Spilyay T ym o o , W arm Springs, O regon
March 20, 2013
Page 9
Agency District Candidates
Randy Smith
First o f all I would
like to congratulate all
potential representatives
that were nominated for
the Twenty-Sixth Tribal
Council, the huge num
ber o f nominations send
one unified message, we !
are tired o f being ig
nored, we are tired o f
seeing Tribal C ouncil/
Chiefs’ huge travel bud
gets, we are tired o f one
way communications (be
ing dictated to), we are
tired o f hearing we are
going broke! W hat the
p e o p le n eed to h ear
from our leadership and
Chiefs is that this is how
we are going to fix what
is broken, this is how
we’re going to work in
unison and will listen to
and serve the people, this
is how w e’re going to
embrace our college edu
cated members, instead
o f ignoring them, this is
how we’re going to ad
dress our old outdated
Infrastructure so that we
can a tta in , the elusive
animal known as “eco
nom ic d ev elo p m en t,”
this is how we are going
to support business start
ups, this is how we are
going to restore a posi
tive outlook o f life for
our people today, our
children and their de
scendants!
I have stated many
times in the past decades,
we have â w o rk in g
model to follow, my-com- '
ments have simply been
ignored! This w orking
model was so effective
simply because previous lead
ership had no doubt whatso
ever o f the legitimacy o f our
Reserved Treaty Rights, al-
m pst unchallenged I would
add! T hey also understood
how im portant maintaining a
clear employer/employee re
lationship with our legal ad
visors was. We are paying you
to defend our reserved rights
as “The Supreme Law o f the
Land.”
Some may view my com
m ents o r opin io n s as to o
negative. W hat others view as
negativity, I view as Reality,
view in g it any o th e r way
would be called “denial” in
some circles and one o f these
realities is that we experience
tribal unem ploym ent rates
that exceed national levels by
700 percent, no economic sta
bility, let alone growth. Grow-'
ing up and even as a young
adult I was provided with the
opportunity to work, train or
fail in any job funded by tribal
dollars, sadly that is not the
sam e; today; T have recently
learned that the tribe expends
$70 m illion in operational
funds annually, that is shame
Kahseuss Jackson
ful, T rib al C o u n c il/
Chiefs! It is shameful that
you prefer to listen to con
sultants and ignore tribal
members.
H ow do we resolve
em ploym ent or service
issues? “By w orking in
u n iso n ” to realistically
d ev elo p L p n g /S h o rt
Range Plans for our tribe.
O n ce th is iS d o n e we
have a tool to measure
leadership and implemen
ta tio n effectiv en ess.
Some o f the answers I
believe can be responded
to expediently simply by
making it top priority for
the Twenty-Sixth Tribal
Council to be “Realistic”
and state in unison let us
establish a goal o f retain
ing 25 percent o f the $70
m illio n th a t cu rren tly
leaves th e' reserv atio n
one way. I have p len ty
more I can. share, but let
me share that with you
after I am elected ‘‘To
Serve the, People.”
'Again I wish each and
every candidate the best
o f luck. Stay strong, tnOst
o f all don’t quit, the risk
o f resigning oneself to
accept life as it is, is “un
realistic.” O ther Oregon
tribes that we once ter
m inated have m odeled
their operations on that
o f Warm Springs, which
we utilized to gain n ot
only national but interna
tional recognition.
Thank you and may
Our Creator Bless Each
and Everyone.
Randy Smith.
Mary Sando-Emhoolah
N iix kw law it, I to o k ti
Wigwa, my name is Laxaiya -
M ary (S tevens) I S ando-
Emhoolah. I am named after
m yatw ai Grandmother, Eva
Seymore Mitchell Polk. My
g ra n d fa th e r w as th e late
Pierson Mitchell.
My Uncles were atwai’s
L ouie M itchell, Ja c o b
Mitchell, Archie Mitchell and
N oah Mitchell. My A unt was
atwai A letha Mitchell. My
M other was atwai, B ertha
Mitchell Stevens and my fa
th e r atw ai, F ra n k D o n
Stevens Sr. My Brothers are
Atwai Frank D on Stevens Jr.,
Ted Stevens, M ark Stevens
Sr., Tom K alam a and two
brothers who passed in child
hood. My sister was atwai,
Patricia Curly-Smith.
I am married to Michael'
Emhoolah and our Sons are
R am one T hom as - F ath er
atw ai Jam es T h o m as and
W ilfred Sando J r - F ather
atwai Wilfred Sando Sr.
