n
r
E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Eloise Cobell
B y D uran Bobb
As a young girl, Eloise Cobell
rem em bered listening to the
grown-ups talk. They wondered
why Indians weren’t being paid
to let others use their land.
E loise w as a graduate o f
Great Falls Business College and
attended Montana State Univer
sity. She was a rancher, helping
her husband to raise catde and
crop.
In
1976, (
S p ilya y
C o bell becam e
S p ea k s
the treasurer of ____________
y
the Blackfeet In
dian Reservation in northwest
Montana.
In 1987, she helped found
the Blackfeet National Bank —
the first bank established by an
Indian tribe on a reservation.
T hroughout the m id-80s,
Eloise discovered irregularities
in the management of certain
funds. She unsuccessfully at
tempted to seek reform in how
the governm ent managed ac
counts held in trust for Indians.
She sought help from bank
ing law yer D ennis G ingold,
Thaddeus Holt, John Echohawk
and Keith Harper.
In 1996, Cobell v. Salazar was
filed contending that US officials
systematically stole and squan
dered royalties intended for In
dians.
In 2010, the Obama admin
istration offered a record settle
ment of $3.4 billion.
Over the 14-year battle, an
estimated 500,000 Indians be
came beneficiaries of the class-
action lawsuit. Most will receive
settlements of about $1800.
“Perhaps one day we would
know, down to the penny, how
m uch individual Indians are
owed,” Eloise said. “But we are
compelled to settle now by the
sobering realization that our
class grow s sm aller each
year...as our elders die and are
forever prevented from receiv
ing their just compensation.”
In 2011, Eloise Cobell re
ceived an honorary degree of
D octor o f H um ane L etters
from Dartmouth College. She
was also awarded the Montana
T rial Law yers A sso ciatio n ’s
Citizen’s Award. And the Sen
ate Majority Leader Harry Reid
began co-sponsoring legislation
to award Eloise the Congres
sional Gold Medal.
Ms. Cobell died Sunday, Oc
tober 16, 2011, at a hospital in
Great Falls, MT, after a brief
battle with cancer. She was 65.
Former Senate Indian Affairs
Chairm an Byron D orgon of
North Dakota said, “It’s a cruel
irony that the woman who led
the charge here all those years
does not live to see the benefits.
Despite that, I know she had to
feel a great sense of accomplish
ment with what she did.” •
'h
Very proud
I’m very proud of my oldest
son Floyd Frank Jr., who was in
Texas putting out the very big
fire there. He was also one of
the fire fighters who volunteered
to help put out the fire in Warm
Springs this summer.
Floyd, you are a very smart
young man. I’m so proud to be
your mother!
Love, your mom, Evette
Patt, 50 Kourt Dr., no. 3; Eu
gene, OR 97404; phone, 541-
461-3375.
Culture Classes
Parole and Probation, and
Culture and Heritage are host
ing the evening Cultural Classes.
Classes are held in the basement
of the Education building from
5:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays and
Tuesdays.
The Wasco language is the
focus of the Monday classes;
and the Paiute language is the
focus on Tuesdays. No Warm
Springs language teachers are
available for this series of classes.
The classes are open to the
community, to tribal employees,
and to defendants w ith the
Tribal Court. Defendants can
use the classes as an alternative
to sentencing. The classes are
provided by tribal Parole and
Probation, and the Culture and
Heritage Department.
The first hour of the class is
dedicated to the language lesson.
The last half-hour covers tribal
history, culture and traditional
beliefs. The current series of
classes is each week until Nov.
candle, use extreme caution. Be
sure to place pumpkins well
away from anything that can
burn and far enough out of the
way of trick-or-treaters, door
steps, walkways and yards.
■
I w ou ld lik e to w ish a
special H appy Birthday to
P am B o n so n and A aro n
James Strong. May you have
many more! Love, your dad
Lau-Laui Louie N. Ike Sr.,
and Sylvia.
H app y b irth d a y , M om
(Myrna Frank)! Thank you
for always being there for
us, through thick and thin,
and making sure that we all
k n ew the v a lu e o f lo v e .
Jessie, Bobbi, Freddie, Ron,
O o d is, A m y, M ic h a e l,
Kendall, and babies.
H appy b irth d a y m om fr o m
P h il and B.
H app y b irth d a y to my
loving w ife, Pam Benson.
Love, John.
Happy birthday Grandma,
from Makayla and Jubalee.
1 .
Fire safety
Deer Ridge
Did you know: Decorations
are the first thing to ignite in
more than 1,000 reported home
fires each year.
T his H allo w een , W arm
Springs Fire and Safety is offer
ing these safety tips:
When choosing a costume,
stay away from billowing or long
trailing fabric. If your child is
wearing a mask, make sure the
eye holes are large enough so
the child can see.
Provide children with flash
lights or glow-sticks to carry for
lighting.
Dried flowers, cornstalks and
crepe paper are highly flam
mable. Keep these and other
decorations away from all open
flames and heat sources, includ
ing light bulbs and heaters.
It is safest to use a flashlight
or battery-operated candle in a
jack-o-lantern. If you use a real
We would like to thank the
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, the community, religious
volunteers, drummers, dancers
and visitors for all your help,
support and donations for our
recent powwow.
