Septem ber 5, 2012
Spilyay Tyrooo, Wgrm Springs, O regon
P ggeS
Sen. says Crooked River law
would not drop reservoir level
Shoulder Work
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Construction finished up a second part of the Highway 26 work by Indian Head Casino. While this work was going
on, workers from Natural Resources cleaned up the trees and bushes along the highway by the Museum at Warm
Springs.
(AP) - U.S. Sen. Je ff
Merkley said legislation he is
sponsoring that aims to divide
the water from the Crooked
River among stakeholders
would not be expected to sig
nificantly decrease the water
level in Prineville Reservoir.
T he bill, supported by
C onfederated Tribes o f
Warm Springs, would allocate
more water for the city of
Prineville, allow for a hydro
electric project below the res
ervoir, and guarantee water
supplies for irrigators.
Sen. Merkley spoke last
week to more than 50 Crook
County residents. Many of
them were worried that the
senator's bill would drain the
popular boating and fishing
lake.
Besides the tribes, the bill
has the support of environ
mental groups, irrigators, the
city of Prineville and Crook
County officials.
The bill is co-sponsored by
Sen. Ron Wyden. The house
in June passed a similar bill
spon so red by Rep. G reg
Walden.
Merkley's bill calls for the
Bureau of Reclamation, the
tribes and the Oregon D e
partment of Fish and Wild
life to decide how much wa
ter— and w hen— is sent
downriver from the reservoir
to benefit fish.
It's in the best interests of
water managers to keep the
lake full, Merkley said. If the
reservoir is drawn down one
year to benefit fish there
could be insufficient water
for the fish the following
year, he said.
More News from I i ’3n Country
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Burial ground developed as historical park
FAIRBANKS, Ind. (AP) -
The whirring sound of saws
filled the air, but underneath,
one could hear the beating of
a drum.
M inim um -security o f
fenders from the Wabash
Valley Correctional Facility
were cutting w ood, deep
along the back roads of ru
ral Fairbanks w here the
Sullivan County American
Indian Council Inc. has estab
lished a heritage site now re
ferred to as Waapaahsiki
Siipiiwi.
Hugh Oxendine, a mem
ber o f the council and of
Lumbee Indian ancestry him
self, was out helping clear the
wooded site, excited about
future developments there
which include a museum,
council headquarters and
youth cam pgrounds. The
group hopes to have those up
and ready by next spring.
“T here’s a lot o f really
neat things happening out
here,” he said near the
mulched trails leading toward
an ancient mound.
1 ,5 0 0 y e a rs a g o
Last April, archaeologists
from Indiana University vis
ited the mound in conjunc
tion with the council, per
forming a dig at the site now
believed to have been a
K ickapoo Indian burial
ground in use 1,500 years ago.
The archaeological team
found nearly 600 artifacts
while there last year.
Sen. John Waterman, R-
Shelburn, walked through the
woods wearing bibbed over
alls, as he has since the project
got under way a year and a
half ago.
O f E uropean ancestry
himself, Waterman said simi
larities between thé spiritual
traditions of Native Ameri
cans and Christians seem
quite apparent to him.
In fact, during the tenure
o f P resid en t T hom as
Jefferso n ,
explorers
Meriwether Lewis and Will
iam Clark w ere com m is
sioned to find evidence link
ing Native Americans to the
“Lost Tribe o f Israel,” he
noted. Today, some evidence
suggests a DNA link between
Hebrews and Native Ameri
cans, he said, expressing his
appreciation for the stories
and lore of both.
Among the artifacts dis-
covered at the site were a
Colt revolver from 1860, deer
antlers w ith carvings, and
pottery which carbon-dated
back 1,500 years. It’s believed
the Kickapoo Indians built
the m ound for ceremonial
purposes, and other groups
have used it since.
“Long before Terre Haute
was even a dream in
someone’s head,” he said.
In homage to those tradi
tions, the 10-acre site is be
ing worked into a historical
park. Entering the camp site
from the road, one ap
proaches a hand-made over
pass leading to the mound.
T he trail is covered with
woodchips, lined by railroad
ties donated by Indiana Rail
Road. And along the path,
beneath a canopy of trees,
the “7 Grandfather Teach
ings” are carved' into signs:
truth, humility, honesty, brav
ery, respect, love and wisdom.
Medicine Wheel
But it isn’t until one gets
to the giant mound that be
comes visible the “Medicine
Wheel” built by council vol
unteers and inmates from the
Wabash Valley Correctional
Facility. The circle, 70 feet in
diameter, contains a cross di
viding it into four equal parts.
“It’s basically a spiritual in
strument to guide their lives,”
Waterman said, explaining the
symbolism o f seasons, ele
ments and faith. “These old
medicine people are very in
teresting people.”
Cerem onies have been
conducted there recently and
more are planned, he said.
D uring “the g randfather
drum” ceremony, the vibra
tions of hundreds of drums
lining the circle draws the at
tention of eagles, he noted.
“There were three eagles
the last time we did it,” he said.
