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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2012)
February 22, 2012 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Page 2 Rich history of Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow Wash. Court upholds B y Duran B obb Spilyay Tymoo Earlier this month, members o f numerous tribes gathered at the Sim nasho Longhouse for th e T h irty -F o u rth A n n u al Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow. There is a rich history behind the celebration that stretches back to the days o f the atwais N e ttie Shawaway, Sylvia W allulatum, M atilda M itchell and Herb Stwyer Sr. The celebration began as a simple social gathering, Mackie Begay to ld K W S O ’s M arge Kalama in a recent interview. Through the years, the celebra tion has focused on children, veterans, elders, and recovery from drugs and alcohol. “The elders raised funds all year for the powwow,” Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham recalls. “Every year, my pusha [grandfather] d o n a te d a cow to feed th e people. Everyone brought food. A visiting elder was usually hon ored with gifts and a traditional give-away.” The celebration became an annual event w ithout a name until the atwai Stwyer, while serving on tribal council, trav eled to Washington, D.C. While touring the national monuments, the atwai became intrigued w ith the history o f Abraham Lincoln. Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay Dancers at this year’s Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow. Born on February 12, 1809, Lincoln was reared in a poor frontier family. Self-educated, he went on to become a lawyer and served a term in the House o f Representatives. At the age o f 51, he secured the Republican nomination for presidency. W hen the so u th ern states declared their secession to form the Confederacy, Lincoln held the U nion tog eth er and p re vented British recognition in the territory. In 1863, he signed the E m an cip atio n P roclam ation, Meetings set on 2012 KNT salmon bake season The annual pre-season meet ings for the 2012 Kah-Nee-Ta salmon bake are coming up. There will be a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.; and another on Saturday, March' 3 at 9 a.m. The meetings will be in the H eH e Room at the re sort. Cooks, dancers and drum mers are invited. In terested tribal m em bers must attend one o f the sched uled meetings to discuss require ments and complete appropri ate paperw ork in order to be included in the 2012 salmon bake season. For more information, please call H eather Cody, convention services coordinator, at 541- 553-1112 ext. 3436. passing the Thirteenth Amend ment to the Constitution, abol ishing slavery. Six days after General Rob ert E. Lee surrendered in the south, Lincoln became the first president to be assassinated. Ten years after W arm Springs b e cam e an In d ian reserv atio n , John Wilkes Booth shotLincoln at Ford’s Theater. “It was atwai Herb Stwyer Sr. who gave the powwow its name,” Stwyer-Pinkham said. “Keep in mind that back in those times our elders maintained a strong culture o f humility, compassion, kindness and generosity.” “O ne o f my favorite memo ries was when W hipman Oliver Kirk led my boys—Josiah and Curtis^—onto the dance floor,” Sarah Frank said. “It was also the year my little sister, Eileen, was crowned Miss Lincoln’s. My m om just had surgery, but she joined them on the floor. It was amazing.” In an interview with William Robbins, atwai Rudy Clements explained th at these types o f celebrations are crucial to tradi tion. “It preserves our tribal Indian ways, all aspects— in the best way we can. It shows pride in ourselves, family, and in the children especially. We show pride in our seniors, veterans, people who have turned their lives around and become alco hol free. We express our self- g o v ern an ce an d o u r so v e r eignty.” The celebration takes place every second week in February. “M ark your calendars and spread the word,” Mackie Begay said. “We put all this together in one little building. There’s 500 to 600 people jammed in there, g so show up on time, or you’re going to be late.” Some guests at the powwow this year traveled from as far away as Manitoba, Canada. Invitation The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is extending an invitation to attend the Twenty-Second Honor Seniors Day on May 11 at the Agency Longhouse. For inform ation, contact the Senior Citizens Dept., PO Box C, Warm Springs, OR 97761. You can also call the office at 541-553- 3313, or 553-3520, or 553- 3390. Lodging available at Kah-Nee-Ta, 1-800- 554- 4786. Senior staff email: paiutewewa@yahoo.com tribal fishing rights (AP) — Washington state wildlife authorities had no right to cite a Yakama N a tion fisherman for catching undersized fish at a Colum bia River tribal fishing site, the W ashington Suprem e C ourt ruled last week in a split decision. The Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs had filed a brief in the case, supporting o f the fisherman. T he case stem s from a 2008 citation at the