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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2012)
“I E Coosh EEWA: The way it is K-8 Pgge 4- Spilyay Tymoo April 18, 2012 Letters to the Editor By Duran Bobb T h e p o ssib ility o f a new school on-rez has stirred up strong opinions. O v er 20 years ago, C h ief D elvis H e a th first presented Spilyay th e id ea o f a Speaks new school to I___________ / the 509-J D is trict. “I was told at that time that Indians don’t pay taxes,” the C h ie f said a t th e re c e n t Simnasho D istrict Meeting. Five years ago, Tribal Coun cil set aside enough land for a new school with room for ex pansion. T he previous referen d u m that was passed on-rez was for a new k-5 school. The tribes would have spent up to $8 mil lion, and the school district w ould reim b u rse th ro u g h a rental agreement. Voters didn’t agree. “N ow we owe this to the fu ture generations,” Councilman JP Patt said. “There are 5,000 registered voters in Jefferson County. We have many voters in Warm Springs... This will be in your hands.” I f passed, the new school w o u ld be ready to o p en at Greeley Heights by the fall o f 2013. “We could have some say in the curriculum that is taught,” Patt said. “We could teach our history, our language, anything about our people other than just Lewis and Clark encountering us along the river..” ‘W e started working on this agreement two years ago,” chief operations officer Urbana Ross said. “We to o k som e o f the work that was laid out in 2009, when we were going for a stimu lus grant, which wasn’t approved. Now we’re continuing with that... I would like to see a school that fits our community.” Currently, there are 970 tribal m em ber students w ithin the 509-J School District. Ninety- seven are enrolled in kindergar ten. There are 53 students ready to graduate. However, oh av erage, only 35 tribal members will earn diplomas. ‘W e’re losing kids,” Ross said. “T h ey d o n ’t w a n t to go to school in Madras. It’s a choice they make.” A t the meeting, a main point in favor o f the new school was that some children wait for the bus before dawn and get home from school w hen it’s dark. According to Ross, there are some dollars identified for the project, and a supplemental bud get has passed a few weeks ago. Michael Collins confirm ed that the BIA has agreed to re imburse the tribes over a period o f time. To our people After two years o f service, I have resigned from my position as the Development Director at the Museum A t Warm Springs, a beauty and masterful presen tation o f our ancestors. T he museum itself has a wonderful and unique history o f its own as well, one to appreciate and acknow ledge, and may soon begin to thrive to even higher greatness. It has the potential, the opportunities are there, and the support has been granted. As individuals, we too are unique, unique in many ways, and connected spiritually in many others. Everyday has a miracle, n ot usually acknowledged for its existence, and everyday has an opportunity. It is up to us to believe the miracle o f our ex istence and reach for those op portunities, for we are the ulti m ate co n tro l o f o u r future. O nce you begin believing that your heights have been reached, you begin to settle into ‘where you are’ and the greatest poten tial o f ‘who you are’ will remain there as well. The opportunities will pass us by and only the ob vious miracles will be acknowl edged. Belief is a gift many o f us do not tap into. We Can believe in ourselves, projects, commu nities, tribes, initiatives, peers, and organizations. It is something to be nurtured because w ithout it, we are no longer living the h eig h ts o f o u r lives o r th e heights o f an organization per se. Proactivity is a word I’ve only learned in the last 8 years, mean ing “creating or controlling a situ ation by causing something to, happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.’’ It is a bold effort o f looking into the future to create a b etter o u t come. Yet, it can only be trig gered by belief in ourselves to control our future. Organizations fall victim to settling in to w here they are, what they are, and who they are. They become knowledgeable o f their surrounding and only tell the story o f how they got to that particular point o f rest. Some organizations take a bit bolder move and copy a bit o f the in terests o f other more proactive organizations. T hen there’s the highest o f proactive organiza tions, believing in their future, reaching for the possibilities, and seeking the miracle o f being the very best at what they do. The best thing about us as humans though, is that we are equals; with a spirit to beheve, an opportunity to grow, and a possibility to pursue. You must be done waiting for others to offer an opportunity, or else the