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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2013)
Page 10 March 20, 2013 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Agency District Candidates Dabid Rodriguez Anita Jackson My nam e is A n ita Jackson; enrolled member o f CTWS, o f Wasco and Oklahom a Choctaw de scent. I was bo rn and raised h ere in W arm Springs and have lived on the reservation for m ost o f my life. Education - 1 attended Madras Elementary until WS Elementary opened, th e n a tte n d e d WS E l em en tary , M adras Jr. High, 2 years at Madras Sr. High, and graduated from St. Helen’s Hall (Or egon Episcopal Schools) in 1971. Attended several colleges in clu d in g S ta n fo rd U niversity. Graduated from Oregon State University in 1990 with a B.S. in Liberal Stud ies (A nthropology and P olitical Science), and from i Arizona State Uni versity College o f Law in 1993 with a J.D. C u rren tly I am n o t working. My w ork his tory w ith the Tribe in cludes the following jobs: C h ie f Ju d g e , Ju v en ile Judge, Public Safety G en eral Manager, Legal Ser vices D irector; Surveil lance Supervisor for the W arm Springs G am ing C om m ission; and C on vention C oordinator at Kah-Nee-Ta. The next Tribal Coun cil will face.almost unprec edented challenges. W ho among us are able to face these challenges and work together to find accept able solutions? Most o f our past chal lenges were caused by en tities outside o f the Tribe. N ow we are facing chal lenges that have, for the m ost part, been caused by our own decisions to ig nore the warnings o f our recent, (but past) leaders that (1) our natural re source based revenues can no longer sustain us, (2) that we need to reduce our spending, and (3) that we need to develop new an d s tro n g e r rev en u e sources. We are at a crisis point with respect to finances. O u r own safety-nets o f the Rainy Day Fund, per capita and seniors’ pen sion are expected to dry up in a year or so. The following issues are what I believe our next Tribal Council will need work on to help bring us through the trying times these next few years will b rin g and at th e sam e time to ensure a better fu tu re fo r o u r ch ild ren , g ran d ch ild ren and th e next generations to come. A. Education 1. E d u c a tio n is th e m ost crucial elem ent to our survival and to en riching the coming gen erations’ futures. This does n ot just mean book learning; it means life-long learning that includes our languages, culture, tradi tions, and spirituality, as well as formal education/ training for living and working in 21st century America. , sory positions? 2. O ur people must have education to run our govern m ent for the benefit o f the People and to p ro tect our sovereignty; some m ust have education to successfully de velop and ru n o u r tribally owned businesses; some must have the education and expe- rience to develop successful businesses o f their own; some must have the knowledge and skills to work the many and varied jobs that businesses will provide. Knowing our languages, culture, traditions and spirituality will provide the background against which our government, laws, busi nesses, and so on are tested so that they will always reflect our own values. 3. Tribal m em ber hiring p referen ce is V IT A L and must be followed, and at the same time, education o f our tribal members is necessary for Tribal m em ber p refer ence. to prevail 4. Because education is so im portant, all o f the schools that our children attend must be superior and utilize the best possible teaching m eth ods for our children. We can no longer afford to accept su bstandard education for our children at any level; we, meaning parents, grandpar ents, family members, tribal leaders, teachers, school coun selors and adm inistrators, must work together to make sure our kids have the best opportunities available, and we m ust demand the best ef fort from our children. N o one entity can do it alone ,- we m ust all accept that it is all o f our responsibility and develop ways to w ork to gether to get the best for and out o f our kids. B. Revenue and, jobs 1. H ow will we ensure we have enough money to pro vide the essential services to our People? 2. We need an effective economic development strat egy and we need to implement it. We have Tribal members who are qualified to do this! L et’s utilize them ; they de serve at least as much chance as non-tribal m em bers and non-Indians. 3. Tribal leadership needs to provide meaningful over sight to these tribally owned businesses. Look deep into the financial records - where an d /o r to whom is the money really going? Can expenses be reduced w ithout hurting the business? W hy aren ’t m ore tribal members w ork ing there? Why aren’t more tribal m em bers in supervi 4. D e v e lo p m e n t o f businesses owned and op erated by Tribal members. Money has been set aside for this now a n d in the past. The process to es tablish a business needs to be streamlined and proper assistance to the prospec tive business owners needs to be tirade available. I f there are hoops that hinder rather than help the-pro cess, get rid o f them. Ac countability is necessary but part o f investing in any business is risk taking. We cannot expect our business owners to prove that their venture will be 100% suc cessful but they should be able to show that there is at least a reasonable expec tation that their business will succeed. C. Governmental ac countability 1. T he Tribal Council has a legal and moral re sponsibility to rep o rt to the People on its activities and the State o f the Tribe 2. SECTIO N 9. It shall be the duty o f each mem ber o f the Tribal Council to make reports to the dis tric t fro m w h ich he is elected concerning the pro ceedings o f th e T ribal Council. Article IV By- Laws CTWS 3. To be fully account able and responsive to the M em bership, the Tribal Council must meet this re quirem ent. I pledge to fully comply with this pro v isio n o f law if I am elected to the Tribal Coun cil. We are all in this to gether - we the People and we the leaders - it should n ot be you and us, or us and them. The Council needs the People’s feed- back and the People need to know the actions o f the Council for our govern m ent to be o f and by the; People. A g re a t deal o f thought, talking, prayer, and advise has been taken into consideration in mak ing this decision to run for a seat on the Tribal Coun cil. This is a decision that cannot be taken lightly - our future, our children’s future and the future o f generations to come hangs in the balance. We as a Tribe need strong leaders with integrity, who are hon est, and who are willing to work