P.0. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECRWSS
)stal Patron
April 4, 2012
Coyote News, est. 1976
Vol. 37, No. /
April - Hawit'an - Spring - Wawaxam
School measure prompts registration drive
B y D ave M cM echan
Spilyay Tymoo
The deadline to register to vote in
the upcoming May county election is
April 24.
T he May 15 ballot includes the
school district bond measure that would
fund half o f the construction cost o f
a new k-8 school in W arm Springs.
Tribal leaders are encouraging members
18 and over to register by the deadline,
if they have not done so already.
As o f earlier this week, there were
778 registered v o ters in Je ffe rso n
County precinct 14, which includes the
509-J school district area o f the reser
vation. The num ber o f voters in the
county overall is 9,412; so the reserva
tion voters clearly could make a sig
nificant difference in the election.
O ne o f the easiest ways to register
to vote is to go to the website: ,
Oregonvotes.org.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Proposed site of the new school, at East Tenino and Chukkar.
A person could also mail in the reg
istration form, or visit the county clerk’s
office in Madras.
The clerk’s office is expecting to mail
the ballots for the May 15 election by
April 27.
The proposed school bond would
raise a total o f $26.7 million. This
w ould fund a variety o f district im
provem ents, including a perform ing
arts center in Madras. The single-larg
est item could be the Warm Springs
school, which would cost o f a total o f
$18-20 million.
The bond would cover half the cost,
and the tribes would pay for the rest.
A t the same time as the county elec
tion, the tribes are planning a refer
endum o f the membership regard
ing the school proposal. To vote in
the referendum, a m em ber m ust be
21 or over, or married.
The idea for a new school serv
ing Warm Springs students has been
discussed for several years.' The
current Warm Springs Elementary
School is housed in form er BI A
buildings," some dating back to the
1930s. The location by the highway
is also an issue. For middle school
students, a local school would greatly
reduce the com m ute to and from
school.
The school district bond proposal
w o u ld re s u lt in no overall tax
increase for property, owners in the
district. This is true because the
bond that funded construction o f
the Jefferson County Middle School
is nearly paid.
Colorful Scene at Casino
S. Postage
’RSRTSTD
„ OR 97761
50 cents
New fishing
access site
opening
T he Columbia River tribes and the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Com
mission are hosting a ceremony in April
to open a treaty fishing access site.
The site is at Dallesport, in Klickitat
County, Washington. T he Corps o f
Engineers and the BIA will joins the
tribes and CRITFC at the opening cer
emony, set for Wednesday, April 25.
T he C orps o f Engineers was re
quired by law to acquire, develop and
transfer lands on the Columbia River,
to be used traditional fishing by the
Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs,
Yakama Nation, The N ez Perce, and
Confederated Tribes o f the Umatilla
Reservation.
The Dallesport site includes marine
structures such as a boat ram p and
floating boat dock, access road, fish
cleaning station, campground facilities,
among other im provem ents..
The ceremonies on April 25 begin
at 10 a.m. w ith the opening prayer.
Speakers include representatives o f the
treaty tribes, including Warm Springs
Chief Delvis H eath, who has been part
o f the D allesport access site project
since its inception.
O th e r speakers include Stanley
Speaks, B IA regional director; the
CRITFC executive director; and the
Portland District engineer o f the Corps
o f Engineers.
Following th e speakers, there will
be a presentation o f the Colum bia
R iver T reaty F ish in g A ccess Sites
Map. T here are fram ed m aps for
each o f the tribes. S
Veterans and
families at
HeHe in April
Courtesy of Indian Head Casino.
There are serious restrictions that apply to taking photographs inside
casinos. Security personnel will confiscate a camera from someone
taking unauthorized pictures inside the building.
There are a variety of reasons for this restriction. One reason is that
some of the people at the machines may not want their picture taken,
and their privacy must be respected, said Indian Head general manager
Ken Billingsley. The picture above is a properly authorized photograph,
showing the colorful interior design of Indian Head Casino.
Tribes mourn loss of elder
Councilwoman was
fluent in Sahaptin
W arm S p rin g s ■ trib a l eld er,
B ernice T. M itchell passed away
over the weekend.
Bernice began serving on Tribal
Council in 1955, when she replaced
James Palmer. She then w ent on to
serve eight more terms spanning 25
years.
Bernice also taught H ead Start
while the program was located at the
Community Center.
Fluent in the Indian language,
Bernice said in an interview last year;
“I belong to the Sahaptin language
people. The Sahaptins were one o f
the tribes that were brought here from
the Columbia River.”
Bernice was one o f the singers on
the album, Songs of the Warm Springs
Indian Preservation. O thers singing in
clu d ed E lle n S q u iem p h en , S usan
M oses, Ada Sooksoit: and A deline
Miller. T he album was released by Can
yon Records in 1975.
Bernice said many people stayed
with her family to learn the Indian lan
guage.
“It was fun to teach,” she said in the
interview. “They’d say it so different
than us. We’d say it over and over again.
W hen we w ent to school, we had to
leave that af hom e.”
B ernice rem em bered d uring the
boarding school days how difficult it
was to keep the language.
‘W e’d get full o f demerits and
have to clean our school house all
the time,” she said. “That’s how they
tried real hard to get rid o f our lan
guage.”
During the boarding school days,
Bernice remembered outbreaks o f
tuberculosis and smallpox.
“First thing they got rid o f was
the cover sets on the beds. They
burned them all up. But we made it
throughout that winter. N ow we get
a little snow and a hard wind blow
ing and we freeze. This whole world
ju st tu rn s o v er an d o v er— and
changes. T hat’s what our old people
say.”
— by Duran Bobb
T he Veterans and Family Healing
Circle Gathering will be held Thursday-
Sunday; A p ril 26-29 at th e H ehe
Longhouse.
O n Thursday, the longhouse will
open at noon for travelers, music and
storytell-ing. Friday, there will be a light
ing o f the healing fire, veterans honor
ing, flute playing, healing touch and
sweat lodge.
Saturday, will feature speakers, cer
emonies, a talking circle, sweat lodge,
silent auction and raffle. Sunday will
be a closing ceremony at 10 a.m. For
more inform ation call Larson Kalama
Sr. 541-553-3093.
Gearing up for fire season
Weather conditions this winter and
spring could result in a busy fire sea
son in the region, “We’re thinking it
could get hectic,” said R obert Medina,
dispatcher at Warm Springs Fire Man
agement.
There has been rain in recent weeks,
he said, b u t conditions earlier w ere
dryer than usual.
The region saw about 85 percent o f
its usual snow- and rainfall, according
to a recent irrigation district report.
The m ost recent fire season on the
reservation, specifically August-Sep
tem ber 2011, was one o f the busiest
in recent years. O ver 100,000 acres
burned on the reservation in the Cas
cade Complex fires.
Luther Clements at Fire Manage
m ent is organizing an emergency fire
crew that will be prepared to respond
to summer wild-land fires. This would
be a supplement to the existing agen
cies and crews.
Meanwhile, the fire camp crew train
ing courses at Fire M anagement are
coming up at the end o f this month.
Crew supervisors can contact Medina
o r William Wilson, assistant Fire Man
agement officer, 541-553-1146.
“We’re hoping to hear from the su
pervisors a week before the training,”
said Medina, “so we have an idea o f
how many crews we might have.”
Anyone interested in working on the
emergency crew can contact Clements
at the phone num ber above.
T he camp crew training this year
includes a physical fitness program.
Participants will be required to take a
three-mile pack test before taking the
classroom part o f the training.