Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2011)
1 E Coosh EEWA: The wgy it is mam Page 4- Spilyay Tymoo December 14-, 2011 Letters to the Editor Klismis Xaxaikw Performance By D uran Bobb A non-tribal member asked the question recently: Is it fair for Indians to get free money from the government every year just for being Indian? “No, no, no,” Tribal Council man J.P. Patt said. When the Christmas bonus d ivid en d p a y ments began in S p ilya y W arm Sprin gs S p ea k s lo n g ago, the K _____________ 2 funds came from surplus revenue generated by tribal operations. “This was when revenues were high from logging,” Patt said. “T here was a certain amount over what our leaders set aside to go back into the tribal budget. They took this amount at the end of the year and divided that up between the 3,000 or so tribal members at the time.” Back in the 1930s, tribal el der Adeline Miller was attend ing boarding school. “One day, I got a check for 20 dollars,” Adeline said. “That was a lot of money back then. It came in handy.” Christmas back in those days was simple, she said. “We’d go to the church ev ery year. They’d give everyone a quilt, some apples and oranges, some peanuts and a toy so it was special for the kids.” “I remember the 20 dollars,” Harrison Davis Sr. said. “Back in the day, all the senior citizens would get a fruit basket. Times are changed, but they still think about the elders. Today I got my gift card from the Senior Program and will probably use it for gas. Everybody needs gas these days.” “I made the motion for this year’s bonus,” J.P. said. “Some folks have asked, ‘Can we af ford it?’ But I know some fami lies are chasing their tail trying to keep up with bills. Without help, there wouldn’t be much of a Christmas.” In closing, the Tymoo re minds you to visit our advertis ers, and leaves you with these words... ‘Twas the night before Bonus when all through the Rez, Tribal IDs and box keys are set out to do biz. The bills were all sorted by final notice and need. What to pay now or later, what to stick ‘neath the tree. And Katla had screamed at the kids to sack out. They were far too excited to cry or to p o ut! L ast n ig h t’s luckamean leftovers chilled by the sink. Tila tap-danced before bedtime on the ice - like a rink! From Simnasho to Seekseekqua, everyone’s in good cheer. We can go ahead and say it now: We barely made it this yea r! \ In 2009 at Lucinda Greene’s request, I wrote and illustrated a Native American story to be enacted as a perform ance at her home each Christmas. The name o f the story is “Peace Came in a Cradle.” T his year D ecem ber 1, Lucinda conducted the perfor mance at the Community Cen ter to share the story with the rest of the community. I want to thank the many chil dren and adults who participated in the preparation and perfor mance, bringing my story to life in the spirit of the true mean ing of Christmas. It was a joy to my heart to watch the children as they did such a beautiful performance. It brought back many memories of our happy times in “Carol’s Room” when they were younger. The Community Center walls have experienced thousands of people and community events over the past 40-plus years that I have been there. “Peace Came in a Cradle” is one o f the many stories and plays co n tain in g the W arm Springs history, culture and lan guages I have been creating to be given as a gift of love to the people of Warm Springs in the name o f atwy Warm Springs Chief Nathan Heath. Thank you all, for your love and appreciation. Carol Allison Good cause Our Youth Dance Group Ayayat Idait TeNa Numu trav els to perform social dances around the Northwest. It is our goal to raise funds to travel and perform at the Puyallup State Fair this coming year for the Native American Days. Gladys Grant has helped us with an opportunity to make some m oney by sellin g 100 Noble Fir Christmas Trees. Cost is $25 ($20 if the tree is small). Please let me know if you would like to purchase a tree, as it is for a good cause. If you don’t need a tree and would like to donate a few dollars, that would help. Thank you. Radine Johnson Horses Regarding horses, time im memorial, Ku-Si. In our seven drum song, we who condone this Columbia River ceremony. The song in dicates about the horse that it turns into a bird. We sing this Spilyay Tymoo (Coyote 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, P.O. 