E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Page 4
Spilyay Tymoo
October 15, 2014
Letters to the editor
Warm Springs Eagles logo
Courtesy Diane Dominiak/k-8 Academy
Taylor Arthur and family by the Eagles logo in the k-8 gymnasium.
Taylor Arthur was
honored during the first
student assembly at the
Warm Springs k-8 Acad-
emy.
Taylor, a freshman
this year, is the artist who
helped design the Warm
Springs Eagles logo for the
new school.
Glenna DeSouza, princi-
pal, presented Taylor with a
t-shirt and sweatshirt.
During the assembly,
drummers welcomed the stu-
dent body with traditional
songs.
Principal DeSouza
also introduced the
school staff. Players and
coaches of the fall sports
teams introduced them-
selves.
Historical
Trauma
Courtesy Mary Sando Emhoolah
Warm Springs delegation at the Climate March in New
York City: Mike and Mary Emhoolah, Wil Sando,
Ramone Thomas and Adrian Merrifield.
Dinner, auction for MHS sports
The Buff Boosters will
host a crab and tri tip dinner
and auction this Saturday,
Oct. 18 at the Mt. Jefferson
RAPA building.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.,
and dinner is at 7:30. Tick-
ets are $30 per person and
are available for purchase at
Snow’s Cleaners and at the
MHS Bookkeepers window.
Tickets are also available
for purchase with any Boost-
ers member or MHS coach.
There will be games,
raffles, as well as silent and
live auctions.
All proceeds benefit the
Madras High School activi-
ties, clubs and athletic pro-
grams.
Have you ever questioned
why so many of our Native
American people are suffer-
ing physically, emotionally,
spiritually and mentally?
Take a moment to think
of a time when everything
was great—maybe a family
vacation or reaching a goal
such as graduating high
school.
The feeling of joy, fam-
ily, love, and unity is what ev-
eryone should experience and
strive towards.
On the other hand most
will experience the pain and
suffering, the struggle to live,
the tests of everyday life.
Everyone’s struggle is dif-
ferent. One might be strug-
gling to put food on the table,
while the next door neighbor
is fighting alcoholism, and
right across the way there’s a
family with everything—
money, cars, etc.—but they’re
struggling with gambling.
Growing up on the reser-
vation one would experience
the ups and downs from gen-
eration to generation, and the
environment they live in. If
you are surrounded by alco-
hol as a child, eventually you
will be using because of the
“norm” and availability.
This is one example of
coping with Historical
Tr uama—the cumulative
emotional and psychological
wounding over one’s lifetime,
and from generation to gen-
eration, following the loss of
lives, land and vital aspects
of culture.
One fine example that re-
lates to our tribe is called
“ecocide.” This is the destruc-
tion of our natural foods like
fish, deer, and buffalo.
Destroying foods that sus-
tain a people forces them to
move or die of starvation.
A bounty was placed on
buffalo, and so colonizers
killed buffalo almost to ex-
tinction.
Another tactic used on the
Columbia River was the de-
struction of Celilo Falls; so
tribes could not fish for food
and barter.
Fish hatcheries were
placed below the Bonneville
dam so fish would not return
to the upper rivers and be
available to the tribes of the
Columbia River.
All these historical and cur-
rent events have caused our
Native people to live in a state
of “chronic stress,” and this
contributes to unhealthy
lifestyle behaviors.
Our bodies change with
how we metabolize foods,
and we are now eating foods
that are high in sugars like fast
foods, packaged and canned
ready-to-eat foods. These
have a lot of sugars and so-
dium or salts, as well as fats
that don’t’ break down.
These are other types of
cultural trauma:
Establishment of reserva-
tions.
Removal of children to
boarding schools. Removal
of children from homes.
Refusal to allow Native
Americans the use of their
own language.
Forced sterilization of
women in many tribes.
Frequent, systemic viola-
tions against Native Ameri-
cans by the government and
law enforcement.
Racism and stereotyping.
