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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2014)
E Coosh EEWA: The way it is Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo November 26, 2014 Letters to the editor Healthy gratitude By Alyssa Macy The holidays are a time of celebration, an opportunity for many families to come together, share a meal and exchange gifts. But for many families, the holidays are a time of stress as many struggle to meet the basic needs. If you are strug- gling, it can be a challenge to maintain a positive attitude at this time of year. But did you know that ex- Spilyay pressing grati- Speaks tude is good for your health? Writing daily in a gratitude journal or penning a thank you letter to someone you never properly thanked boosts your mood, and if done over extended periods of time, has a positive impact on psychological, physical and social health. Expressing gratitude is also beneficial to our relation- ships—When we do it, we can see how we are supported and affirmed by others. Being thankful allows us to see the good in the world, the gifts that we have received, the abundance that is around us. This doesn’t mean that the world is perfect, because we will have challenges and bur- dens to carry. However, ex- pressing gratitude allows us to see the goodness in life as a whole. When we are intentional in this process, it also allows us to recognize the sources of goodness, most often outside of ourselves—a kind neigh- bor, a thoughtful friend, a beautiful sunrise, a child’s laughter. We understand that our lives our intertwined with the world, all life upon it, and one another. We are inter-de- pendent. This year, I started my first gratitude journal. This jour- nal sits on my desk and I’ve tried to jot down something each day that I’m grateful for. While I haven’t been as diligent as I’ve hoped with my entries, the exercise has been grounding and uplifting. Writing in a gratitude jour- nal is a great exercise for any- one and doesn’t require a lot. All you need is a journal, a pen, and a few moments each day to write down something you are grateful for. I chal- lenge you to join me in writ- ing daily in your gratitude journal and would love to hear from you about the ex- perience. Gratitude is a behavior that we all need to cultivate; it makes us healthier, happier and helps us to see the true meaning of the holidays! A thank you The Recreation Depart- ment would like to thank In- dian Head Casino for their generous donation of an IPod Touch for the Monster Mash Dance Contest, held October 31. Here are the results for the contest: First place: Kaiwin Clements, who won a Tablet. Second place: Aaliyah Martinez, IPod Touch. Third: Leona Eagle- speaker, IPod Shuffle. We had awards for the Best Decorated Trunk at Trunk-Or-Treat, held at the ballfields: First place: Kah-Nee-Ta Resort & Spa. Second: Nancy Sooksoit. Third: KWSO. Thank you Warm Springs community members and or- ganizations for participating in this year’s Trunk-Or-Trick. The families had a blast. Carnival booth partici- pants, Thank you so much— the kiddos had lots of fun playing the games. Thank you, Fire Manage- ment, Seth David-volunteer, the Children’s Protective Ser- vices, the Warm Springs Box- ing Club, KWSO (two booths), Margarette Tapia, volunteer, Bonfire and Hobo Dance. Thank you, fire-keeper Demus Martinez. Thank you KWSO for sponsoring the sounds, and thank you to Andy Leonard for spinning the tunes. This would not have been possible without your help J Thank you Ronda’s Fry Bread for the yummy food and spooky punch. Thanks to clean-up and set-up crew. Thank you Shawn, June and Family, Jamie Holiday, Charles Wolfe and Edmund Francis. If we missed anyone we are sorry and thank you too! Warm Springs Recre- ation. Appreciated I would like to take this time to thank Judge Langnese for giving me the opportunity to be with my family through a trying time, also Floyd Calica for going out of his 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 way to find an immediate fam- ily member when they were all busy. And also my sister Marella Sam for stopping in. I know she was probably at work. Also my good friend Vernon Smith Sr. for the strong prayer we had behind closed doors. No matter where you are your prayers are heard. For ever grateful, Wendell E. Greene Births Rylan Joseph Mitchell Arthur B. Mitchell Sr. and Angeline Blackwolf are pleased to announce