possibilities will never awaken. We are individually unique with similar stories, but our spirit is our very own. And that spirit settles w hen we are done pursuing, and done grow ing So pursue the opportunities, seek the possibilities, and beheve in the miracle o f each day for tom orrow to gift you with en lightenment. Jefferson Greene For the fish To the Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs, My name is Wesley Richard Smith. I am a m em ber o f the Native American Student Asso ciation at Lane Community Col lege in Eugene. I would like to take this time on b eh alf o f m yself and the association to give thanks. T he N ative American Stu dent Association wishes to send acknowledgments o f our grati tude and respects to the Tribal Council, Fish and Wildlife Com mittee; as weh as the people o f W arm Springs for your assis tance. We came to you with a dona tion request for salmon to as sist feeding the people who at tended our Annual Lane Pow wow in December 2011. The Warm Springs tribes do nated 200 pounds o f salmon to our powwow, and the dinner was remarkable and fulfilling to ah the people w ho chose to eat. O u r pow w ow w ouldn’t have been the same w ithout our cul tural sustenance o f the salmon that was donated by the tribes o f Warm Springs. We have a strong belief in our Native club, and participat ing stu d e n t com m u n ities o f Lane, to keep our event as tra ditional as possible, ever remind ing us o f the way our peoples have always practiced this time together in the past and present. It made us proud to be able to feed the people attending some salmon, and having fed the people for free has always brought good energy and feel ings inside o f our circle at the powwow. We wouldn’t want our powwow any other way. T h erefo re we, th e N ative American Student Association o f Lane would like to send our 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. Wesley Richard Smith Sacred salmon The Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery was first proposed to be b u ilt in 1956 b u t was blocked till 1978. The Tribal Council told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that they could not bring in other salmon to start up the hatchery brood stock. Only the original salmon were used. The original intent this hatchery was specifi cally built only to m eet tribal needs. It is n ot an experiment station as it is now. O ur sacred salmon are being handled, fins removed, computer chips put in their nose area. There is no re spect for the salmon, there is no h o n o rin g o f th e sp aw n in g salmon. A bout one-third or less salmón are allowed above the hatchery, as they journey up to spawn. Where are the eels? The dolly v ard en s? T h e Smie? T he crawdads? I truly beheve that the way this hatchery is now run is the problem. W hat about the tribal needs in Beaver Creek, Mill Creek, Warm Springs River, the Deschutes River? D o any o f us care anym ore? A re the salmon sacred or are they just words? Terry Courtney Jr. Memories A t the beginning o f my 32- year career in the B ureau o f Indian Affairs in the summer o f 1 9 5 0 ,1 was employed as a day school teacher at the Cherry Creek Day School on the Chey enne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The school was lo cated 110 m iles fro m the A gency an d a b o u t 40 m iles south o f Dupree, South Dakota. O n the reservation lived a community o f some 300 souls, including one man who was at w hat he called, “C u ster’s last staff meeting at Little Big Horn,” and a family o f six w ho were survivors o f the Wounded Knee Massacre. Sadly, this man and says, “Precious memories, how his family died that winter from they finger...” tuberculosis. Before their pass Sincerely, ing, they related their stories to Doyce L. “Spec” Waldrip. me, stories I have never forgot ten. I worked at the Cheyenne A gency before the M issouri River dams were constructed, and then I saw the devastation they caused in the fives o f those who lost the lowlands that were so m uch a part o f their fives when I moved to Fort Totten, N orth Dakota. Next, I moved to Seminole Agency in Florida. Finally, I Saw a parallel impact in another tribal comm unity w hen I m oved to Warm Springs Agency at a time shortly after the Columbia River dams wiped out the economy and livelihood o f the Treaty Fishing Tribes o f the Columbia Basin. Within three or four weeks after my assignment as superin tendent at Warm Springs, I was A p ril 18, 2012 called to a meeting, along with On this day Harvey Jim ’s fam tribal leaders, in Olympia, Wash., ily would like to wish him a very to discuss treaty fishing issues Happy 69 th birthday, for you have with representatives from Wash been very good fo r us and to us. ington state and other interested Thank you. A l l our love, Love U - Eli%a Brown Jim; parties. I