Maryhill Treaty Fishing Access Site, one o f several, sites set aside by Congress exclusively for five N orthw est tribes to ex ercise th eir treaty fishing rights. The state had argued it rightfully assumed criminal jurisdiction there, b u t the high court disagreed in a 6-3 d ecisio n fro m O lym pia, Wash. “The state lacks criminal jurisdiction at Maryhill be cause the treaty fishing access site is tribal land, established and reserved by C ongress for the exclusive use o f tribal members,” the court wrote. In 1998, Congress estab lished several fishing sites along the Columbia River to replace accustom ed tribal fishing areas that had been previously guaran teed by treaty but were destroyed by dams. A t the Maryhill site, state wildlife officials cited Lester Ray Jim, an enrolled Yakama, on June 25, 2008 for unlaw fully retaining undersized sturgeon. Jim caught five undersized sturgeon in his gill net while fishing commercially from the Maryhill site, and said he planned to follow tribal prac tice and release the live fish to the river from shore. Sturgeon can survive out o f water for several hours. Both state and tribal laws bar fishermen from retaining undersized sturgeon, but only state law requires that the u n a u th o riz e d fish b e re turned to the water immedi ately. Jim filed a m o tio n , in K lick itat C ounty, D istric t Court, challenging the state’s jurisdiction to prosecute him. The court dismissed the case, and the state appealed. Higher courts alternately ruled in b oth sides’ favor, with the state ultimately appealing a W ashington state C ourt o f Appeals ruling to the high Court. T hree justices dis sented. Creation o f an Indian res ervation must be “m ore pur poseful” than simply autho rizing the Army to purchase sites and improve them for fishing access, Justice Charles K. Wiggins wrote. W ith Warm Springs, the N ez P erce, U m atilla and Colville tribes, all o f which also have rights to fish at those sites, filed briefs in sup port o f the Yakama case. Tribes receive Housing grant The Warm Springs Housing Authority has received a grant o f more than $1.5 million from the U.S. D epartm ent o f H ous ing and Urban Development. Seven other tribes in Oregon received Indian Housing Block G rants, which totaled alm ost $14 million. T h e m oney will go toward housing development, housing services, crime preven tion and safety, and other pro grams that help solve affordable housing problems. READ to SUCCEED! More literacy. More choices. School Bond Update Music For Our Schools! Last month a community facilities planning committee came together with a goal to improve our school facilities while maintaining the current yearly tax rate. The committee met this goal with a proposed school bond recommendation that was accepted by the school board on January 30th. On February 13th, the school board approved the $26.7 million school bond. On May 15th, Jefferson County voter ballots are due by mail and a Warm Springs referendum vote will take place. If passed by local voters, the school bond will fund new school buildings and upgrades to existing buildings and athletic facilities in our district. This current school year, Ethos Music Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of music and music-based education for youth in rural communities, sent three talented music teachers to our school district. They have been providing singing and music education to our students. ■ Half of a new school building in Warm Springs (remaining half to be funded by the Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs); This month, Ethos Music Teacher Blythe Olson partnered with Metolius Elementary to host two Winter Concerts that brought in more than 400 friends and family members. Olson has been working to make sure that each classroom enjoys 30 minutes of music education, two times a week. She also offers private music lessons afterschool. ■ An auditorium/performing arts center at Madras High School for use by the entire district and community; ■ Upgrades to all of the school buildings to enhance safety, save energy and improve efficiency to reduce future operating costs; and Here are a few highlights from our Ethos program: Oregon Trail Family Night Ethos Music Teacher Laurel Crafton recently partnered with Buff Intermediate to host an Oregon Trail Family Night on February 9th. More than 250 students and family members came to celebrate with pioneer songs, dances, games and crafts. They made yarn dolls and whirligigs, and experienced Oregon Trail stories brought to life in movies and computer games. Families enjoyed rice pudding and cornbread provided by OSU extension nutrition services. They also dressed up as pioneers and had their pictures taken. Winter Concerts Warm Springs Elementary On February 24, Blythe Olson will be heading to Warm Springs to share music with our WSE students for the remainder of the year. ■ Upgrades and improvements to district wide athletic facilities. Jefferson County School District W inter concerts brought in more than 400 friends and family members. 445 SE Buff Street, iliadras, OR 97741 i Î « <