T h an k you also to the
W illm an and KWSO. To the
Tribal Council for the salmon
donation, we are grateful for
your help.
You are all in our thoughts
CCoyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Reporter: Duran Bobb
Advertising Director: Yvonne Iverson
Media Advisor: Bill Rhoades
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our offices are located at
4174 Highway 3 in Warm Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, RO. Box 870, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone: 541-553-2210
Advertising: 541-553-2307 or 541-325-1089
E-Mail: dave.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $15.00.
Beware!
Wishes ...
H ap p y b irth d a y to m y
sister L illian Frank-Cuevas.
H appy 59th or 60th B irthday
to yo u s is , from a ll the
F ran k fam ily. T hanks for
stopping by to check on me,
brin ging me huckleberries
and sh arin g h appy stories
o f our beloved la te siste r
M arlene. Be strong and re
m em ber yo u ’re never alone.
Love,
M y rn a , Am y, T rav is,
J e s s ie , B o b b i, D u ran ,
M ichael, K endall and two
babies.
Spilyay Tymoo
L
Spilysy Tymoo October 19, 2011
Letters to the Editor
1945-2011
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Pgge 4
fwf I t
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Travis Bobb wishes Warm Springs a Happy Halloween!
The Community Wellness
Center and Recreation De
partm ent w ill present the
Halloween Carnival on Mon
day, Oct. 31.
Booth set-up starts at 3:30
p.m. Fun and games begin at
7 p.m. There will be Bingo
and door prizes; and costume
contests for adults and chil-
and prayers. Once again, thank
you.
Humbly and respectfully,
The Native Circle, Deer
Ridge.
dren. Judging begins at 7:30. Cat
egories:
M ost original, best home
m ade, sc arie st scarecrow ,
wickedest witch. For more in
formation, call 541-553-3243.
Recreation and Community
Wellness will also present the
employee Halloween Costume
Contest on Oct. 31, from noon
More wishes...
Happy birthday to William
‘Yummy” Rhoan (10/20).
Happy birthday to Priscilla
Blackwolf (10/21).
H appy b irth d ay to G ary
to 1 p.m. at the Community
Center social hall.
T h ere w ill be a lig h t
lunch. Costume categories
are: M o st o r ig in a l/ b e s t
homemade costume; scari
est witch character; spooki
est Dracula character; and
the stran gest H allow een
character.
Deyo (10/22).
Happy belated birthday to
Simon. Love, Marge and the
gang-
Happy belated birthday to
Marcelina Arce Casimiro. Love,
the entire Family!
Indian Business Talk
Portrait of a successful business person
B y Bruce Engle
Loan officer
W.S. Credit E nterprise
This is about a man I often
and respectfully refer to as “1
percent Louie.”
Louie started working in a
restaurant. He saved and even
tually got the chance to buy a
small restaurant that was hav
ing difficulties in downtown L. A.
One of the lessons Louie
learned from that first restau
rant was to not com p letely
change the menu. It took him
awhile to get most of the regu
lars back. Louie grew as a busi
nessman and made that restau
rant a success.
Louie went on to buy, fix-up,
turn-around, and sell restaurants
until he accumulated enough
cash to build and keep the one
he wanted—and then another—
and so on.
Louie ended up with three
strings of restaurants.
Louie had a basic ownership
and m anagem ent philosophy
that helped him to be success
ful. Also, he was willing to share
his philosophy and his success
with others.
Louie helped a number of
friends to start their own restau
rants. He mentored them and
several of them became suc
cessful restaurant owners.
One of Louie’s beliefs was
that there are no menial jobs.
Louie was the best example. He
bused tables. He cooked. He
cleaned. He greeted customers.
He helped out when his employ
ees needed help.
Louie wasn’t afraid of losing
respect if he got his hands dirty.
Everybody knew he was the
boss. Everybody knew he had
done, could do, and would do
their job if need be.
Louie was a detail man. He
very carefully developed his reci
pes. He designed how every
item was to be placed on the
plate. A chef that refused to
follow instructions would be sent
home and Louie would put on
Louie didn 7 have a
college degree and I
don’t know i f he ever
said, “I can and I
will. ” I do know he
willed and he did.
an apron and finish the shift.
Louie created a brand and the
standards of performance that
made that brand successful.
I remember Louie telling me
that, if the President were to
come to his restaurant, he would
be willing to say, “Mr. President,
I am proud to serve this plate
of food to you.” He was that
confident as to the quality of
the food, the preparation, and
the presentation of every dish.
Louie knew that pennies
make dollars. He knew that if
he kept track of the pennies, the
dollars would take care of them
selves. He did that.
Louie would look for where
he could save 1 percent. Some
times, he got lucky and saved
more.
For example, he did some
p ricin g and found that the
Ortega chilies he was serving
cost more than Old El Paso
chilies. He switched brands. He
was a businessman.
So, w h at’s my point? Or,
points?
This is a story of a minority
guy who went into business and
was successful.
Louie thrived in this land of
opportunity. He found his op
portunity and he went for it.
He worked hard. He learned.
He became good at his profes
sion. He kept on learning. He
kept on working hard.
Louie did well and helped
others to do well. Having a wife
and eight kids may have been
some motivation.
Louie didn’t have a college
degree and I don’t know if he
ever said, “I can and I will.” I
do know he willed and he did.
J