E Coosh E E W A : The way it is
Page 4-
Spilyay Tymoo February 22, 2012
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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.
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' 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 '''
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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.
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