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.
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“ 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
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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!
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