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V. 36
n o . 18
S e p te m b e r
Spi lygy Tym
7, 2011
September 7, 2011
oyote News, est. 1976
Voi. 36, No. 18
War
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Acquisition DepUSer,a's
Kn\ght Librata
f0regon
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
Septem ber- Wanaq’i - Summer - Shatm
Fires mostly contained at 107,000 acres
By Dave McMechan
S pilyay Tymoo
Close to 2,400 fire personnel have
been on the reservation over the past
two weeks, battling range and wild land
blazes that burned across more 107,000
acres.
At times the flames approached very
close to homes, but only one structure,
a shed, was lost. More than 300 homes
were threatened at different times.
Some rural hom es, such as in the
Sidwalter and Schoolie flat areas, came
close to catastrophe.
Defensible space around the homes,
and the effort o f the fire crews, are
credited with saving the structures, said
Dan Martinez, chief of Warm Springs
Fire and Safety.
Martinez commended all the fire
crews who helped, as well as the com
munity, which showed great support for
the responders.
Most of the response teams have
arrived from the Northwest region.
Protecting the Sidwalter area, for in
stan ce, w ere crew s from M arion
County.
“We’ve met so many great people,”
said Woodburn Fire Chief Paul Iverson,
whose crew came over with two sup
port engines. “We’ve enjoyed being
here.”
The work was difficult, with teams
Fire crew works an area of Sidwalter Flat.
working in shifts around the clock.
Many slept in tents at the industrial
park by the Fire Management build
ing. Others stayed near the elementary
school, and some at the newly-built
Sidwalter Fire Hall.
The series o f fires, collectively
named the High Cascade Complex,
consisted of four main blazes: the West
H ills fire, the R azorback fire, the
Powerline fire, and the Seekseequa fire.
A more recent blaze, the Badger
Butte fire, was the most active on the
reservation as of earlier this week.
The West Hills fire, now 90 percent
contained, burned just west of Warm
Springs. The Razorback was in the
Mutton Mountain area. The Powerline
fire was in the Sidwalter-Schoolie flats.
And the Seekseequa was in a southerly
of the reservation.
They started during a lightning
storm that passed over the area on
the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The four main blazes on the res
ervation were among dozens of
lightning-caused fires that broke
out that night in south and central
Oregon.
See FIRES on page 7
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Students and parents line up for school supplies at the annual Back to School BBQ.
Museum call to artists
L
Deadline
for Cobell
claims is
Sept. 16
www.IndianTrust.com
T h i s Wednesday, Sept. 7 is the first
day of school for students at Warm
Springs Elementary, and for sixth-
g rad ers and new stud en ts at
Jefferson County Middle School.
Ninth-graders and new students
are also starting Sept. 7 at Madras
High School.
The rest of the students— sev
enth- and eighth-graders at the
middle school, and tenth- through
twelfth-graders at the high s c h o o l-
start on Thursday, Sept. 8.
The Museum at Warm Springs
will present the Eighteenth Annual
Warm Springs Tribal Member Art
Exhibit this fall.
T h e m u seu m in v ite s W arm
Springs tribal member artists, age
18 and older, to submit their art
work.
Works can range from contem
porary to traditional, and can include
paintings, photography, basketry and
regalia, among other categories.
This year there will be two top
prizes for the Judges Choice Award,
one for contemporary and one tra
ditional.
50 cents
An important deadline is approach
ing the C obell vs. Salazar class action
lawsuit.
All individuals who believe they are
entitled to participate in the settle
ment— as a member of the trust ad
ministration class, and who are required
under the term s o f the settlem ent
agreement to submit a claim form—
must do so by mailing a properly com- *
pleted and signed form to the claims
administrator postmarked no later than
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011.
The setdement website contains all
of the important information about the
case and how to participate. Go to:
Students back to school this week
School supplies picnic
Backpacks and school supplies
were given to over 600 students at
the Annual Back To School Barbe
cue held last Thursday.
