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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2013)
E Coosb EEWA: The w^y it is Pgge 4- Spilyay Tyrooo October 2, 2013 Letters to the editor Cobell claims D ear Tribal Members, O n D ecem ber 11, 2012, the Court filed an O rder that directed the Claims A dmin istrator to commence distri bution o f payments to the living members o f the His torical Accounting Class no la te r th a n D e c e m b e r 24, 2012. We commenced check distribution the week o f D e cember 17, 2012. Distribution o f Trust Ad ministration Class payments will occur after the T ru st Class eligibility appeals have been identified and resolved, and the C ourt has granted perm ission to disburse the funds. It is anticipated that distribution will occur some time in the fall o f 2013 at the earliest. F or m ore in fo rm atio n , please visit the Indian Trust Settlement website: IndianTrust.com I f you have any q u e s tions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Regards, Indian Trust Claims Ad ministrator, 1-800-961-6109. Compacting I ’m writing because we’re at an im portant crossroads for the health o f our people. In 68 years my generation has seen tremendous change in Warm Springs. I grew up in Miller Heights. I left the Rez only to further my edu cation and returned to help hiy people. I ’m w riting to gain your support to “com- j)iicti’-;(fcdct-al contract) for all local Indian Health Ser vices. Let me explain why. For those who expected well thought-out and sound decisions from young elected tribal members may be dis appointed. The Tribal Coun cil has no urgency in resolv ing our immediate economic plight. New jobs in particu lar. It seems they’re lost in the details and debating. For ex ample, changing business/en terprise documents when no change is needed or neces sary (10 Sept. 2013 TC min utes). I wonder if these young m en know our traditional values and definitions o f ap propriate behavior and de cision-making? Walk the talk? G ro w in g up o n th e Rez teaches us how our people think and process inform a tion. We think different from “white people.” Most im por tant we are taught to decide for those unborn, n o t our selves. Reactive and short term decisions are only band aides. In 1978 the Tribes’ first health plan cited research that found with “improvement in economic conditions (jobs) personal health improves.” I want to ask our people, W ho controls our health care? I ’m talking about the long-term direction o f our health and how it affects the quality o f our lives. I mean control o f all our resources that oper ate and provide staff for our clinic. Several years ago I asked a former Tribal Council chair man, and form er vice chair this question. My question fell on deaf ears. I hope this newly elected body has an open mind and heart. I asked this w hen the tribe began to cut jobs and lose revenue to run our government. As the general m anager o f Tribal H ealth, I directed staff to secure grants and outside re sources to offset the loss o f income. O ur strategy resulted in o v er h a lf o f reso u rces coming from the outside to run tribal health. A t th a t tim e the T ribal Council had the opportunity to take over control o f our reservation health care. The 1972 Indian Self D eterm ina tion A ct gave tribes the op tion to take over any feder ally ru n program . T he law provides the tribe the option to contract for part or all o f federal Indian H ealth Ser vices. O ur Tribal Council de cided n ot to contract. They chose to remain a “direct ser vice tribe.” W hat this means is that our clinic is controlled an d m an ag e d by In d ia n Health Services. An example is several years ago the Tribal Council passed a resolution to remove the IH S /C E O for lack o f confidence. The IHS was moving savings from our clinic to fund other tribes. I f a federal employee is incom petent and doing harm to our people we cannot fire them. Currently we have $10 to $12 million in savings that is un protected and not in our con-, trol. T he Tribal Council is faced w ith the challenge o f how we dig ourselves out o f this hole. The threat cannot wait another generation. A t the beginning o f the year I prepared a report for the Health and Welfare Com m ittee to b rie f th e T ribal C ouncil on a list o f m ajor health issues confronting us. In April we followed up with a priority list and decision timelines to help transition the next Committee and Tribal Council. T he m o st critical Spilyay Tymoo (Coyote News, Est. 1976) Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller Reporter/ Advertising Director: Yvonne Iverson > Editor: Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Con federated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our offices are located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm Springs. Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo should be addressed to: Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 870, Warm Springs, OR 97761. Phone:541-553-2210 . E-Mail: dave.mcmechan@wstribes.org. Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $15.00 question is loss o f income and how to protect and preserve the resources we have. W hat is the strategy? Another critical question is what do we w ant to do about o u r expired 20-year clinic lease to IHS? W ith President O bama’s health care and the tribes partnership w ith the State o f O regon starting in O ctober we can protect, pre serve and expand our health care services. We can expand our services and income with federal M edicaid P rogram expansion. The Fond D ’Lac Tribe in Minnesota has been hilling for services and turned every dollar o f investm ent into eight dollars o f income. They’ve “compacted” for sev eral years. We have the same m em bership and economic status. We have training re so u rc e s to p re p a re o u r people. O ur partnership with the state puts Us in an excel lent position. Especially since the last Tribal Council decided to compact for BIA Natural Resources and Fire Manage ment. We are ready. Today with the Indian Self D eterm ination A ct we can assume all responsibility for our health. The following are th ree o p tio n s available to Tribal Council: 1. Stay the same; direct service tribe. 2. 638 contract for the balance o f IHS services not already contracted. 3. Com pact (different contract process) assuming full control with direct fund ing coming from IHS head- quartets. T he Pordand IHS w ould provide supportive technical assistance. In-m e’ nai m u m a’; I want to ask you to join me in sup p o rt o f compacting the local IHS clinic management and operations. I ask you to talk to our Tribal Council to take urgent and thoughtful action. T how qusch! (that’s all I have to say); Wa tic s’ qcuit, Sal Sahme touched by the batdes they identified, like poverty, preju dice an d racism , physical abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, negative stereotypes, drugs and alcohol. We id en tified o u r in d i vidual warriors in term s o f dreams and then listed the steps needed to get to where we wanted! T he kids were g re a t an d th ey m ade m e proud. A o f them had the judges in tears. So moving and great dreams. You all would have been proud! We’ve got some beautiful minds and resilient, ambitious Native kids. They made me miss the classroom and teach ing We also had 20 students participate in the 3-on-3 bas ketball tournament. The top three team s were awarded. We had a total o f six students (two on each o f the teams) in the top three. We, W arm S prings, brought eight o f the 12 Stu dent Awards home. W hat a great experience for us all! G et your students enrolled with JO M and stay tuned for more positive experiences for th e N ative A m erican Stu dents. Deanie Smith Memorials D ear fam ily an d friends, I had planned a Me morial on O ctober 26, 2013. H o w ev er, b e cause o f unforeseen cir cumstances I am post poning it until further notice. T he M emorial w as fo r T om m y D ic k so n , M ad en e M e a n u s ,’ L u cin d a Stwyer, Jimmy Wesley, M artin a Stw yer, Madena Wesley, Roger Stwyer, Charles Stwyer and W inona Stwyer. Neda and Jamey Wesley and family. Great job T w e n ty -th re e stu d e n ts from the 509-J school district recendy attended the Oregon Indian Education Association Y o u th C o n fe re n c e in La Grande. The students rep resented the C onfederated Tribes o f Warm Springs in a very good way! I am so proud o f all the youth w ho attended the con feren ce w ith th e Jo h n so n O ’M alley-Education group. They were awesome. All 23 students competed in the Speech com petition. They all prepared a speech (one to four m inutes long) and delivered it in front o f a judging p an el an d adults. Warm Springs placed the top two o f three awarded! The theme o f the compe tition was, “N u rtu rin g the Warrior: Building Skills For Success.” We had a two-hour work session at the hotel the night before, and all the students composed their own speeches. Wow, talk about some great ambition. We focused on the idea th at W arriors com e in different forms, and that the battles they fight were n o t typical batdes you see in the movies. * I w as so p ro u d an d River treaty The modernization o f the Columbia River Treaty is in the best interest o f our re gion, the United States, and the Columbia Basin citizens who rely on this river. T he draft recom m enda tion released today by the U.S Entity adds the ecosystem as a primary driver, co-equal to hydropower and flood con trol, a feature that will make