Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2012)
Branch Matthew 1200 SW Park Ave. Portland OR 97205 Tymoo Coyote News, est. 1976 June 13, 2012 Voi. 37, No. 12 B y D ave M cMechan W arm Springs Pow er and Wa ter E nterprises released its 2011 annual rep o rt last week, and m et w ith Tribal C ouncil to review last year’s perform ance and next year’s projections. Pow er and W ater E nterp rises (WSPWE) is forecasting that 2013 will be a very challenging year. E nterprise revenues are influ enced by what happens in the N orth- west energy supply market, coupled with large capital requirem ents due to resource restoration projects that are a requirem ent in the federal li cense. For 2013, W SPW E is projecting to have no dividend to contribute to the tribal general fund. This is a major change from pre vious years. For instance, in 2011 and in 2012, the dividend from the enterprise was $2 million each year. In 2010 the dividend was close to $8 million. The highest dividend in recent years was in 2005, w hen WSPW E contributed $16 million to the tribal general fund. “ M a rk e t c o n d itio n s h av e changed and license requirements have forced us to focus on manag ing-cash flow very carefully” said Ralph Minnick, Power and Water board chairman. O ne o f the biggest impacts has been in the natural gas supply, said Jim Manion, Power and Water getj- eral manager. A new extraction process has al lowed natural gas companies to ex tract natural gas in areas never be fore thought feasible. This has cre ated a huge supply, driving the price o f natural gas down. Because natu ral gas is used to generate energy, this im pacts energy rates overall, which directly affects W SPW E rev enue potential, Manion said. A nd meanwhile, the N orthw est is developing alternative energy sources, such as wind power, fur th er w eakening the energy sales market, he said. A nd the previous two years have seen snowpack lev els well above average, which de creases the price o f hydro power. A t the same time, the. tribes are helping to fund a large-scale fish r e s to r a tio n p ro je c t o n th e D eschutes River. Some good news, Manion said, is that the fish restoration project is beginning to see results (see story below). O ver the past ten years, he said, “We have invested over $42 million in restoration w ork as a result o f owning a portion o f the Pelton Project.” T his com m itm ent to resto ration will benefit future gen eratio n s as we see a harv est yields in crease in th e low er D eschutes. The Pelton-Round Butte fa cilities also employ five tribal m em bers, he said. See WSPWE on 7 Adult salmon return to Upper Deschutes I t was a great day for the fu ture salmon and steelhead o f the upper- D eschutes River. “I t’s been 45 years' since these fish have been above the project,” said Bobby Brunoe, general man ager o f tribal N atural Resources. The salmon, he said, “are who we are, our spirituality.” T he six adult spring chinook salm on entered the river just above the Pelton-R ound Butte project last Friday, the first time adult migrating fish have been above the dams in 45 years. T h e fish h a d been collected below the dams, and then taken by truck to a spot on Lake Billy C h in o o k ju s t a b o v e R o u n d Butte. Officials from the tribes, P G E and state agencies were on hand for the event. “This is truly a blessing, an im portant day for our people,’’ said Leslie Bill, vice chair o f the tribal Fish and Wildlife Comm it tee. “We believe life goes in full circle,” he said, “and we have al ways believed the fish would be back one day.” T he tribes and their partner P G E have invested over $100 million into the fish restoration effort. This was a requirem ent o f the federal hydro relicensing o f a decade ago, w hen the tribes acquired a third ownership o f the facilities. The single m ost notable aspect o f the recovery project is the col lection tow er at the Round Butte dam, designed to draw the juvenile fish downstream through the lake. T he salmon and steelhead fish runs o f the upper D eschutes ended in the 1960s, w ith construction o f Pelton-Round Butte. An effort at including fish passage in the origi nal dam project never worked. T h e re is h o p e n o w th a t th e salmon and steelhead will return and one day establish a sustainable popu lation in upper Deschutes, Crooked and Metolius rivers. Among the first fish to return above the dams. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Larry Holliday, fisheries harvest management technician, prepares to release the six chinook fish. Pi-Ume-Sha to mark 157 years of Treaty T h e C o n fed erated T rib es o f W arm Springs, during the weekend o f Ju n e 22-24, will celebrate the F orty-T hird A nnual Pi-U m e-Sha Treaty Days. This year Gov. John K itzhaber may attend the powwow on Satur day, June 23, though his schedule was n o t yet confirmed as o f earlier this week. Some guests from E u rope, currently visiting O regon, are also planning to attend, according to the G overnor’s Office. Traditional Parade T he them e o f the 2012 Pi-Ume- Sha Traditional Dress Parade is Con tinuing on with Traditional Teach ing. O ver the past year, “We have lost im portant and great