Lack of trust in others—
non-Native people, Native
peoples in tribal govern-
ments, lack of confidence in
system.
There has been a 90-per-
cent reduction in the Native
American population since
European arrival.
I believe if we address
these issues head-on we can
heal as a people. Then we can
live to our full potential and
succeed in this world.
Studies show if we con-
front our truama and em-
brace our history, understand
the truama, release the pain,
and heal and move beyond
it, then we no longer have to
define ourselves in terms of
truama.
We as Native Americans
overcame a lot of obstacles,
and we’re still here surviving.
If we heal one and all, we
can do more than survive. We
can begin to enjoy life and
strive.
Scott Kalama, certified
Prevention specialist.
Tribal resources
Hunting, fishing and gath-
ering have always been im-
portant to Indians, most
tribes of course obtained all
of their food this way for sub-
sistence.
Congress has made it a
federal crime for non-Indians
to hunt or fish on an Indian
Reservation, except in com-
pliance with tribal law. Non-
Indians who violate tribal law
can be expelled from the Res-
ervation, or may be pros-
ecuted for trespassing and il-
legal hunting for deer and elk,
etc. Larceny is stealing.
Also this year it is very
easy for some non-Indians to
trespass in closed areas of the
Auna—Paxamatsha. Learn or practice pow-
wow dancing and drumming.
Sessions are Wednesday evenings from 5:30-
7:30 at the Warm Springs Community Center
aerobics room.
For more information call Merle Kirk at 541-
460-2788.
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Multi Media Specialist: Alyssa Macy
Managing 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 or 541-771-7521
E-Mail: dave.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $15.00
Happy Trick-or-Treating, Warm Springs, from Travis Bobb.
Reservation, since they are
now free to trespass on the
Reservation to harvest the
Tribes’ sacred huckleberries.
That policy needs to be abol-
ished. What’s next, salmon,
roots, firewood, mush-
rooms—the tribes’ resources.
Respectfully, Anthony
Littleleaf.
Tribal budget
As we think about our an-
nual budget 2015, we are
mindful of our Elders and
the children.
Many of our Elders take
care of children in their
household, due to lack of
housing and other concerns.
The Senior Pension and
Minors Trust Funds have
been substantially decreased,
and we would like to come
up with a remedy to turn this
around.
Around 1979, we recall
that the tribal member stake-
holders were upset with the
approved the budget for the
upcoming year. At that time,
the tribal members attended
the District and General
Council meetings in vast num-
bers.
The tribal members circu-
lated a petition, which
grasped the attention of the
leadership and tribal admin-
istration. The tribal adminis-
trative management had con-
cern for a potential freeze on
all funds, particularly the Se-
nior pension and Minor Trust
Funds.
In response to this matter,
two perpetual trust fund ac-
counts were established in the
amount of $10 million for
Senior Pension and $10 mil-
lion for scholarships. The
plans were to disburse the
funds from the interest, with-
out touching the principle of
$10 million dollars.
There was an understand-
ing that there will always be
funds available for Senior
Pension, as well as education
scholarship funds.
As the years passed by, the
tribal population increased,
tribal revenues decreased,
and additional funds were
required to meet the ex-
panded population of senior
and youth tribal members.
At the Tuesday “Our
People’s” meetings, we have
a dialogue about ideas to turn
this around for our valuable
resources, our Elders and
children.
We encourage you to at-
tend the upcoming tribal bud-
get District meetings. As a
confederated tribal nation,
we are wondering why a Gen-
eral Council meeting is not
posted. Additionally, we are
seeking assurance that we are
in compliance with all the
tribal ordinances and the Con-
stitution and By-Laws.
Naii, Na-k’ishayat
Aurolyn Stwyer
October is Fire Pre-
vention Month. Avoid
cooking fires by keep-
ing things that can
catch fire away from
heat. And watch what
you are cooking espe-
cially if you are cook-
ing with grease or oil –
you need to be right at
the stove to turn down
the heat if the oil gets
too hot.