drove Chief N athan H e a th , C h ie f N e lso n Marella and Leonard, Terry and W allulatum , O lney P a tt and fam ily; L eir and Pearl fam ily; Charlie Jackson to the meeting. Marella Robert family; Chet and As I had been taught by the boys; Lillie, Cowboy and Chato; Lakota, you learn by listening. Tiger, Tates and family; Wolfman So I drove and listened. D riv and family; Tracy, Kayla; Eli%a- ing along the Columbia Gorge Rego family, your Shalissa. Highway, we watched the Co lum bia River flow over w hat used to be the livelihood o f the treaty tribes, and they discussed the good times. W hen we approached the area where Cefilo Falls used to be, they asked me to stop. We got out o f the car and stood on the edge o f the road, and they April 27, 2012 Love to you Harvey on talked and for a time relived that era when each o f them had lived our Tenth A nniversary. there during the fish runs, and Thank you for being here o f times w hen fife was good. for us and with us. Do take E ach o f them told stories o f care of Conniger. My love, your wife Eliza Brown Jim sadness and laughter. I w a tc h e d , liste n e d an d #77. learned as they kidded each April 27, 2012 Love you, m y w if e a n d other, and reminded each other o f friends w ho had passed and family, on our Tenth An days that will never return. They niversary. Thank you for remembered, and today So do this 10 years. We will have I many more. Love to m y Wishes... Those opportunities to listen to stories o f fives changed, and to learn from them, stay with me today. I am honored tovhave been an observer and partici pant in those events, and to be able to share them with other generations. As the old Spiritual family o f 10 years, Harvey M. Jim. To Justice Allen, W ish ing you the happiest birth day. Love you with all my heart, D ad Jarod. Indian Business Talk Good lessons as we go ka-chinging along By Bruce Engle Spilyay Tym oo (Coyote News, Est. 1976) gratitude to the people o f Warm Springs for the assistance that you have granted us with o f fish for the powwow. We also would like to thank Joanne Smith and Wendell Jim for transporting the fish here to Eugene for our occasion. Thank You. Loan officer W.S. Credit Enterprise Think o f ka-chinging as put ting money to use. T hat usually involves money changing hands— but not always. P iggy b an k s a n d en v elo p es might be exceptions. My eyes m ight have gone ka- ching w hen I got my first pay- check for bucking bales— at a penny a bale. That was when you could buy and send a penny postcard for a penny and First Class mail was three cents. D on’t ask how long ago it was. H ad I p ut some in a savings account, the bank would have gone ka-ching. The same would have h ap p en ed if I had p u t some o f that check in a 401-K. We didn’t have those in the 50s. W hen I spent it, which I did, cash registers w ent ka-ching. They were noisy in those days. . T h e n , fro m so m e o f the money I and others spent, the business owners and their em ployees got their chance .to save and spend— more ka-chinging. Parts o f two songs come to mind-—Money makes the world go round, world go round, world go round. M oney m akes the world go round— in the m ost delightful way: Earning it gives one a sense o f accomplishment; spending it wisely and saving some o f it can give some satisfaction and feel ings o f security. Preparation and generational thinking can make good things happen and continue to happen. I ’m talking here about par ents raising kids to do well in school, to be good workers, to the old ladies asking, “I s ____ be savvy spenders and savers doing well?” w hen they were and, to grow up and raise a gossiping. It was a standard question, bunch o f savvy ka-chingers. I have known successful ath maybe a religious question. . One o f our Klamath Creation letes to say “Preparation is ev Stories ends w ith the Creator erything.” There are sequences saying, “liv e well my people.” to the process. I sometimes w onder if our O ne way is for parents to be good workers and good money elders took that as both a wish managers. T h a t’s teaching by for us and a challenge. Preparing ourselves and the example. Asking kids, prom pting kids, children to meet the challenge and pushing kids to do well in is doable. It’s w orth doing. Why? school helps them to be better T he well prepared usually prepared to do well financially do well in fife. They tend to and otherwise. And then... Boy meets girl, they fall in becom e good people, accom love— Kazam!— set up house plished w orkers, and builders keepings-Ka-ching!— and start o f s tro n g fam ilies'. We see making and raising a new crop them living long, satisfying and productive fives. o f ka-chingers. And, they can help us when T hat also helps to keep the we grow old. world go round. I have a child’s mem ory o f
