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
« <