, is now the general
manager of Hilton Garden Inn in
Lake Oswego.
This is an advancement from his
position as the director of operations
at Doubletree by Hilton, near the
Lloyd Center in Portland, where he
had worked for the past three and
half years.
One of the largest obstacles
courtesy pnoto.
Carlos Smith and wife Angela.
Carlos has faced in his career choices
has been making the decision to move
away from the reservation. But it was
a necessary step in order to realize his
dream, he said.
“I can understand why some people
may not want to leave,” Smith said.
“Three hundred days of sun, family,
no traffic... I got my start on the res
ervation. The good news is, if you learn
to work in a casino or hotel, you can
work anywhere in the world that you
would like to work.”
After several interviews and a trip
to the Hilton Corporate Headquarters
in Newport Beach, Calif., Smith was
selected for the top position.
But life isn’t all work and no play
for Carlos. During his free time,
he likes to fish at Sherar’s Falls with
the Holiday and Santos boys.
“There’s a great balance between
work and play,’ he said.
Carlos also serves as a member
of the Warm Springs casino board.
He is married to Angela (Selam)
Smith. He has two boys, Killian,
10, and Yancy, 12. Carlos is the
son of Bobby Smith and Jan Miller.
His grandmother is Faye Waheneka.
The next step in his career? “To
move up! Bigger, better, faster!”
2 sentenced
in killing
VFW hoping younger veterans join
Jolena Warner and Antonio
Brito were sentenced last week
for the 2008 murder of Lucinda
Stwyer. Warner, who entered a
plea to avoid the death penalty,
received 30 years in prison. She
was immediately transported to
a Texas women’s prison.
Warner surrendered to the FBI
in Portland one week after the
murder. Brito, from Madras, fled
to Mexico and was extradited
back to Oregon one year later.
Atwai Lucinda Stwyer was the
daughter of atwai Davis Stwyer
Sr. and Madine Meanus. She was
mother to three children, ages 7,
5, and 3.
“Jolena was in tears (in court
last week),” Neda Wesley said. “I
could feel remorse in her for hav
ing taken my grand-daughter
away... This is what drugs do to
you. I feel sorry for both of
them, because they still face sen
tencing from the Creator.”
“Today we felt the strength of
prayer,” Aurolyn Stwyer-
Watlamet said. “Thank you, ev
eryone.
— py Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
By Dave McMechan
The Veterans of Foreign Wars
Elliott Palmer Post No. 4217—the
first N ative A m erican-chartered
VFW post—is asking for younger
veterans to become involved with the
organization.
Commander Kirby Heath said vet
erans of the Gulf and other more
recent wars have, for the most part,
not joined the Warm Springs VFW
post. Heath said he is not sure why the
younger veterans have not become
part of the organization. The younger
veterans participate mosdy during Pi-
Ume-Sha, he said. Six veterans, elders,
showed up for the veterans’ Memorial
Day salute this past Monday.
There are at least 128 tribal mem
bers who are veterans of foreign wars,
from World War II up to the current
war in Afghanistan.
Among tribal members, there are
three living veterans of World War
II. One non-member World War II
veteran also lives in the community,
said Elton Greeley, direct of the tribal
Seniors Department.
See
VETERANS
on page 7
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
VFW Commander Kirby Heath (left) and Gene Harvey organized a
Memorial Day ceremony on Monday.
recognize
officer
authority
By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
Gov. Kitzhaber officially expressed
his support on a bill that would enhance
the jurisdiction of tribal officers, de
fining them as “police officers” in the
state of Oregon.
This bill would provide tribal police
officers in Oregon with the same pow
ers and protections provided by Oregon
law to state and local law enforcement
officers. Non-Indians could then be
cited for committing crimes in Indian
country, on the reservation.
In a letter, the governor stated that
it is his belief the bill would improve
public safety in Oregon. “It is clear to
day that we must work together to de
velop mutual respect for the sovereign
interest of the tribes and the state of
Oregon,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Association opposes
the bill, believing that it would give the
tribes power to go off tribal lands, but
not allowing non-tribal police the au
thority onto the reservation. The Sen
ate Rules Committee voted the bill out
of committee on Thursday. It now
heads to the full Senate for a vote.
“This is in our favor,” Jim Soules,
former general manager for Warm
Springs Public Safety said. “The Su
preme Court said at least in the case
of pursuit and resisting arrest, tribal
police are officers in the state of Or
egon. That was a big victory. We still
face a big battle in the House, but I
think there is real hope that some ver
sion of this bill will pass that all the
tribes can live with.”
The bill was drafted after the Kurty
vs. Oregon case, in which Thomas
Everette Kurtz fled from tribal police
and was arrested, off-rez, by tribal of
ficer Joseph Davino.
Circuit Court Judge Dan Ahern
found Kurtz guilty of attempting to
elude and resisting arrest. However, the
Oregon Court of Appeals found
Davino was not a police officer under
the current state definitions. Recently,
the Oregon Supreme Court upheld
Ahern’s decision and affirmed the le
gality of the arrest.
In his testimony in support for
SB412, Warm Springs Police Chief of
Police Carmen Smith said, “The court
of Appeals decision has created a seri
ous public safety problem for the tribal
officers in our department.
‘While we occasionally seek the as
sistance of outside law enforcement in
emergency situations, we are the only
law enforcement agency that regularly
patrols the entire 1,000 square mile
Warm Springs Indian Reservation and
provides public safety services to the
5,000 mostly Native American residents
of the Reservation.
“It is entirely appropriate that the
Tribes should police its own reserva
tion, given that Warm Springs is exempt
from state jurisdiction under Public Law
280 and the 1855 Treaty established
the reservation for the ‘exclusive use’
of the Warm Springs people. Nonethe
less, thousands of non-Indian motor
ists travel across the reservation each
year on US Hwy 26.”
‘We still need SB412,” Soules said.
“Because the Supreme Court did not
deal with the question as a whole, just
in the case before it. Without 412, ev
ery tribal arrest on non-Indians will be
litigated.”
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. ' of J Oregon
Received on: i
06-10-11
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