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Branch Matthew
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205
P.0. Box 870
Springs, OR 97761
Spilyay Tym oo
November 14, 2012
Coyote News, est. 1976
ECRWSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Voi. 37, No. 23
N o vem ber- Anaku Ipach’aanxa Yáamash
50 cents
Wasco Chief Smith joins Tribal Council
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
Chieftainship.
T he election was a decision of
the Wasco people as a previously
existing sovereign, pre-dating the
tribal C onstitution arid By-Laws,
Calica said before the swèaring-in
ceremony.
Wasco Elder Earl Tufti initiated
the cerem ony w ith a prayer and
e n c o u ra g in g c o m m e n ts. C h ie f
Smith then took the Tribal Council
O ath o f Office, as administered by
BIA W arm Springs Agency Super
intendent John Halliday. T he posi
tion o f C hief on Tribal Council is
held for life.
Wasco C hief A lfred Smith Sr.
joined Tribal C ouncil last week.
C hief Smith took the oath o f of
fice during a cerem ony o u tside
Council chambers, w ith many sup
porters on hand for the historic oc
casion. C hief Sm ith is now the
fourth Wasco C hief to serve his
people since the form ation o f the
m odern tribal governm ent in 1938.
- Chief Smith w on the recent elec
tion conducted among the Wasco
people, although he was n o t a sup
porter o f the election process. T he
successor to atwai C hief N elson
Wallulatum, w ho served for over 50
years, should have been chosen by
tribal, tradition, rather than by elec
tion, Chief Smith said.
Still, the election process ap
peared to be the only way to bring
about a consensus on the matter.
The Wasco Chieftainship position on
Council had been vacant for almost
two and a half years, while at least
five other people claimed a right as
successor.
In the end Chief Smith repeived
the m ost votes in the election p ro
cess, and Tribal Council acknowl
edged the result by resolution. Sec
retary -treasu rer Jo d y Calica ex
plained that Tribal Council was tak
ing recognition o f the decision by
the Wasco people, rather than- act
Background
Chief Smith was asked recently
fo r com m ents about his life and
background. The following is a brief
summary o f some o f his comments.
C hief Smith was b orn in Warm
Springs in 1940 to parents Lucinda
(Scott) and Alfred Smith Sr. He
grew up at Sidwalter. T he family
lived by ranching and farming. They
raised w heat and hay. In those days
they used horses for the plowing and
harvesting.
T hey h u n te d fo r fo o d , deer
mostly, and fished. “T here wete big
fish back then,” C hief Smith says.
A s a y o u th , he a tte n d e d the
boarding school in W arm Springs.
“It was like the military,” he says.
“We had to m arch w herever we
went.” A nd with the other students
he w ent to church three times a
week.
H e attended high school in M a
dras, and then joined the Army. H e
becam e an A irborne Ranger, and
studied field com m unication and
cryptology, the science o f de-eod-
ing encrypted messages. H e became
a radar operator, and then served
as guard for the base’s paymaster.
See C H I E F o n p a g e 12
Wasco Chief Alfred “JR” Smith
(picture at top) takes the Tribal
Council Oath of Office, as
administered by BIA Warm
Springs Agency Superintendent
John Halliday. Many people
showed up for the swearing-in
(picture at left).
ing to approve Chief Smith to the
Dave McMechan/Spllyay
Noree’s F
N o re e G uerin had a dream to open
her own business. O ver time she
had com e to love w orking w ith
P en d leto n fabric. She especially
loves, m ak in g P e n d le to n vests.
‘W h en I sew, I put pride and joy
into my work,” N oree says.
H er sewing technique is highly
professional. The stitching is hidden.
H er traditional Pendleton vests are
reversible. “You don’t w ant to p ut a.
lining in the vest because that would
cover the fabric. Pendleton fabric
is too beautiful to cover up,” she
says.
H er dream was to open a small
business specializing in Pendleton
fabrics. This is coming true with her
shop N oree’s Plume, opening soon
at the Warm Springs Plaza.
N oree has a unique wholesale
agreem ent with Pendleton Woolen
Mills. A t h er shop she will sell
Pendleton fabrics by the yard, and
will also offer finished items such
as the vests, blankets, purses and
hats. She will also offer classes on
how to make the traditional, vests.
N oree’s Plume will be the first
Pendleton oudet in Indian Country.
P en d leto n W oolen M ills had
been wanting a closer relationship
with W arm Springs, as the company
does a lot o f business am ong the
membership, N oree says.
K-8 School update
opening soon
Community forums
consider design aspects
Dave McMechan/Spllyay
Noree Guerin will be opening Noree’s Plume at the Plaza.
As a loyal custom er, she h ad
c o m e to k n o w th e p e o p le at
Pendleton W oolen Mills. They ap
preciated how m uch she really en
joys working with Pendleton fabric.
So N oree was the natural choice to
open the W arm Springs outlet.
Still, the decision to start N oree’s
Plum e was n o t on e to b e taken
lightly. N oree has worked for 35
years at the Warm Springs •Construc
tion enterprise, where she is the ac
countant
Quitting a long-time j ob and start
ing her own business w ould take
courage and determination. “B ut at
some point,” N oree says, “you de
cide to do w hat you like.”
See N O R E E ” S P L U M E o n 1 2
T he tribes have conducted
one com m unity forum on th e
design o f the new school, and a
second meeting is coming up in
December.
The design guidance team has
been approved. T he m em bers
are S c o tt K alam a, B rid g ette
S cott, A rlene B oileau, M avis
ShaWj Ashley Aguilar, Paulette
H en ry , W ayne M iller, L evi
VanPelt and June Smith. The
design guidance team is meeting
every Thursday from 1-3 p.m.
at the Credit Enterprise building.
A bout 40 people attended the
community forum last week. The
architect, EB T from Bend, and
the project manager, the Wenaha
G roup, were on hand for the
meeting.
C om m unity m em bers were
asked for design ideas, and any
other input they might have. ‘W e
heard the idea o f having a tru
ancy officer at the school,” said
C h ief O perations O fficer U r
bana Ross. ‘A nd we heard an idea
o f having school uniforms.”
Surprisingly, she said, the uni
form s idea came from some o f
the students themselves.
Comm ents from the comm u
nity have emphasized safety, said
Ross. Somë have com m ented
that the design should represent
the three tribes o f the reserva
tion, and there should be greater
emphasis on Native languages at
the new school.
T here should be plenty o f
basketball courts, and a swim
m ing pool, according to som e
w ho have comm ented.
The next com m unity forum
on the school will be on M on
day, Dec. 3, light dinner at 6 and
meeting to follow.
Starts in'spring
Construction o f thé school is
scheduled to begin in the spring.
The building phase will take about
14 months.
O ver the course o f that time,
the school construction will cre
ate about 200 local jobs. Some
o f the positions would be for a
sh o rter d uration th an the 14
m o n th s. T h e trib e s an d th e
school district are spending about
$10 million each on the W arm
Springs k-8 school.
See S C H O O L o n p a g e 12
THANKSGIVING THRILLS
I
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TÌS
Indian HEa|l
GIVEAWAY!
Win a 2 0 1 2 Ford Focus SE,
**
C A S IN O
**
See page 12 for details.
Highway 26, Warm Springs
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