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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2012)
P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Spilyay Tym July 25, 2012 Coyote News, est. 1976 ECRWSS Postal Patron SO C^ '.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Voi. 37, I July - Pat’ak-Pt’akni - Summer - onatm 50 cents Tribes, district break ground on new school “I truly believe this will benefit our children,” said Councilwoman Lola Sohappy. “I can see so many opportunities coming from this for our children.” Middle school students will spend less time on the bus, she said, giving them more time to spend at school,, ■at school sports and with family.; Elementary school students will have a new school in a better loca tion, she said. Lola and husband D on Sohappy gave the invocation at the ground breaking. “I also want to thank the voters,” said tribal secretary-treasurer Jody Calica, adding too that the school has been a long time coming. B y Dave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo The twenty acres are now sage brush and juniper. But in the near future, “We’ll look on this site and see a new school for our young people,” said Laurie Danzuka, chair woman of the School District 509- J board. “Our kids deserve this,” she said. “It’s been a long-time coming.” The passage on July 10 of the Warm Springs school referendum, Danzuka said, “was a momentous occasion for the tribes, and I want to th ank the people o f W arm Springs.” D anzuka spoke during the ground-breaking ceremony last week at the new Warm Springs school site, at East Tenino and Chukar Road. The $20-million k-8 school will open for the fall term in 2014. Please see SCHOOL on page 10 Students and tribal leaders break ground during a ceremony at the new school building site. Dave McMechan/Spilyay < y- ¡ , , ' ' '■■■■' - ' . ' ~ ;■ , 7 _______________ _________________ ___________________________________ Many jobs with restoration program The phase 2 settlement money is being put to good use in two ways. First, the settlement money is being used for important natural resources restoration work. And second, the phase 2 money is being used for significant employ m e n t am o n g tribal m em bers. The tribes received thè phase 2 settlement in 2009. This was com pensation from the federal govern ment for past mismanagement of tribal natural resources. About $29 million of the" phase 2 settlement was dedicated to natural resource restoration work. Another roughly $5 m illion was designated for baseline studies of natural resources. There are now about 100 crew members working on restoration projects made possible through this program , adm inistered by the Branch of Natural Resources. Nearly all o f die crew members are tribal members, with a few ex ceptions in cases of people married into the tribe who are. supporting tribal member children. , Last year, between 60 and 65 members were employed in resto ration work through the setdement fund. This year the number is higher by 40 employees, as Tribal Council directed that crews be increased to help during the hard economic times. Some of the crews are working in high country on huckleberry habi tat restoration, through reduction of competing vegetation. Some crews are doing trail restoration work. Others are working on forest health projects such as hazard fuel reduction, which eventually would allow, fori under-burn forest treat ment. O ther are working on re building fencing, and removal of noxious weeds. The crews start their work day early in the morning, gathering be fore 6 a.m. at Natural Resources. They can then work a full day be fore the full heat of the afternoon. — Dave McMechan Fisher’s Expo on Friday The Columbia River Indian Fisher’s Expo is this Friday, July 27 at H ood River. The expo is sponsored by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis sion. The event and meals are free for all Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla and Nez Perce fishers. The expo is from 7:30 a.m. to . 5:30 p.m. at the Best Western H ood Rivet Inn. A new feature this year will be the School of Fish, stations for kids 7 and up to lsarn about salmon, fishing safety and sci ence. For more information call 503-238-0667. Summer powwow at Simnasho The Simnasho com munity is hosting the Hot Summer Night Pow wow this evening, July 25. There will be a fun run and walk in addition to the powwow. The Fun Run is at 10:30 a.m. starting at the powwow grounds. A potluck bar becue dinner begins at 6, social dancing and singing at 7. Drum mers, please bring your own chairs. Roots tradition lives through family dedication B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo M argaret Suppah and her fam ily gathered the camas roots about two weeks ago at Pop’xle Meadow. Pop’xle, meaning “powdery,” refers to the kind of light sandy soil in the meadow, said Marga ret. In the winter, she said, the meadow becomes a shallow lake, and in the summer the ground is ideal for camas roots. The family gathered the roots for about a week earlier this month. They would start early in the morning, before breakfast, in order to dig as many as pos sible before the day became too h ot With camas roots they gather when the plant is in bloom with a purple flower. This is impor tant because there is another variety with a white flower that Dave McMechan/Spilyay Margaret Suppah cleans the camas roots before cooking is poisonous. Once the plants are no longer blooming they appear identical, so it is critical to gather when the flowers are in bloom. When the family was done gath ering, they brought the roots to their camp at Log Springs. Cleaning the roots took a few days. Gathering the various plant leaves, used in the traditional cook ing method, took another couple of days. Cooking the roots-—in a pit with heated rocks and fire on top— took another three and a half days. In all, “You have to give yourself to the roots for about two weeks,” said Cassimera Rhoan, who this year is learning the tradition. Margaret Suppah, as the elder, is teaching the tradition to the fam ily, said Wanda Van Pelt. Margaret learned the tradition from her atwaiaurit Annie Yahtin. From earlier elders there are ac counts o f many root gatherers at Pop’xle Meadow. These accounts are from the early 1900s. “T h ere w ould be cam ps all through the meadows where the roots are gathered,” Wanda said. These days, only a precious few continue the tradition. This year BRINKMANN BBQ GRILL GIVEAWAYS Thursdays in July at 8pm and 10pm See page 14 for. other exciting offers. Margaret and her family were the only ones who camped at the meadow for camas root-gather ing. A later harvest .The family has noticed an in vasive w eed grow ing in the meadow, wreaking Some o f the root areas. The weed first appeared sev eral years ago, Margaret said. An earlier effort to bum it was help ful for a while but the weed is spreading again. The camas roots were ready for gathering later in the sum mer than in earlier times, a trend the family has noticed over the past few years, said Wanda. This year the roots were ready about a month later than usual. But, she said, it was a good year for the camas roots, and the family gathered a great many of them. See ROOTS TRADITION on 10 » . Indian Hea^ C A S IN O Highway 26, Warm Springs