I grew up, in the H olly
w ood Boulevard neighbor
hood. We learned to work as
children, we packed w ater
and wood for our home and
other elders in our neighbor
hood. We worked in the berry,
P o ta to an d ro o t fields, I
sacked and packed eels and
salmon and learned to con
trib u te to o u r family,, we
worked from season to sea
son together as a family. My
hands were pledged to the
longhouse, where I am a food
gatherer today and also mar
ried Mike in 1992. We grew
up w ith a w h ip m an w ho
taught us discipline and re
spect for our way o f life.
All o f my early upbring
ing helped to shape my life
today. I believe in working
for what you get-there is sat
isfaction in earning w hat you
have. Working for the good
o f the family, n o t just for
yourself. We were taught to
help others, especially the
elderly.
We learn ed to p ray to
gether, daily prayers were
said for all our people, it was
a constant faith shown by our
grand mother, Eva.
I have w o rk ed fo r th e
Tribes for over twenty years
combined and currently work
for the Confederated Tribes
and co-owner o f Emhoolah
Trucking with my husband.
We have been in business for
14 years and have worked all
over the state, on and o ff
various T ribal Lands. O u r
company has donated goods,
services and money to vari
ous community organizations
and individuals, mainly Cul
tural, educational, sports and
v ario u s ' se n io r citizen
projects.
I also learned to live o ff
the reservation while attend
ing college in NM and OR.
I have worked as a radio
producer for over 20 years,
15 years at KWSO. My most
rewarding role has been to
work with our elders, many
many whom have passed now.
I have worked locally, region
ally, nationally and interna
tionally in my field and gained
expedience working with other
Tribal Nations. I learned we
all have similar experiences
and dreams for our people.
I currently serve on the
Ventures Board for thp Con
fed erated ' T rib es, we are
working to develop economic
development projects that will
benefit the Tribes in a variety
o f ways. To create employ
ment, to generate income and
to create a sense o f pride and
o w n ersh ip fo r o u r T ribal
Members.
I am h o n o re d to have
b een nom in ated by Bruce
Brunoe to serve on the Tribal
Council for the Confederated
Tribes o f Warm Springs.
There are many challenges
facing us now, but they can
also be viewed as opportuni
ties for change. O ne thought
I have is for us to, have a
T E R O office on our reser
vation. T his is the Tribal
Employment Rights Office-
D ear Agency D istrict
Tribal Member,
My name is Kahseuss
Jackson-W illiam s and I
am a n ’A gency D istrict
c a n d id a te in th e 2013
Tribal Council election. It
was an honor to be nomi
n ated by o u r o u tg o in g
Tribal Council Chairman
Buck Smith.
As you may know, this
is perhaps the m ost criti
cal election in the modern
h is to ry o f o u r T ribes.
O ur financial situation is
dire and funding for items
su ch as o p e ra tin g th é
Tribal Government, pay
ing senior pensions, pro
viding per capita payments
and poSsibly even provid
ing' educational scholar
ships are in jeopardy. We
have know n ab o u t our
dwindling revenue base
for nearly 15 years b u t
have failed to change our
course. T hat is why it is
imperative that we elect a
Tribal Council that has the
skill set, experience, edu
cation and vision to help
move our Tribes in a new
economic direction. An
econom ic direction that
over the next 2 to 3 years
stabilizes our financial situ
ation, positions our Tribes
for future economic suc
cess and ushers in a new
economy.
To begin to accomplish
this, I have identified a
plan that includes 8 very
doable actions that can be
initiated now:
1. Seize Low Hanging
Fruit (Business O pportu
nities th a t are in place
now).
2. In itia te S m arter
Business Investing.
3. Create A More E f
ficient Government That
Actually Adds Jobs.
4. Turn enterprise divi
dends into a form o f pay
m ent that will allow the
T ribes to issue bonds.
These bond dollars can be
utilized to fund infrastruc
ture, and other incentives
to support business devel
opment.
5. A Portion o f every
revenue dollar'should be
invested in infrastructure,
business development and
once' a Tribe establishes this
type o f office, it prioritizes
em ploym ent o pportunities
fo r T rib al M em b ers on
projects on and around the
reservation. O ur company
has worked on projects with
o th e r T rib es w h o have
TERO offices. Mbney from
County, S tate and Federal
projects would go to fund this
office for the benefit o f Tribal
Members, Other Tribes that
don’t have this type o f office
are looking to add this for the
benefit o f their Tribe. -There
are challenges to this program
as with anything else but being
able to provide jobs to our
community outweigh the chal
lenges.
