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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2012)
E Coosh E E W A : The way it is Page 4- Spilyay Tymoo February 22, 2012 ■■■ 70x7 By Duran Bobb Ray Jones moved to Warm Springs when he was a young man in 1964. H e started a fam ily and has become a familiar presence on the reservation. W hen he was 10 years old,' he taught himself to play the guitar and fo rm e d a Spilyay band. Speaks T h ro u g h th e years, he has ta u g h t h im se lf to play th e drum s, piano, harm onica and other instruments. Today, living on his retire ment, Ray plays the guitar and keyboard for the Full G ospel Churches in both Warm Springs and Oakville, Wash. O ver the past weekend, Ray and his family traveled to the Oakville Shaker Church, where many gathered to celebrate his m o th e r’s (K a th e rin e B arr) ninety-second birthday. W hen .the family returned to Warm Springs, w hat they found was shocking. “T he house was trashed,” Ray said. “D oors were busted in. And some things that I ’ve worked all o f my life gathering were gone.” Among the items stolen were the classic m aroon G retch and white Falcon guitars that Ray plays for the church. Also miss ing was a Yamaha digital key board. “The Gretch guitar was given to me as a gift, playing in the church,” he said. T h e in tru d e r also stole a 1983 Nissan pickup. This ve hicle was stopped around 1 a.m. by tribal police on Friday, Feb. 18, driven by a non-m em ber, last name Bennett, The driver \yas issued a w arning and re leased. The vehicle was located, in operable and empty, in Sandy. “These are material things,” Ray said o f the items stolen from him. “They were provided to me for the work that I do for the church.” The music he plays and the songs that he sings in church have taught Ray a valuable per spective. ‘W e sing about for giveness,” he says. “The Word tells us n ot once or twice, but we have to forgive sev en ty times seven, if it comes to that.” Ray Jones is still able to see the bright side. “We still have our home on solid ground,” he said. “M ost im portant, we still have each other. Material things will come back to me, through grace. O ne day, I ’m going to play another guitar in church. But you can’t replace your soul.” (For descriptions o f the stolen items, please see the Tymoo Letters to the Editor Seniors Day The Confederated Tribes will host the Twenty-Second Annual H onor Seniors Day on May 11 a t th e A gency L o n g h o u se. H onor Seniors Day is heralded as one o f the first H o n o r Se niors in the Pacific Northwest. T he idea originated w ith a small group o f tribal elders who wanted an event especially for the elders. Through the years, H onor Seniors Day has grown into a major community event. T he average atten d an ce has been from 700-1,200 elders and guests who attend the day-long event. H onor Seniors Day is a time to showcase the local attrac tions, such as the M useum at Warm Springs, Kah-Nee-Ta, and Indian H ead Casino. The elders are given the op portunity to use their name tags from the H onor Day to gain free admission to the museum. A shutde service is provided to all points o f interest, as a courtesy during the day. Preparing for the event, the H onor Seniors Day Committee is requesting a financial or other donation for prizes. For addi tional information, Contact the Senior Center, 541-553-3313, or 553-3520. Sincerely, Lucille Wilson, H onor Se niors Day Committee. requirements. There is also one non-Indian candidate that meets the minimum qualifications and, in fact, exceeds the qualifications o f all the candidates. The HR invites the three Indian candi dates and the non-Indian candi date for interviews. H R then destroys the application records o f the o th er five candidates w ho were determ ined to n ot m eet th e m inim um req u ire ments. (Thus assuring any inves tigation by the contracting of ficer or the inspector general will be very difficult.) A hiring committee conducts the interview along with the HR director, the tribal administrator and tribal attorney. They vote after the last interview to hire the non-Indian candidate. The record o f their vote is trans ferred to the theoretical tribal council who take takes official action to hire the non-Indian candidate. The tribe has a w rit ten policy a n d /o r ordinance which give qualified “tribal” can didates first preference to quali fied members o f other tribes. Has this tribe properly followed the law (tribal and federal) in hiring the non-Indian candidate? The answer is a resounding “no.” What should have happened? O nce H R had two or more “Indian” candidates that meet the minimum qualifications, it should only have set interviews with the Indian candidates and the non-Indian candidate should have been kindly thanked for his application and invited to apply again for o th er positions for w hich he m ight be qualified. Theoretical tribes should have then selected one o f the inter viewed Indian candidates for the position o f chief judge. In fact, the theoretical tribe is not re quired by law to interview the non-Native applicant if two or more Indian candidates m et the minimum qualifications. Theoretical tribe did not only violate the law this time but has been doing s for years. As a re sult, m ost o f its top manage m ent and executive positions have been filled by non-Indians. This includes chief judge, asso ciate judge, tribal attorney, chief o f police, tribal health director, clinical director and two princi pal staff members assisting the tribal chairman. O ne o f the Indian candidates called the Tribal Em ploym ent Rights Office (TERO) to inquire as to how to file a complaint, only to find out the TER O di- rector is a non-Indian. I ’ll note that theoretical tribes is not at all “theoretical.” It exists and is still engaged in violations o f both its own and federal law. Obviously, the tribal attorney is well aware o f the violations, but for some unknown reason has not advised the tribe that it is violating federal law and self- governance com pacts pro v i sions as well as tribal law. Amos