Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2013)
Spïlygy T ym o o , W grm Springs, O regon M arch 2 0 , 2013 Page 13 Seekseequa District Candidates Scott Moses Myra Johnson Orange It is a great honor and hum bling experience to have been nominated for th e u p c o m in g T rib al Council elections. I can only make one prom ise and that would be to work h a rd to s e e \ th a t o u r people’s words and con cerns are heard and to communicate as much as possible to and with the people. To change, revital ize, renew and seek posi tive o u tco m es fo r th e trib es will take stro n g people with strong com m itm e n t elec ted in to Tribal C ouncil to w ork together, for and with the people. And to know that communication is a very im portant pieqe o f getting feedback from the people to see if the w ork being done is working in a posi tive manner that is mak ing a difference for all. W hoever gets elected into Tribal Council has a h uge re s p o n sib ility in front o f them, for we all know Tribal budgets and economy are at an all time low. Tribal Council mem bers m ust be able to have positive rapport with all g o v e rn m e n t o fficials, state, tribes and federal, as well as with each other? They m ust also b e able to read, comprehend, and dis seminate all docum entation that could make a difference in upholding o f our sovereign rights as defined in our 1855 Treaty. We must understand our languages, traditions and cultures are o f utmos t im por tance in keeping our sover eignty in. place for our chil dren, grandchildren and our future people. My life has been one o f ups and downs as many o f our people have faced and still do today. H ow ever, I have lived through all the adversities o f life and con tinue to work hard every day to live in a positive manner. I am now retired (partially) af ter working 35 years for the Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs, where I educated myself on all the docum entation th at makes our Tribes who we are today. I assisted with Senate Bill 690, the State Teacher Certification o f Language Teachers, by asking ques tions o f our state lobby ist, Michael Mason. I have knowledge and understanding o f our fi n an cial sy stem o f th e Tribes as well as the man agement se tu p and areas o f responsibility. Account ability, responsibility, integ rity, honesty, arid the abil ity to give and receive posi tively are the m ost im por tant qualities that I con sider im portant to me as I continue my journey in life. Today I thank you all for listening to my words and would respectfully ask for your vote on April 4th to re p re se n t. th e Seekseequa D istric t o f the Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs, as we continue to strive for unity o f all. what I learned from my el ders.. My w ork style is to listen, do research through our tribal and legislation docum ents (Constitution and By-Laws, Corporate Charter, Tribal O r dinances; State and Federal legislation and laws), unwrit ten laws and th en m ake a sound decision. I have testi fied and re p re s e n te d th e CTWS at tribal, state, regional and national associations to protect and make certain our unique tribal sovereignty is ac curately represented. I have the diplomatic skills and con fidence to write, speak and te stify o n b e h a lf o f 'the CTWS. I will continue to sup port our tribal values and sov ereignty, while blending to g ether the w isdom , intelli gence, and traditional laws want ’’business” to continue to be developed. This effort helped revive the old “Plaza” which is now full o f entre preneurs arid the museum is also seeing more visitors. I am p ro u d to say the 25t:h Tribal Council has taken action on g etting the K -8 school progressing forward. This community has long awaited (decades) the arrival o f our childrens new school which we should soon see by the Fall o f 2014. We’ve also established a Small Business Loan program for the Tribal Members to start new business’ here in W arm Springs th a t will help reduce the extremely high unemployment rate on the Reservation. D u rin g to u g h e c o nomic times, the Council has b een red u cin g the Tribes over all “operating budget” each o f the last 3 years to address proper m oney m an ag em en t. A nd in spite o f these re ductions, our efforts have created 300 plus new jobs under our tenure. I be lieve with the right coun cil it is possible to create at least 300 m ore in the near future. I encourage the com munity to vote for results and I will continue push ing for w hat our reserva tion needs, in ord er to move in a positive direc tion. I am looking forward and dedicated to serving our district and commu nity fo r the next three years. Respectfully, Scott Moses Myra Johnson-O r ange. Lee Tom W endell Jim With support, encour agem ent and e n d o rse m e n t o f m y relatives, family, friends I am will ing to serve and represent Seekseekqua district,. on the Twénty-Sixth Tribal Council. I will maintain open communication and make decisions in the best interest o f the people and Tribes. This is a challenging, d iffic u lt tim e fo r o u r Tribes. I believe my ex perience through my tra ditional family upbringing, participating in the sacred ceremonies, college edu cation, and work experi ence and one term on Tribal Council helps make me a qualified candidate. My parents and role models have trained me that: “T he adoption o f the Constitution and By- Laws pursuant the Indian R eorganization