Working on the grounds
provides him a sense of calm
he finds comparable to that
During “the
grandfather drum”
ceremony, the vibra
tions o f hundreds o f
drums lining the
circle draws the \
attention o f eagles...
of leaving church. Similari
ties abound between Judeo-
Christian traditions and those
of the Native Americans, he
Said.
Oxendine said his Lumbee
ancestry com es from his
father’s side of the family,
stretching back to N o rth
Carolina. Today, about
35,000 people belong to that
tribe, he said. The owner of
C herokee D evelopm ent
Builders in Terre Haute has
helped access equipment for
the work being done at the
site.
“I’m kind of new to the
group,” he said, explaining
he’s been active less than two
years. “I’m an infant in learn
ing about my ancestry.”
As a state senator,
Waterman carried the Native
American Commission bill
through the Indiana Legisla
ture, a feat he recalled taking
three years to achieve.
Now defunct from “politi
cal issues,” he said it still ex
ists at the state level and
could prove valuable if prop
erly used. To access health
care per federal guidelines,
members of Native Ameri
can tribes must return to their
reservation, he said, adding
some 60,000 tribe members
reside in Indiana. With a func-
tio n in g N ative A m erican
Commission, those individu
als could establish health care
facilities or programs here in
Indiana, keeping those dollars
local, he explained.
In addition to money and
jobs, history too is at stake.
“Indiana means ‘Land of
the Indians’,” he said, point
ing out the educational ben
efits of working to maintain
that legacy.
And for the last year-and-
a-half, substantial work has
been under way.
The property was a thick
tangle of woods last April as
archaeologists dug into the
mound. But with the help of
inmates from the Wabash
Valley Correctional Facility,
more than 500 trees have
been cleared, trails blazed,
rails built and gates erected.
Resulting firewood has been
donated to area families in
need.
“It’s all volunteers and do
nations. Where there’s a will,
th ere’s a way,” W aterman
said. “I f it w asn’t for the
Wabash Valley Correctional
Facility, this wouldn't have
happened.”
Facility personnel Jacquie
Mize and Jeff Hancock had
eight inmates on a recent Sun
day, wearing safety equipment
as they mowed, chopped and
raked. With six to 10 inmates
each weekend since last April,
Hancock said the total work
hours donated add up to
19,968.
“T hey’ve cleared this
woods by hand,” he said.
Shovels, rakes and axes were
the primary tools of' choice
as men loaded dirt- in wheel
barrows and rolled it away.
“They really enjoy the hospi
tality of the people coming
out here,” he said.
Council m em ber Susan
BISMARCK, N.D.
(AP) — The D epart
m ent o f Justice has
awarded more than $1
million to four Native
American tribes in the
D akotas to enhance
sex offender registra
tion and notification
programs.
The North Dakota
congressional delega
tion announced last
week that the grants
have been awarded to
the Three Affiliated
T ribes
of
F o rt
Berthold, the Turtle
M ountain Band o f
Chippewa Indians, the
Standing Rock Sioux
Tribe and the Spirit
Lake Sioux Tribe.
The congressional
delegates say in a news
release that the tribes
will use the money to
help im plem ent and
comply with the Sex
Offender Registration
and Notification Act of
2006, which seeks to
close gaps and loop
holes in sex offender
registration and notifi
cation programs.
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O M P E T IT I V
C D f i ÌENCY
Legal Aid Services of Oregon provides free
assistance to low-income Oregonians in many
civil cases.
Speak with an attorney during drop-in hours
1 to 4 p.m. on the first Monday of the month
at the Warm Springs Community Action Team
building, 1136 PaiuteAve, Warm Springs. Or
call 385-6944 Monday through Thursday
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. (at lunch from
noon-1 p.m.)
Tribes get
$1 million in
DOJ grants
Petoskey said funds raised at
the ninth annual Pow Wow in
Shakamak State Park will go
toward Waapaahsiki Siipiiwi.
The site’s name comes
from the Miami Indians’ spell
ing of what locals now call
the “Wabash River,” she said,
explaining the substitution of
“p” for “b” revolves around
pronunciation.
Waterman said the annual
pow w ow regularly draws
more than 3,500 people into
the state park. Aside from
gate fees there, the event is
free to the public and is
scheduled for Sept. 15-16.
Petoskey noted that the
Sullivan County American
Indiana Council Inc. is a
501(c)(3) organization and
donations are tax deductible.
W hile
considerable
progress has been made since
last April, the group still has
more work to do and hopes
to have the museum and edu
cational programming up by
next April. In addition to 15
Native American vendors and
visitors from the tri-state area,
a family of Aztec heritage will
perform “fire dancing.”
“It’s just a wonderful fam
ily event,” she said.
, The council has leased
the property now known as
Waapaahsiki Siipiiwi from
In d iana-A m erican Power
since November 2007 and
recently signed an extension
g o o d th ro u g h 2022, she
said, meaning future genera
tions will be able to share in
the culture o f those long
past.
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