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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2011)
sea University of Oregon Library Received on: 10-21-11 Spilyay tymoo OrColl E 75 « S66 v. 36 no. £1 October Spi my Tyrocx 19, £011 Coyote News, est. 1976 October 19, 2011 Vol. 36, No. 21 Acquisition DepUSerials Knight L'brarV Oregon ^ " ÜnWoeR 97403-1205 Eugene woidye PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 October - Anwicht’ash Fall - Tiyam 50 cents - Gaming focus turning to new casino jobs A first By Dave McMechan S pilyay Tymoo There will be as many as 200 local job openings early next year, when the new temporary casino opens. Gaming planners are preparing for a jobs fair, and soon they will have a list of the positions that will be avail able. Current employees at Kah-Nee-Ta will be coming to work at the new In dian Head, but more employees will be needed, said Margie Tuckta, Kah-Nee- Ta board member and gaming director of special projects. The gam ing board is currently hir- ing a new casino general manager and a human resources director. Once these positions are filled, the focus w ill be on filling the rest o f the jobs, Tuckta said. More employees— cashiers, floor staff and security—will be needed for the gaming portion of the casino. Other openings will be in the restaurant and gift shop, in maintenance and house cleaning, among other areas. A total of 280 employees w ill be needed at the new enterprise. Some positions w ill be filled by the Kah- Nee-Ta workers, but most will be new jobs. Meeting the demand will require job training. Gaming will be working with Workforce Development, tribal Hu man Resources, and the rest of the organization to meet the challenge, said Tuckta. She and other board members met with Tribal Council last week to dis cuss the new casino. Councilman J.P. Patt said the employee aspect o f the enterprise is the key to its success. This is a hospitality industry, he said. “The casino is just a building with ma chines in it,” Patt said. “If we’re ex pecting people to stop, there has to be a reason, or they’ll just drive by.” The Northern Quest Resort and Casino of the Kalispel Tribe, in Spo kane, is a model for the industry, he said. Open 24 hours The new Indian Head casino on Highway 26 w ill be housed in a 40,000-square foot building beside the plaza. The casino is temporary, as a Cas cade Locks resort and casino is the long-term plan of the tribes. At the new temporary facility, there will be 500 slot machines, and eight blackjack tables; plus a restau rant with seating for 120, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The building will house a snack bar with seating for 30, and a gift shop. The casino w ill be open 24- hours, part o f the reason w hy many new employees are needed. Possible solution for mill Warm Springs Forest Products In dustries and the tribal N atural Re sources Branch may have developed a plan to keep the mill operating for at least the next few years. WSFPI and Natural Resource rep resentatives met with Tribal Council last week, and reported they may have come up with a timber harvest plan that would meet the mill’s needs. The plan would require the acquisi tion of additional timber for the mill from off the reservation. The issue is, however, still unre solved; and Tribal Council wants to hold a workshop on the question in the near future. Earlier this year, WSFPI and Natu ral Resources were far from having a mutually acceptable allowable timber harvest proposal for 2012. J;- Art Show Duran Bobb/Spilyay Chieftainship selection moving forward S pilyay Tymoo At last week’s Wasco Chieftainship Protocol meeting, facilitator Charles V. Jackson presented the people with a recommendation compiled by the fami lies of nominees, George Clements, A lfred Sm ith Jr., G arland Brunoe, Derek Tasympt, Grant Clements Sr. and John Katchia Sr. “No sm all group or handful of people can make a decision for the entire group of Wascos,” Jackson said. “Even though not all of us come to these meetings all the time, I think at some point we need to realize that we have to make a decision and move for ward. We want to hear your concerns, and whether you have thoughts about this recommendation, either pro or con.” The proposal is to request that the tribes support the voting process. “It may require additional funds for the election board and Vital Statistics,” Jack- son said. “The constitution says it’s supposed to be by tradition,” Emma Smith said. Cassie Katchia read from section seven of the tribal Constitution. ‘“The election shall be by secret ballot or cus tom as desired by the prevailing dis trict.’ So it is up to the district,” she said. Jackson called for a show-of-hands vote, asking how many of those present wanted to select the next chief by elec tion. Sixteen people out of an estimated 60 raised their hands. Tommy K alam a was concerned over the meaning of “Agency District” in the proposal. “I grew up in Hollywood and I vote Seekseequa,” he said. “But I’m Wasco. I shouldn’t have to run down to Vital Stats and change my district to vote for the next chief.” Mona Smith-Cochran said, “I think the gentlemen of the Wasco people should come together and meet in a good way, with a good heart, and make the selection of who is going to repre sent the Wascos.” Tribal elder Perthina W hite then spoke of when she was a young girl and her father was asked by tribal lead ers to become the next chief. She said: “The Wasco Chief had passed away then. All the Wasco men got together and decided on who they were going to ask to be the