O ur Tribe needs to create
opportunities for Tribal mem
bers to be in business for
themselves if they have the
desire to do the work it takes
to own a business. We have
been fortunate to own our
own business, I know others
have had great ideas for a
variety o f businesses. We
Manager
— W arm
Springs Ventures — 2006
to 2008
Salmon Marketing
Coordinator— Columbia
River Inter-T ribal Fish
Com m ission — 2003 to
2006
Emerging Leader —
Ford Foundations Lead
ership for a C hanging
World - 2005
Special Projects
Manager - CTWS Con
saved. We have continued to
spend at previous levels even
as we have known about our
downward financial spiral. We
cannot survive if this contin
ues.
6. Enforce Tribal Member
Hiring and Succession Pref
erence.
7. Run the Tribal Govern
ment as a Business with a high
level o f accountability from
all entities.
8. In v est in the Private
S ecto r - O u r econom y is
evolving. T he point is near
w h ere o u r T ribes can no
longer sustain our way o f life
as they have in the past. Ev
ery healthy econom y has a
large and healthy private sec
tor and we should be no dif
ferent.
, As I mentioned above it
will be im perative for our
next Tribal Council persons
to have the skill set, experi
ence and education to help the
Tribes navigate our economic
crisis. My professional back-
groundiiicludes:
Economic D evelop
ment Coordinator — C on
s tru c tio n C o m p an y —
1997- 2001
M aster’s in Business
A dm inistration (MBA),
U niversity o f O regon,
June 2009
Capstone Project: Cre
ation o f an E conom ic
Development Model for
Tribes.
Bachelor o f Science in
Business Administration,
U niversity o f O regon,
March 2003
F ocus in E n tre p r e
n eu rsh ip — M inor in
Economics
My' lineage includes
my g re a t g ra n d fa th e r
Charlie Jackson and his
w ife
G e o rg ia n n a
(Switzler) Jackson, his sis
ters, A n n ie (Jackson)
Smith and Ruth (Jackson)
E stabrook, great uncles
Zane and Max Jackson
and grandparents Vernon
and Louise Jackson. My
mother is Deborah Jack-
son. I am also the proud
father of two young so p s,.
Nieman and Mateyis. ■
Thank you for consid
ering me to represent the
Agency District on Tribal
Council.
Tribal/State Govern
It would be an honor
ment to Government to serve our people and
Group on Economic De to help move our Tribes
velopment - Current
back to prosperity and
Economic D evelop h elp e n su re th a t p e r
ment for Central Oregon capitas, senior pensions
(EDCO) Advisory Board and educational scholar
Member - Current
ships ate available into
Managing Consultant/ the future. I truly believe
Owner — Celilo Business So that we will n o t fail in our
lutions — 2008 - 2011
e n d e a v o r chan g e o u r
Owner — Blue Sky Na course. I believe in us.
tive Market — 2011 to C ur
Sincerely, (
rent
Kahseuss Jackson-Wil
Budget Manager — liam s, P.O. B ox 1079,
Warm Springs IHS Clinic — W arm S prings, O R
2009-2010 ,
97761.
federated Tribes o f W arm
Springs — 2011 to Current
Business Development
need more infrastructure and
more areas available for de
v e lo p m e n t o f p riv ately
owned business. We could
have building blocks o f ser
vices added to our comm u
nity that don’t all have to be
done by the Tribe-invest in
our people to develop some
o f these services.
Econom ic D evelopm ent
projects need to be prioritized
for the overall benefit for the
Tribes. E ducation and the
pro tectio n o f our children
and elders should be a prior
ity and m ore jobs for our
community.
We need to be bold and
enforce TM preference and
utilize the employment op
p o rtu n ities available to us
now. To that spirit, our people
need to m eet the challenge
and be ready to serve our
community in these jobs in
our community as well.
T here is a lot o f w ork to
be done and it w on’t hap
pen over night as it has n ot
g o tte n to this 'point over
night. I t will take the work,
c o o p e ra tio n a n d fa ith o f
ALL to im prove our situa
tion and to also appreciate
all that we do have and to
take care o f it.
I am college educated and
computer competent, am on
face book, am able to listen
and talk with all people o f all
ages and nationalities, to share
ideas and work together.
I believe in a team ap
proach and all team members
contributing. We may not all
agree but we need to do what
will benefit the Tribes the
m ost and keep moving for
ward.
I w ould be h o n o re d to
serve on the Tribal Council
and further serve our Tribal
Community-I am humbly ask
ing for your vote.
I wish the other candidates
good luck and whomever is
elected, lets work together for
the b etterm ent o f all. Pai
Uqwathani.