Over 850 people gathered to
m eet their teachers and enjoy a
meal. For a special treat 500 ears
of corn were donated to the feast
by the Community Garden.
E ven a few n ig h t-sh ift fire
crews were able to join the party
to fill up before they went to start
their shift.
DJ K-9 announced them and the
crowd roared with applause and
thanks for all their work.
P.O. Box 870
Art applications are available at
the museum. Additional guidelines
apply.
Artists who wish for their items
to be judged for prizes must submit
art on or before 5 p.m. on Friday,
Sept. 23. All other art can be sub
mitted before Friday, Oct. 7.
An opening reception and awards
ceremony will take place with an
evening reception on Thursday, Oct.
13, from 5:30—7:30, in the museums
lobby. Please contact Natalie Moody
during regular business hours for ad
ditional information, 541-553-3331
ext. 412.
Council looking at 2012 budgets
The Tribal Council agenda for Sep
tember includes a number days dedi
cated to the 2012 tribal budget.
Budget reviews and presentations
are scheduled for Thursday and Fri
day o f this week, Sept. 8 and 9, all
day. Presenters will be secretary-trea
surer Jo dy Calica, and treasury con
troller Brandie McNamee.
Tribal Council is scheduled to con
tinue the 2012 budget discussion on
Monday and Tuesday of next week,
Sept. 12 and 13, all day.
A budget posting date has been
scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 27, ac
cording to the recent Council agenda.
O ther Tribal Council agenda
items for September include:
The Sidwalter Grazing Group;
Oregon Health Sciences University
w ith Dr. W illiam M artin ; and
Verizon, with tribal planner Lonny
Macy (this Wednesday, Sept. 7).
Bridge of the Gods discussion on
Tuesday, Sept. 13.
Biomass discussion on Tuesday,
Sept. 27.
The Fifty-Eighth Annual Confer
ence o f the A ffiliated Tribes o f
Northwest Indians (ATNI) is Sun-
day-Thursday, Sept. 18-22 at Tulalip,
Wash.
Also, if you have questions, call toll-
free 1-800-961-6109; or email:
Info@IndianTrust.com
The settlement
The C ob ell settlement agreement
creates two classes of Indians eligible
to receive settlement money:
• The Historic Accounting Class are
Indians alive on September 30, 2009,
who had at least one transaction in an
open IIM Account between October
25, 1994 and September 30, 2009.
•The Trust Administration Class are
individual Indian beneficiaries alive on
September 30, 2009, who have or had
IIM Accounts dating from approxi
mately 1985, as well as individual Indi
ans who as of September 30,2009, had
a recorded or demonstrable interest in
land held in trust or restricted status.
The settlement does not include ben
eficiaries deceased as of September 30,
2009. Other eligibility conditions and
exemptions for each class are detailed
in the agreement.
Historical Accounting Class Mem
bers will each get $1,000.
Trust Administration Class Mem
bers will get at least $500.
If you own a small parcel of land
with many other people, the federal
government may ask you to sell it. You
will be offered fair market value. If
you sell your land it will be returned to
tribal control.
At least several hundred W arm
Springs tribal members, and many have
filed their claims.
The settlement provides:
• A $1.5 billion fund to pay those
included in the classes.
• A $1.9 billion fund to buy small
interests in trust or restricted land
owned by many people.
• Up to $60 million to fund scholar
ships to improve access to higher edu
cation for Indian youth.
• A government commitment to re
form the Indian trust management and
accounting system.
Long running lawsuit
The 15-year legal battle started
back in June o f 1996, when Elouise
Cobell, a m ember o f the Blackfeet
Tribe of M ontana, filed a class ac
tion case that included m ore than
300,000 tribal m embers with Indi
vidual Indian Money accounts, IIMs,
at the time.
This $3.4 billion settlem ent is be
lieved to be the largest ever against
the federal governm ent and dwarfs
the combined value of all judgments
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