Switzler Thank you! We would like to send out a big “Thank You” to those indi viduals w ho purchased neck laces a n d /o r candy cups for Valentine’s Day. We h o p e th e V alen tin e brightened someone’s day. With ;your generosity, we were able to raise $329 for the club. The m oney will be used for club m aterials a n d /o r su p p lies throughout the school year and summer program. We would also like to thank our volunteers for donating their time to make the necklaces and also donating other materials. As always, your efforts are greatly appreciated! Wishes... To o u r so n , W aylon M c K ie W e a selh ea d (aka B u ffa lo e R y d e r ), H a p p y B e la te d V a len tin e’s D ay. You are lo ved and m isse d b y all. You’re always in our th o u g h ts and p ra y ers ev eryday, son . M uch lo ve, M om an d D a d , g ra n d so n D ev o n G /B W ea selh ea d , K e n d ra W olfe, K e n d a ll Florez, Blake Weaselhead, th e W easelh eads an d the Wolves. It has been a wonderful blessing io be m arried to Vernon Squiemphen fo r 13years. My hus band, my love - I know that, le gally, we've only been married fo r three years. I guess that’s what happens when you pick leap year to say you r vows, huhl Happy an niversary! LRaye Picard Squiemphen. ’ ( ' y : ' ? : - , J \ Thank you fo r writing to . the Spilyay Tymoo. The next deadline fo r submissions is Friday, March 2. Thank you ! N V ''' _________ > Staff and club members Memorial Special at Lincoln’s Preference law Indian Preference: I t’s the law. The tribal Hum an Resources D epartm ent (HR) o f a theoreti cal tribe advertises nation-wide and on its website is that the position o f chief judge is open and solicits application from qualified candidates. The position announcem ent also states the position is sub ject to tribal and Indian prefer ence. Theoretical tribe is a “com pacted” tribe under P.I. 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, meaning it has contracted with the United States governm ent functions previously carried out by the U.S. government. The theoretical tribe receives the majority o f its funding for the judicial system under a con tract with the BIA and supple ments the judicial budget using tribal funds m ostly from the casino and resort. The theoretical tribe H R re views all the applications and determines there are no “tribal” applicants that m eet the mini m um qualifications but there are three non-tribal “Indian” candi dates that m eet the minimum classifieds.) Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay At the Honor Dance for atwai Laritta Greene, family shared pictures and dresses made and worn by Greene. From left: Norene Greene, Eugene Austin Greene Jr., Norene Sampson and Shaylene Boise, wearing jingle and fancy dresses made by Greene. These are the results o f L aritta G reen A ll-A round Special at the Lincoln’s Birth day Powwow: First, Acosia Red Elk o f W arm S p rin g s; se c o n d , Shibabe H odge o f . Tahlequah, Okla.; and third, Bobbie Lynn Frederick o f B elcourt, N o rth Dakota. And these contestants also (in o rd e r o f th e ir score): S tar W hiteye o f L o n d o n , O n t., C anada; Jo s e tte W ahw asuck, M ayetta, K an.; Susie Walsey, Renton, Wash.; Sadie Heemsah, H arrah, Wash.; Paula Shebala, C ouer d ’A lene; Alyssa Buck, Priest Rapids, Wash.; Irene Paskemin, Wapato, Wash.; Pat H e e m sa h , Y akam a; C ece Walsey-Begay, Satus, Wash.; and S haam ute 'A zure, Toppenish. A Important information from Vital Statistics 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. The Vital Statistics D epart m ent can no longer use a “c /o Vital Statistics” address. The department has received a new directive, which is to not address tribal m em ber checks as “c /o Vital Statistics.” I f you are a tribal m em ber w ho has been receiving mail at “c /o Vital Statistics,” you must come into the Vital Statistics of fice and change your address ef fective immediately. Update: adoption e n ro ll ment application. A doption enrollments forms may need to be updated. I f you received a letter to update your application, please submit. O ur office is still wait ing for some to respond to their letter. We are g o in g fo rw ard in working towards completing all the adoption enrollment forms. There is a small percentage that needs address update and we have no way o f contacting you, so if you have moved and not recently completed an address change form, please do so. O u r o ffic e h as receiv ed p h o n e calls ab o u t autom atic enrollment and adoptions; the inform ation below is quoted from the Constitution and By Laws: From the C onstitution and By-Laws o f the C onfederated T ribes o f th e W arm Springs R eserv atio n o f O re g o n ap proved February 14,1938. Ar ticle Ill-M em bership Section 2. Membership o f Descendants. (a) Every child o f one-fourth o r m o re In d ian b lo o d b o rn heretofore or hereafter to any One-hundred forty- six new enrollees over the past year. m em ber o f the C onfederated Tribes w ho m aintains a resi dence upon the Warm Springs Reservation at the time o f such birth shall automatically be en titled to membership. (b) Children born heretofore or hereafter to a m em ber or form er m em ber o f any o f the C o n fed erated T ribes o f the Warm Springs Reservation may be adopted as provided in Sec tion 3 o f this Article, upon ap plication by self, parent or guard ian. Section 3. Adoption. The members o f the Confederated T ribes o f the W arm Springs Reservation may by a majority vote, adopt as a mem ber o f the T ribe any p erso n o f 1 /8 or more Indian blood who is a de scendant o f a m em ber or form er mem ber o f the Confed erated Tribes: Provided that any person adopted into mem bership m ust have resided at least three years upon the Warm Springs Reservation, and shall not be a member o f any other tribe o f Indians. V ital Stats V ital S tatistics o f W arm Springs: We have 361 Senior Citizens. N ew Enrollees: In January 19, 2011 there w ere 4,964 tribal members. Today we have 5,110 tribal members, so we have grown by 146 new en rollees this past year. ■(