elder teach ers,” said Ram ona G reene Baez, parade coordinator. “B ut we m ust continue with tra- ditional teaching,” she said, “as our elders have taught us.” T here are cash prizes fo r best parade entries. Categories are: Walk ers, Traditional Floats, and H orse- back. Powwow dancers are given participation points for joining in the parade. P arade organizers are always looking for any person w ith a con vertible car w ho wants to partici pate: Some guests, such as form er Gov. Vic Atiyeh, may need a ride for the parade, Baez said. You can reach her at 541-553-2406(w); 460- 0088(c). T he Traditional D ress Parade is Saturday o f powwow weekend, with judging o f parade entries at 10 a.m. in front o f the elementary School. Parade line-up is at 10:30 and the parade starts at 11. T he first G rand Entry will be the ECRWSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 June -A tix a n - Spring - Wawaxam Challenging time for Power & Water Spilyay Tymoo P.0. Box 870 Springs, OR 97761 Friday o f pow wow weekend, at 7 p.m. G rand Entries will then be at 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. T he dance con tests are through the weekend. tion, contact Cassie Katchia at 5 4 1 -5 5 3 -0 2 0 3 (h ); o r 553- 2 1 2 8(w ); o r c o n ta c t L o u ise Katchia, 541-460-0224(c). For m ore contact inform ation see page 12 Boxing, rodeo, softball, golf, stick games 157 years ago T he W arm Springs Boxing Club will h ost Pi-Ume-Sha Boxing 2012 o n the Saturday o f powwow week end, starting at 3:30 p.m. in the com munity center gymnasium. T he rodeo is Saturday and Sun day, hosted by the Warm Springs Ro deo Association. Riders will also com pete in an E ndurance H orse Race. Stick games are throughout the w eekend at'th e pow wow grounds, with m en’s and w om en’s softball at the ball fields. For general powwow inform a Pi-Ume-Sha comm emorates the signing o f the Treaty o f 1855, signed 157 years ago this m onth. T he signing date o f the Treaty was June 25,1855. O ne-hundred and fifty-one tribal leaders signed the docum ent, after a three-day Council at T he Dalles. Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days be gan in the late 1960s. While com m em orating the signing o f the treaty, Pi-Ume-Sha also tradition ally honors the veterans and ser vice m en and w o m en o f the A rm ed Forces. 5 0 cents Sovereignty and taxes By Duran Bobb Spilyay Tymoo A c c o rd in g to trib al atto rn e y Howie Arnett, the IRS office in Port land is continuing to pursue a radi cal in te rp re ta tio n o f the federal co d e. A t th e sam e tim e, G ov. K itzhaber is pressuring O regon’s tribes to comply with the clean air act. A bout two m onths ago, the IRS asked tribal officials to surrender enrollm ent inform ation in order to pursue individual audits o f tribal m em bers receiving trust per capita payments. Instead, A rnett and sec retary-treasurer Jody Calica formally requested a consultation. “U nder the consultation execu tive order that has been in place for twenty years,” A rnett said, “federal agencies are required to consult with affected tribes.” T he request was denied, on the grounds that the issue was the sub ject in an IRS examination. The Yakarna N ation also received a simi lar request almost six m onths ago. N C A I is now preparing its own consultation request with the IRS on behalf o f its 250 m em ber tribes. A rnett has helped draft a state m ent which will be presented to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on June 14. For m ore than half a century, the statem ent says, “W arm Springs has made very m odest payments to its membership... l viyslation established in 1983 prohibits federal and state taxation o f trust fund distribution. “M o reo v er, the co u rts m ade clear that the U.S. cannot benefit from the trust under its fiduciary adm inistration. Five years later, Congress passed the Indian G am ing Regulatory Act. B oth the House and the Senate reports per capita payments are n o t taxable.” W arm Springs has rejected the request for inform ation by the IRS and will continue to fight any change. A rn e tt also in fo rm e d T rib al Council earlier this w eek o f a plan by Gov. K itzhaber to make all trib- ally owned casinos smoke-free by the end o f 2013. T he g o v ern o r is p ro p o sin g a “glide in” period, during which tribal casinos will have the opportunity to comply with the Clean A ir A ct o f 2007. V ice-C hair R on S up p ah urged the governor to use restraint w hen seeking to infringe on tribal sovereignty, and invited K itzhaber to visit W arm Springs. “T he main issue is intrusion on the rez w ith state law,” JP Patt said. “It has to be our decision, n o t the state’s.” Banquet fo r 2012 graduates T he 2012 G raduation B anquet is set for Tuesday evening, June 19 at the Agency Longhouse. T he dinner is for students, their p a ren ts and family, recognizing 2012 graduates. This includes high school and G ED , college, graduate school, vo cation or technical school. To RSVP bring your diploma or certificate to Becky Picard at the Tribal Council office. D eadline is June 15, in order to get an idea o f the num ber o f people w ho will be attending. Congratulations, gradu ates!