the treaty a model o f inter national water management. The sovereigns, stakehold ers, and other interested par ties m ust w ork together as a region to reach a consensus that we can all support and be proud of. L eav in g th e C o lu m b ia R iv er T reaty u n c h a n g e d forces us all to lose, and lose significantly. U p p e r b a sin re s id e n ts could be forced to unfairly bear a greater burden through greater demands on their res ervoirs. D im in ish ed w ater quality and quantity issues will frustrate the Columbia Basin’s on-going salmon res toration efforts, and the re gion will be unprepared to address climate change. We cannot allow any o f these to Births Makeena Robins on- ' Angeles 1 S alvador R o b in so n - A ng eles an d M au reen Winishut o f Warm Springs are pleased to announce the birth o f their daugh ter M akeena R obinson- Angeles, born on Septem ber 22, 2013. M akeena’joins sisters Marilu, 8, and Esperanza, 4. Rylan Robert Wells Jaro n M. and Megah K. Wells o f Madras are pleased to announce the birth o f their son Rylan Robert Wells, born on Sep tember 22, 2013. G randparents on the fath e r’s side are Travis W ells o f M adras, and Tam m y W ilson o f Ma- happen. The U.S. Entity, in collabo ration with numerous parties, has been reviewing the Co lumbia River Treaty to advise the U.S. D epartm ent o f State on the treaty’s future after 2024. A draft o f the regional rec o m m e n d a tio n has b een released for review and com m ent. T he U.S. E ntity and Sovereign Review Team be lieve that this recommenda tion is ready for regional re view, , The Columbia Basin tribes remain dedicated to the inclu- sio n o f eco sy ste m -b a se d fu n ctio n in a m odernized treaty and are comm itted to working with the other sov ereigns, stakeholders, and in terested parties to develop a path forward that we can all support. For the past 50 years, the region has tried to optimize hydropower and flood con trol w ithout consideration o f th e eco sy stem . T h a t has failed. The time to redefine the future o f the Columbia River is now. Paul Lumley, executive director, Columbia River In ter-Tribal Fish Commission. Apologies I apologize to the comm u nity o f Warm Springs and the Pi-Ume-Sha grounds for the day o f 6-29-13.1 know it was w rong, being like that in a public place. I was just cel ebrating and got a little out o f hand. A nd I was just mind ing my own business and get ting something to eat and go ing hom e again, but I still got caught up. But once again I apologize to the community o f W arm Springs once again. Sorry to Pi-Ume-Sha grounds. It w on’t happen again. Sonny Yahtin. I would like to apologize for trying to cash a check for the am ount o f $1,680 on or a b o u t th e day o f Ju n e 6, 2013. I have made a wrong choice trying to cash a check that didn’t belong to me. I would also like to apologize dras. G randparents on the m other’s side are Bryan and Jean H inton o f Texas. Joseph Michael Holliday Jaylon Holliday Sr. and Hillary Camas o f Warm Springs are pleased to an nounce the birth o f their so n J o s e p h M ichael Holliday, b o rn on Sep tem ber 13, 2013. Joseph joins brother Jaylon Jr., 2. G randparents on the fa th e r’s side are Jo el H o llid ay an d C orey C lem en ts o f W arm Springs. G ran d p aren t on the m other’s side is Eugenia Alire o f Madras. to. th e victim , F.T., and to W arm S prings M arket. I have been charged with forg ery, perjury, and theft. I also had to sit jail time and I am on bench probation for my wrongful actions. Again I am sorry for my wrong actions and will learn from these mis takes. B ut once again I am sorry and hope all victims will accept my apology. Mackalin Kalama. I am so,rry for not respect ing the Traditional Treaty Day Powwow. I do realize this was the Forty-Fourth Annual cel ebration. I ask for your for giveness and again I am sorry. Sincerely, Alexander Sandy Henry. Designated Smoking Area The tribal adminis tration building now has a designated smok ing area located be.- tween the Tribal Coun cil chambers and the o ffic e o f th e C h ie f O p e ra tio n s O fficer. This is the outside area on the east side o f the building. A ccess be o p en from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., M onday through Fri day. A ccess w ill be through the lobby area door, located between the Tribal Council and m a il-re c e p tio n e n trance area. Benches and ashtrays will be provided in the smok- ihg area. This directive from the Office o f the Sec retary-Treasurer took effect on Monday. The next deadline to sub mit items fo r publication in the Spilyay Tymoo is Friday, October 11. Thank you fo r writing! (— — \ Legal Aid Services of Oregon, offering free legal service in some cases, can be reached at 541-385- 6944. \2
