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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2013)
Branch Matthew 1200 SW Park Ave. r P.0. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECRWSS Postal Patron June 26, 2013 Coyote News, est. 1976 Voi. 38, No. 13 June - A t lx a n - Spring -Wawaxam Motorsports focus on getting out the vote Warm Springs Ventures is focus ing on voter participation in the July 9 m otorsports referendum. “W e’re launching our ‘Drive the Vote’ campaign, encouraging voter participation,” said Ventures chief executive officer Jeff Anspach. The Drive the Vote campaign is geared towards increasing turnout regardless o f whether the votes are yes or no. The earlier m otorsports referen dum missed the minimum turnout by 68 ballots, in part at least because o f confusion over the absentee vot ing requirements. O f th o se.w h o participated, a m a jo rity w ere in fa v o r o f th e motorsports proposal. Courtesy of W.S. Ventures. Pi-Ume-Sha weekend Ventures will have a float in the Pi-Ume-Sha Traditional Dress Pa rade, this Saturday, June 29. T he enterprise will also have an infor mation booth at Pi-Ume-Sha all day on Saturday, Earlier this week, Ventures was planning an information meeting in Portland, to answer any questions from members w ho live there. O n referendum day V entures and potential development partner Lionshead will host a barbecue by the community center. There will also be a raffle on referendum day, with prizes contributed from local businesses. The grand prize being an iPad Mini. Anspach emphasizes the barbe- Members posed recently with a dragster at the Community Center. Without new revenue, the tribal general fu n d will no longer support the present level o f service provided to the membership... year and a half. Passage o f the referendum does not necessarily approve the devel opm ent o f the m otorsports park. Instead, a successful referendum would allow the tribes to negotiate a possible deal for the development. The tribes would not agree to a deal unless it is in the best interest o f the tribes, the Council members have made clear. cue and raffle are to encourage voter-participation, n o t to persuade voters one way or another. W arm Springs Ventures is the economic development enterprise o f the Confederated Tribes. Ven tures has been working with Tribal C ou n cil and L io n sh ead o n th e m otorsports proposal for about a Revenue and jobs The Confederated Tribes are fac ing a Serious financial situation, and need some new source o f revenue, Tribal Council members agree. | W ith o u t new revenue, the tribal general fund will no longer support the present level o f ser vice provided to the membership. The m otorsports park, once in operation, could generate $37 million in net annual revenue, ac cording to preliminary estimates. The revenue would be split be tween the tribes and its develop m ent partner, based on the per centage initially contributed by each party. The park w ould take about five years to build. D uring con struction, the project would cre ate 425 jobs, according to the current estimates. Once in opera tion, the park would employ 200 people. The m otorsports park would create secondary business oppor tunities as well, such as a grocery store and restaurant. A m otorsports park on Miller Flat would serve the region from northern California to Seattle. In a preliminary review, the tribal Natural Resources Branch has identified no significant spe cies or environmental issues at the Miller Flat site, “Some tribal members hunt and gather roots in the area, which also supports some grazing,” ac cording to Ventures information. A thorough study o f the area would be done before construc tion o f the park. — D ave M cM echan Council hears update on horse problem Over-grazing on the reservation by unclaimed horses is a problem o f increasing concern. The p rob lem has existed for several years now; but is reaching a turning point. The turning point Cbmes as the unclaimed horse population contin ues to grow, and the federal gov e rn m e n t p u rsu e s a p olicy th a t blocks any solution. Tribal Council heard an update last week the tribes’ federal contact M att Hill, who spoke to Council on speaker-phone. The problem is that unclaimed horses damage the reservation re sources, from fisheries to deer and elk. Over-grazing by the horses also depletes the reservation o f vegeta tion that could feed catde. Over-grazing can reach a point where the horses themselves can no longer find food, leading to their suf fering and starvation. Until six years ago, it was pos sible to keep the unclaimed horse population under control. A t th at time there was som e value to the animals: They could be sold o ff the reservation for slaugh- ter, an unpopular solution that nev ertheless provided some relief to the over-population. 