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. song, a slow song, my father at tested so, in his time. We, who to our m edicine dances have this horse spirit. At this time, horses were given away, without being pilk-sa. We had wedding trades with our horses. We had war horse veterans. The horse fought with you, pro tected your family, baby-sat, let you know who is coming, an enemy or friend, or other horses. The horse helped us live— packed our food, that is, meat, roots, fruit. So we may grow, from 1800s to the present. The adopt-a-horse program should be instituted, give them away to people who will take them. Sincerely, Martinez Charles (Sue-Wy- y). P.S.: My family paid many horses for my Indian name. Once again our sacred customs are being neglected. To casino guests The last day of the casino at Kah-Nee-Ta will be on Jan. 2. (The official closing time will be 4 a.m. on Jan. 3). The New Indian Head Ca sino will open on Highway 26 in Warm Springs in early Feb ruary. The Kah-Nee-Ta Resort will rem ain open. The Spa, go lf course and hot springs pool are open year-round. Kah-Nee-Ta slot tickets will need to be redeem ed before closing on Jan. 2. Tickets can be redeemed in person or mailed to Kah-Nee- Ta at P.O. Box 1240, W arm Springs, Oregon 97761; Attn. Acct. Department. Blackjack gaming chips can be redeemed up till April 1,2012 at the new casino. After these dates, tickets and gaming chips will be void. Please visit us at: kahneeta.com Or call Club Kah-Nee-Ta at 541-553-1112 ext. 3472 for the latest details. The new Indian Head Casino phone number will be 541-460- 7777 or on the web at: indianheadgaming.com. Thank you. Looking forward I have been incarcerated for half a year in the Warm Springs tribal jail. There is nothing cool about being locked up! All there is to do is read books and play cards, which gets old after a while. I cannot say “I won’t be back” or “this is my last time coming to jail.” But I will try my best to stay out of here when I am released. I don’t like it here one bit. I hate it here, but I’m forced to be here for my actions. I am sorry for what I did last May. I feel ashamed, and I don’t think I will be able to face my family when I get out. But I have been forgiven for it! There were times when I felt all hope was lost and had noth ing to look forward to. All that has changed because now I have freedom and a new start to look forward to, to get a better life than drinking and getting high every day. All that depends on the choices that are made when I am free again. Now all I have left to say is, If you don’t like jail, then don’t drink and drive, or do anything that will put you in here. See you on the other side! Damon David. Thank you to sponsors We are sorry for the time it took to give all you people th at help ed sup p o rt our young boys, Marcel Allen and Joseph Scott, to travel to Shawnee, Okla., on Nov. 9- 13. Both boys w ere in the steer riding division. They were both up on Thursday and Saturday. M arcel got hung up on Saturday, in which the clown got knocked out distracting the steer from getting the rider! Both boys did not last the six second required, but more luck to them in the coming year! T hey w ould like to thank all those who made this trip possible. Thanks to Kah- Nee-Ta for helping the boys with the $150 apiece. Thanks to DMJ for their support and practices at their house. T here w as a fundraiser with donated items with these results (item and the winner): P ink shaw l, S h elley Hanson; Applique bag, Linda Porter; Applique bad, Rena Adams; Abalone shell neck lace, Rosanna Jackson; lap blanket, Val Grout; Beaded necklace, Shana Johnson. Deerhorn knife, Tammy G arriso n ; K ah -N ee-T a sweatshirt, Hestor Scott; Neck lace, Kobe Baez; ceramic piece, Tiger VanPelt; bags o f dried v en iso n , D elfo rd Jo h n so n ; beaded belt buckle, Harrison Davis Jr. Other prizes: coffee containers (three), and OSU beaded medallion. W hile in Shaw nee, O kla., Marcel was accompanied by his grandpa, Francis “Toba” Scott, mother Desiree Allen, uncle Is rael Scott. They say it was a once in a lifetime trip, in which they got to be with the boys, and got to see the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in which those that were in the Hall of Fame, such as Lane Frost and Ty Murray. Toba stated, “They knew all of the best rest stops!” W hile there, they also went to the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame. Joseph III was accompa nied by his father, Joe Scott Jr., and his mother, Crystal, and two sisters. We would like to thank you all for the help and con tributions. Much thanks to Carmella Scott, Auntie and D ezi H u rtad o for the fundraiser dinners! To those who helped make the Carlight Parade The Carlight Parade 2011 entries were: Charlie Brown Christmas- doctors, nurses and lab work ers, IHS; the 509-J School bus; KW SO/W arm Springs Con struction; Book Mobile, Warm Springs Library. How the Grinch Stole Christ mas by Community Health; Gin gerbread House by Housing; “We Are Here” by Teleco; Pre vention. F ire M anagem ent and Smokey the Bear; Head Start; The “Ducks” community mem ber; and the Queahpama Ranch. Thank you all for your great effo rt in co n stru ctin g your floats. We really appreciate your participation in the parade. Your generosity and creativity are boundless. Shout out to all and we look forward to seeing you next year! And now the winners: F irst: A C h arlie B row n C h ristm as, by the d o cto rs, nurses and lab workers, IHS. Second: 509-J School Bus with Santa. Third: Head Start. Fourth: Gingerbread House by Housing. Fifth: KWSO/Warm Springs Construction. Yours truly, The Recreation D epart ment, Community Vi^ellness Center, Carol Sahm e, Arts and Crafts coordinator. j