Spilygy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 3
January 25, 2012
Staff on board at Indian Head Casino
The ceremonial
ribbon-cutting will
take place at about
2:30 p.m., and the
doors will then be
opened.
B y D u ra n B o b b
Spilyay Tymoo
A fte r two job fairs in recent
months, 450 people applied for
jobs at the New Indian Head
Casino.
In order to operate around
the clock, the casino needs a
total of 215 employees.
In d ian p e rs o n n e l figures
show that 107 o f the 215 are
tribal members. Fifty-three are
non-tribal members. Twenty-six
are married into the tribe. And
29 are other Native Americans.
“This m eans that over 75
p e rc e n t are tribal m em bers,
married into the tribes, or other
Native Americans,” said gaming
board chairman Deepak Sehgal.
“A num ber o f casino em
ployees and K ah-Nee-Ta em
ployees transferred to Indian
Head Casino,” he said, “Only a
few p o sitio n s are left to be
filled.”
For the time, K ah-N ee-Ta
Resort seems a little lonely with
out the casino. But the staff are
very busy g ettin g ready for
spring break.
Indian Head Casino general
m anager K en Billingsley has
been taking time between clos
ing o f the casino at Kah-Nee-
Ta, and the opening o f the new
Indian Head Casino.
“H e’s training the staff in a
variety o f areas, including cus
tom er service,” said Sehgal.
“T he staff have also been
Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay
Casino new hires and transfers participated in team-bulding exercises at a training workshop at the Community Center.
responsible for much o f the la
bor needed to move the casino
equipment and office equipment
to the new casino. They’ve done
a great job.”
The dedication o f the New
Indian H ead Casino will take
place on Feb. 4, starting at 1 p.m.
and ending at 6 p.m.
All tribal members are invited
to the dedication, along with a
number o f specially invited dig-
nitaries and guests.
“The casino is an adult en
terprise venue,” said Sehgal.
“Everyone over 21 years o f age
is allow ed o n to th e gam ing
floor.”
The ceremonial ribbon-cut-
ting will take place at about 2:30
p.m., and the doors will then be
opened.
“There will be a number of
surprises for everyone who at
tends and stays for refreshments
and plays the gaming machines.”
Tribal members are welcome
to bring their guests. At 6 p.m.
the casino will open to the gen
eral public. “The casino staff
and gam ing com m ission are
working extra hard to get the
casino ready for the opening
date,” Sehgal said.
“We have arranged for a large
ten t for the dedication. L et’s
hope and pray the weather gets
better for the ceremony!” '
As for the space left at the
re s o rt once the new casino
opens, the Kah-Nee-Ta board
will be reviewing the options and
making decisions in the near
future.
Washanaksha grant winners announced
The Confederated Tribes
o f W arm Springs Cultural
T ru s t C o m m ittee
has
a w a rd e d f o u r W a sh a n a k sh a
grants.
O ne o f the grants will
help youth w ho will learn
Waskalikt Services following
their participation in Sunday
Washut service at the Agency
Longhouse. The grant, sub
mitted by group instructor
Deanie Johnson, helps pro
vide th e y o u th w ith th e
chance to learn im portant
cultural songs and dances o f
the tribes.
Rose Ball received a grant
to conduct doll-board classes,
and breast-plate work. One
o f the classes is scheduled
for this week, at the Early
Childhood Education Center.
A later class date has not yet
been set, Ball said.
■ Another grant goes toward
a cultural exchange between
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Rose Ball, Deanle Johnson and Jefferson Greene (not
pictured, Suzle Slockish.)
the C onfederated Tribes and
Clatsop-Nehalem tribes. Warm
Springs Canoe Family leader,
and Museum at Warm Springs
p ro ject developer, Je fferso n
G reen e a ccep ted th e g ra n t
award for this project.
T h e S im n ash o H eritag e
Packaging facility considered
B y D u ra n B o b b
Spilyay Tymoo
As m uch as 20 percent o f
the salmon in the tribal freezer
is lost to freezer burn.
TribalCouncil vice-chairman
Ron Suppah may have found a
solution to the problem, when
he was in tro d u c e d to M ark
Whitham.
C o u n cilm an Suppah m et
W hitham through a contact at
the Columbia River Inter-tribal
Fish Commission. Whitham is
a seafood specialist with Oregon
Sea G rant Extension.
Suppah and other represen
tatives o f the tribes visited the
seafood development lab at the
O SU E x p erim en t Station in
Astoria to learn from Whitham
advanced preservation methods.
“G rant funding applications
were submitted in the past two
years,” secretary-treasurer Jody
Calica said. “The last one was
close, b u t n o t fu n d ed . T h e
USDA wanted us to subm it a
planning grant application to
assess doing a phased fish/sea
food and meat processing facil
ity. We will try again.”
The proposed facility on the
reservation w ould use re to rt
pouches to preserve traditional
foods. T here is even talk o f
packaging Chinook salmon for
sale o ff the reservation.
“T aking care o f o u r fish
right away is very im portant,”
Fish and Wildlife C om m ittee
Chairman Bruce Jim said. “The
m eat could be vacuum-sealed
and then frozen. Then when we
need them, we have them. That
can save a lot.”
Jim said the product could be
used to teach tribal members the
traditional way o f making pow
dered salmon. “We could teach
classes on how to dry, can and
everything else. There could be
a certain amount o f salmon set
aside for tribal canning alone.
There could be salmon canned
for such things as the senior pro
gram , funerals, name-givings.
That’s how im portant this food
processing plant is.”
In time, Jim said, m ote foods
could be incorporated such as
roots and berries.
The Fish and Wildlife Com
mittee held discussions last week
with Whitham to go over a wish
list and the different scenarios
o f the proposed plant.
O ne idea is a 2400 square
foot facility, enclosing the equip
m en t to the existing freezer.
Another proposal was to utilize
the existing building for hanging
game and designing an entirely
new building. There is also talk
o f including a teaching area and
a m o re tra d itio n a l sm oking
house to be added later. The
p ro p o s e d p ackaging facility
could create as many as 18 jobs.
group received a g rant to
document traditions, language
and history o f that commu
nity, and teach tradition to
youth. Suzie Slockish, o f the
tribal language program, ac
cep te d th e g ran t fo r this
project. They plan on doing
demonstrations and sharing at
the Tygh Valley Fair.
The Washanaksha grants
are funded by the O regon
Cultural Trust. The goals are
fo prom ote tribal members’
u n d erstan d in g o f and in
volvement in cultural activi
ties, traditions, arts, ceremo
nies, language, dance, history,
and music.
The grants help with the
passing on o f tribal knowl
edge and practices to youth
o f the tribal community, and
to help youth feel m ore con
nected to the tribal culture.
Applications are available in the
fall and are awarded in Jan.
The next deadline to submit
items to the Spilyay Tymob
is Friday, Feb. 3.
Warm Springs St. & Hollywood Blvd.
Open Wednesday thru Saturday
k
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ph. 541-553-1041
At the Plaza - Open at dawn
Biscuits and gravy~ breakfast burritos,
Mochas, espressos, etc.
Lunch Specials, Deli Sandwiches
Call the deli at 541-553-2568.
Goldendale, Wa 98620
509-7734702
www.betterheadstone5.com
www.pioneerrock.com
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