next chief. The elders of the Wasco men came to our house to see my dad. They told my dad that he had been chosen, but he turned them down because my mother was sickly. He said he was honored. But my L This month saw a milestone in the endeavor to bring migrating fish back to the rivers above the Pelton-Round Butte dams. On October 9, an adult summer steelhead returned to the Pelton fish trap: This was the first fish to accom plish the feat, as part of the réintro duction project. The fish was reared naturally in the Crooked or middle Deschutes sub ba sins. Then, as a smolt in 2010, the young steelhead migrated downstream through Lake Billy Chinook, and past the new Round Butte Dam downstream fish facility. Biologists know the steelhead is one of the reintroduced fish because of a specifically clipped bone. Biologists had clipped the right maxillary bone on all anadromous smolts that were moved from the fish transfer facility to the lower Deschutes River. The fish, and others like it, spent a year in the ocean, and then returned this month. The fisheries réintroduction is a project of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Portland General Electric, as owner-operators of the Pelton-Round Butte hydro-facilities. An overview The Museum at Warm Springs is hosting the Tribal Member Art Show, on display in the Changing Exhibits room. Anita Davis won the Judges Choice Award in the Contemporary Category for her beadwork (above). Travis Bobb entered one of his paintings (right). See TIMBER on page 7 By Duran Bobb for fish passage The next meeting is sched uled fo r Oct. 26, hosted by the Smith family. • mother would have to take charge of the position, if he was chosen. She would have to go with the other women and dig roots and go huckleberry pick ing for the feast.” Her father couldn’t allow her to do the things she would be required to do while she was sick. During the meeting last week, Mike Clements said, “I’ve read the prevail ing customs statement over and over again. When the last chief was with us, he said you guys can do it the way you want the people to do it. The Tribes can’t tell you how.” The first chief, George Meacham, wore the bonnet from 1932 until he drowned in the high lakes in 1943, Clements said. At that time the Wascos went without a chief for 11 years. In 1953, the Wasco men presented names for candidates as the next chief. They were Joe McCorkle, Walter Miller, Cy Katchia, and Roy Meacham. As Clements recalls, McCorkle won by a single vote. “They identified all the Wasco people they knew, from all districts. They didn’t limit the votes to one agency.” Chief McCorkle passed away in 1958. There was another election involving five candidates. Three of them were M illers: Floyd M iller, Avix Miller and Walter Miller. One of then was Bill McCorkle. The other was adw ai C h ief N elson Wallulatum. Chief Wallulatum began serving the people in 1959. “I worked closely with adwai Chief Wallulatum,” Roberta Kirk said. “He gave us direction. He had services for the remains of our ancestors that we brought back. So whoever our next chief w ill be, we’re going to come to him for di rection. That’s a huge responsibil ity. We have ancestors in museums that need to be brought home. So being the next chief means remem bering the people today and not for getting about the ancestors.” G eorge C lem en ts, G rant Clements Sr, and John Katchia Sr all gave short statements and pre sented their lineage. The next Wasco Chief meeting is scheduled for Oc tober 26 with dinner at 6 p.m., hosted by the Smith family. All candidates are requested to be present for ques tions and answers. Fish passage above Pelton-Round butte has not happened since 1968. The problem over the years was the lack of a downstream current in the lake behind the dams. There were also changes to the water temperature due to the dams. So rather than migrate, the juvenile fish remained upstream. The tribes and PGE spent several years developing a plan to correct the situation, and reopen the many miles of upstream habitat to the fish. The unique aspect of the solution was construction and operation of the 273-foot underwater tower and fish col lection station above Round Butte dam in Lake Billy Chinook. The fish are col lected, sorted and transported down stream, so they can continue their jour ney to the Pacific. When Round Butte dam was built in 1964, it included a fish passage sys tem: a gondola/tramway system for the upstream journey; and an intake/col lection system for the downstream mi gration. This original system, however, did not work, due to the unforeseen changes in river currents and tempera tures. Eventually, the system was aban doned and a fish hatchery was built below Round Butte Dam instead. The new underwater tower modifies the currents and temperature to mimic the natural conditions o f the river. Meanwhile, the hydro-dams can con tinue to generate power for sale. Total cost of this project is estimated at $130 million. Jim M anion, m anager o f W arm Springs Power and Water Enterprises, said many individuals have worked dili gently on the specific project that saw this month’s fish return. Some of them are: The Round Butte hatchery crew who produced the fry for réintroduc tion, tribal and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel who coor dinated the fry releases; the m any agency and public volunteers who helped with releases; the Pelton project research crew; and the fish passage crews working for Power and Water and PGE; and the Pelton-Round Butte maintenance and electricians. • % tr l • •