wjth others to guide us through all the crises we are facing. We need lead ers w ho are willing to lis ten to the People and to let the People know what our leadership is doing. We need leaders who are will ing to be held accountable for their actions and deci sions. We need leaders w ho are willing to put in the time and effort to eti- sure that the needs o f the People are met. I believe I possess these qualities and ask for your vote oti April 4, 2013. Thank you. Anita Jackson D ear CTWS, My nam e is, D a b id Rodriguez. My mother is Leminnie Smith and my father is Gilberto (Pablo) Rodriguez. My grandpar ents who have passed on were Woodrow Smith Sr. and Iris Smith. I u n d e rs ta n d th e people want change (new blood) when it comes to our tribes’ leadership. I couldn’t agree more, and we as a community need to do m ore than a 100- percent effort for change. We have to do what’s re quired. We need to hold our tribal government ac countable, limit spending, be open to new ideas/vi sion, and m ost important, get our younger genera tion involved. I f elected, what I plan to do is make the best pos sible decisions I can with the help and advice o f my boss, the people o f the C onfederated Tribes o f Warm Springs. The way I see it, the people are go ing to help me be a better leader while keeping me humble at the same time. I co n sid er m yself very approachable and easy to talk to. I ’m very open to positive conversations and solutions. I believe cornmunica- tion is o f utm ost im por tan ce. Social m edia is great, but there is nothing like meeting with people face to face and witness ing how passionate, angry, or confused som eone is over an issue. It puts the hum an element into the issue in a way social me dia can’t compare to. As for the economy, we have to be honest with ourselves and see it for w hat it is. I f you hâve a job, be thankful; and if you d o n ’t, be thankful for what you have. The economy will pick back up again and w hen it does, I hope those without employment are pre paring themselves to be pro d u ctiv e m em b ers o f , o u r tribe. I hope they are study ing for their driver’s license, getting personal issues in or der, and taking care o f an a lc o h o l/d r u g o r ' m en tal health issue. I f anyone out there is doing any o f those things, then that’s terrific— we need you now m ote than ever to contribute to our com munity. I beheve that a. lot o f our problems on the reserva tion can be dealt with on an individual and family level. Individuals and families hap pen to be the driving force o f o u r com m u n ity in my opinion, We need to become more self sufficient, support our small businesses, and open the door for, more economic development. I heard things like a m otorsports track and trav el center, and I , th in k those are great ideas. Anything that brings revenue back to the tribes I ’m all for. All op tions should be on the table for further discussions. We as a community are at a junction at this time and need to realize the problems and issues we face can’t be solved with money, only good old-fashioned ethics, resil ience and humble leader ship. U nderstand I ’m n o t going to p oint fingers, place b lam e, a ttack a n o th er’s character, or contribute to personal at tacks. T he com m unity has nominees willing to take the challenge of the Tribal Council. I don’t th in k anyone p a s t or present w ho w anted to serve on Tribal Council did so with the intent to do a bad job or disser vice to the community. Each Council had its unique challenges that it inherited from the last C ouncil. T he, Tw enty- Sixth Tribal Council will be no different. By now you’re asking yourself w hat qualifies me for Tribal Council? I served in the U.S. Navy, worked on the H ot Shot Crew, worked as a Cor rections officer, and was an A dolescent A lcohol and D rug Counselor. I’m currently employed as a security officer at Kah- Nee-Ta Resort and Spa, Add to that numerous life mistakes and regrets and you get life experience. Service to thè com m u nity, and accountability with no entitlements or excuses. I see Tribal Council as a privilege and not a ped estal, as a service not arid not an entitlement, and it w ould be an h o n o r to Serve the people o f Warm Springs! With that said, I would like, to w ish the o th er nominees good luck, and G od Bless the Confeder ated T rib es o f W arm Springs. Respectfully, Dabid RodrigueZ. Notice of the Availability of an Environmental Assessment The USDA, Rural D evelopm ent has received an application fo r fi nancial assistance from the C on fe d e ra te d T rib e s o f th e W arm Springs Reservation of Oregon. As required by the N ational Environ m ental Policy Act, Rural D evelop ment has approved an Environmen tal A sse ssm en t prepared by the C o n fe d e ra te d T rib e s o f W arm Springs that evaluated the potential environm ental effects and conse quences o f the proposed project. This notice announces the availabil ity o f the Environm ental A sse ss m ent fo r public review and com ment, and U SD A is publishing this notice in accordance w ith Section 106 o f the NHPA review. The proposed project consists of construction o f a new K-8 school in Greeley Heights near the intersec tion o f East Tenino and C hukar roads. The project will com ply with all standards and best management practices set forth in the Tribal Inte grated Resource Management Plan to avoid any adverse environm en tal effects. A cultural resource site known to be present in the area will be protected by developm ent and im plem entation o f an Inadvertent D iscovery Plan and fu rth e r Tribal assessm ent before construction begins. A rchaeological m onitors will be present during all earth dis turbing activities. The alternatives considered to the proposed project include: rem aining at the current sch o o l lo c a tio n w ith its lim ited space and old infrastructure, other locations in the vicinity o f the pro posed location that had topography lim itations, and a W arm Springs Cam pus location that has old infra structure and is zoned commercial. Copies of the Environmental As sessm ent are available fo r review at U.S. D epartm ent o f Agriculture, Rural Development, Attn: State En vironm ental Coordinator, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd, Suite 801, Portland, OR 97232-1274, or locally at the Tribal Natural R esources Building, 4223 Holliday Street, Warm Springs, OR 97761. Forfurther information con tact Charlotte Rollier, State Environ m ental C oordinator, U SD A Rural Development, 503-414-3356. Any person interested in com m enting on this proposed project should su bm it com m ents to the U SD A Portland address above by Friday, April 5,2013. J (