1 “ The trust responsi bility o f the United States government must be lived up to. ” Jason Smith , a . ... , , .... . , . Dave McMechan/Spilyay Horses in the West Hills neighbors. Congress blocked the slaughter option by cutting funding for fed eral inspection o f horse slaughter operations. T he meat was then no longer marketable, although there are overseas buyers o f the product. Jason Smith, o f the tribal N atu ral Resources Branch-Range and Ag, is th e presid en t o f the N ational T ribal H o rse C oalition. H e has worked with federal officials on th e unclaimed horse problem, inform ing them o f the damage the animals are causing on the Warm Springs .and other reservations. Earlier this year, there was an indication that the O bam a adminis tratio n w ould again provide for m eat inspection by the USDA. This would have allowed a horse slaugh ter facility to open in N ew Mexico. B u t th e g o v e rn m e n t p o licy abruptly changed this spring, and now Congress appears ready to con tinue the ban indefinitely. T he is sue could end in litigation, as reser vation lands are being destroyed. The BLM receives $178 million 4 4 per year to manage the unclaimed horse problem on BLM land. In dian tribes receive zero funding. T he N ational Tribal H orse Coalition represents tribes that occupy nearly 20 million acres o f tru st land. O n the W arm Springs R eservation, the u n claimed horse population is esti m ated at b etw een 5,000 and 7,000 animals. O n the Yakama N ation res ervation th e unclaimed horses are estimated to num ber up to 15,000. The problem is worse on the Navajo N ation, where the BIA estim ates the unclaim ed horse population at 60,000. In a letter earlier this year to A g ric u ltu re S ec re ta ry T om Vilsack, Jason Smith explained the tribes’ dilemma as follows: S ee H O R S E S o n p a g e 3 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Pi- Ume-Sha starts Friday The Confederated Tribes will host the Forty-Fourth Annual Pi-Ume- Sha Treaty Days, this Friday-Sun day, Ju n e 28-30. T he pow w ow them e this year is, “H onoring O ur Culture and O ur Languages.” The powwow commemorates the signing o f th e T reaty o f 1855, signed 158 years ago this m onth. T he signing date o f the Treaty was June 25,1855, when 151 tribal lead ers signed the docum ent, after a three-day Council at The Dalles. (See page 7.) | Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days began in the late 1960s, While com m em o rating the signing o f the treaty, Pi- Ume-Sha also traditionally honors the veterans and service men and women o f the A rm ed Forces. Weekend events T he Traditional D ress Parade is Saturday morning, June 29. G rand Entries are Friday evening, J une 28, and on Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., and on Sunday at 2 p.m. Traditional dance contests are through the weekend, with 61’ Style and other specials. Categories are Men’s Round Bustle, O w l/R abbit d a n ces, W o m an ’s S hell D re ss, Queen’s Special, three-person hand drum. Fof powwow inform ation con tact the powwow co-chairs, Isaac Mitchell or Jo h n Katchia. O r call Cassie Katchia at 541-325-1573(c) or 553-2128(w); or Louise Katchia, 541-460-0224(c). Pi-Um e-Sha Stick G am es, the softball tournament, golf and vend ing are throughout the weekend. Boxing is on Saturday, hosted by the Warm Springs N ation Boxing Club. T he Pi-Um e-Sha R odeo is on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. each day. For inform ation on the Endurance H orse Race, contact R icky G raybael, 541-553-1161. O th e r contact inform ation is as fol lows: T ra d itio n a l D re s s P arad e: R am ona G reene Baez, 541-553- 2406(w), 460-8261(c). Stick G am e Tournam ent: Sam Starr, 541-553-1131(w ). R odeo: Cheryl Tom, 541-325-9087. ’ S ee P I- U M E - S H A on page 7 Spilyay delay The next edition of the Spilyay Tymoo will be de layed by one day, in order to report the results of the July 9 referendum. The paper will be avail able Thursday morning, July 11, instead of the usual Wednesday. Thank you for your pa tience! 4