A ct in 1938 specifically reserved all powers to the people while delegating certain p ow ers to th e T rib al Council.” I ’ve learned that our elders were guided by a strong sense o f wisdom, vision, and'spiritual com m itm ent to com m unity and people. I will meet and liste n to th e p e o p le ’s voice; I will continue to learn, respect and apply G reetin g -T rib al m em bers, I w ant to personally thank each and every one o f you w ho has su p ported me during the last 3 years. As y o u r D is tric t M em b er o f th e 2 5 th Council, I have worked well with the other dis tricts unifying our com m on goals o f creating new jobs within the com munity; creating new rev enue sources and b e coming m ore efficient in our government. - I sincerely hope that you will put your trust in us to continue this pro gression into the 26th Tribal Council. First priority we ad dressed, was the Casino location. In less than one year we m oved th e Casino into the com m unity o f Warm Springs on High way 26, which has gen erated more revenue and created over 130 new jobs. This is the speed we taught-learned by elders. I am campaigning for positive change, account ability, quality "Of tribal government, and quality o f life for all tribal mem bers. I aril dedicated to work, meet and report to all the people on impor tant issues. I will work to restore CTWS back to a competent tribal govern ment: a government that is fair, transparent, with consistent rules; a gov ern m en t in w hich dis putes are fairly dealt with; a government where pro cedures are profession ally followed; a govern m e n t to im p le m e n t a strategic plan to increase and generate enterprise revenues; a governm ent that will gain the respect o f our people and a gov ernment that can get the job done. As your Tribal Coun cil representative: I will provide quality leader ship through dignity, re spect, trust, and equality. I am prepared to w ork hard to create a success ful tribal government ac know led g ed in In d ian Country and I will be ac countable to the tribal people. T h a n k you, P lease v o te Wendell J. Jim , Seekseekqua District M any o f you m ay know me but some may not. My name is Lee H. Tom. I have been nomi n a te d to ru n fo r th e T w en ty -S ix th W arm Springs Tribal Council for the Seekseequa D is trict. ■ I have lived and re sided in the Seekseequa District on the Metolious Bench m ost o f my life, at 5700 Jac k so n T rail Road; I a tte n d e d • W arm Springs Boarding School, Madras Junior High, arid ChemawaJndian School. I also attended Portland C o m m u n ity C ollege, where I obtained my AAS Degree in Building Tech nology; Chemeketa Com munity College to obtain my Building Inspection License, where I also took co u rses in B u ild in g C o d es, .B u sin ess A c co u n tin g , S u p erv iso ry T rain in g , an d I was trained to be a Trainer w ith th e C a rp e n te rs Union. I ’ve worked all my life both off the reservation and in various areas on the reservation, including a t Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, and th e D anzuka, Jackson, and Smith Logging Com panies. I was the Building In spector for the Tribes, worked in Public Utilities and H U D Housing. The last 12 years I spent working for the C arpenters U nions in O r egon, Washington, and N e vada. Some o f my political ex perience has been being a member o f the Range & Ag Committee for six years and the Land Use Planning Com mittee also fo r six years. I feel the time has come for me to step up and try to work for the tribe as a mem ber o f the Tribal Council. Some o f my concerns and areas I would like to try and make better are: •The Tribes Financial sta tus. We are in a situation where the out flow o f money exceeds the inflow o f money. • We need to get serious with our Economic Develop m ent. I t seem s like m any other Tribes are growing fi nancially with simple strate gies; we too need to be moving in a more positive direction. , • Ensure protection o f our Tribal Sovereignty. • We need to create a safe and healthy commu nity for our children I believe I can’ w ork with all the members of the Tribal Council on the Missions and Goals that are currently in place, as well as new goals to be implemented. I would like to include tribal members in being a part o f solutions that will m ake things happen. I would like to listen to the concerns o f our people. I don’t feel that we have had the opportunities to voice our opinions or give input into how and what the tribe does anymore. We need to find ways to work together and be re spectful to each other. N o one can do it all alone. We need to work in unity to make a difference. I won’t make promises I can’t keep b u t I have told you how I feel and th at I think I can do a g o o d jo b fo r the Seekseequa D istrict and the tribe as a whole. I will be h o n est a n d u p fro n t and represent the people to the be,st o f rriy ability. Feel free to call me i f you want to talk about any o f my comments, Warm Springs Community Easter Breakfast & Easter Egg Hunt ~ Saturday, March 30 at the Warm Springs Community Center ~ Pancakes - Eggs - Sausage - Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast from 8:30-10:30 ~ Easter Egg Hunt from 11-12 This is a free event! Sponsored by Warm Springs Recreation & FUSION Contact Claude & Melissa Smith 541-480-2186 FUSION ~ Joining hearts and minds for... Family ~ Unity ~ Service ~ Inspiration and Opportunity for the Nations