the birth of their son Rylan Joseph Mitchell, born on October 29, 2014 at St. Charles in Redmond, weighing 5 pounds and 5 ounces, 19 inches long. Rylan joins sister Gloria A. Mitchell, 18; and six broth- ers, Tristan Mitchell, 7, Donte Smith, 18, Eric A. Mitchell, 22, Matthew Sconawah, 23, Arthur B. Mitchell Jr., 23, and Leo Wil- son. Chace Shine Begay Tony Begay and Eustolia Christina Gurrola-Smith of Warm Springs are pleased to Rodeo High Point Award Isaiah Florendo re- ceived the Mutton Busting high point award on Satur- day, Nov. 15, 2014. Isaiah participated in the North Lake Rodeo Association Payday Sum- mer Series all summer long. Isaiah would like to thank the following: Jay from Cash & Re- lease of Madras, and Aurolyn Stwyer for all her support. Thank you to the elders of Warm Springs, and Grandpa JE for mak- ing my riding rope. Thank you to my Dad for buying my riding vest, to Grandpa “JR” for driv- ing me, and to Grandpa “Azaar” Spino for the use of his trailer. Thank you to my great And a big Thank You to grandpa Evans for buying the rest of my gear, and my fans! Sincerely, Isaiah Darrias thanks to all the rest of my Florendo. family for their support. announce the birth of their son Chace Shine Begay, born on November 18, 2014. Chace joins brothers Sammy, 9, and Joaquin, 7. Grandparents on the father’s side are the late An- thony Cadman of Arizona, and the Gloria Begay Ganado of Arizona. D. McMechan/Spilyay Isaiah with Mutton Busting winning trophy, buckle and gear bag. Grandparents on the mother’s side are Denise A. Smith of Warm Springs, and Jose Gurrola of Madras. Natives seek decent housing at Columbia River by Gosia Wozniacka The Associated Press Between the 1930s and the 1970s, the U.S. govern- ment built four dams—the Bonneville, the Dalles, the John Day and the McNary— on the Columbia River to gen- erate electricity through hy- dropower. Dozens of communities and homes were lost to con- struction or flooded. Federal officials sought to compensate people for the damage, but their efforts fo- cused on white residents. Several non-Indian towns were relocated and in some cases entirely reconstructed, complete with new housing, schools, parks and roads— their white residents given compensation or relocation assistance. Native villagers were not treated the same way, accord- ing to tribal and government documents. In many cases, officials simply disregarded Indians’ property damage, records show. “These were our people’s village sites. The government was supposed to replace them, but they never did,” said Wilbur Slockish, a Yakama member whose grandmother was from Celilo village, where he lived and packed fish as a boy before the area was flooded by the Dalles Dam. The report released earlier this year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which examined the impact of two of the four dams, found that at least three village sites— home to at least 41 families and 50 housing structures— were torn down due to Bonneville Dam construc- tion. None of the families were compensated. And at least two villages housing several dozen fami- lies and homes were destroyed by The Dalles Dam. The gov- ernment handed out some relocation assistance in that case, and placed 10 army sur- plus barracks on a small par- cel near Celilo village. But the money and homes helped only a fraction of the Indi- ans—the sums were very small and the houses substan- dard, quickly falling into dis- repair. In the report, tribal interviewees recall what was lost: traditional tulee mat lodges, tents, stacked stone homes, shacks with drying sheds, below-ground shelters with plank roofs covered with dirt. The tribes also say the report’s estimate of how many Indian families were not compensated is far too low, because the historical documents the report relied on are biased. The Corps says officials at its Washington headquarters are reviewing the report. The Portland office would need their go-ahead to do an ex- haustive study of dams’ im- pact on tribal housing, said project manager Eric Stricklin. Congress would have to authorize construc- tion and funding. The Corps admits discrimi- natory policies influenced how it handled the Indian housing issue, spokeswoman Diana Fredlund said. “The government’s posi- tion was a policy of assimila- tion,” Fredlund said. “They were trying to assimilate the Indians, so housing was not high on the priority list as far as the government was con- cerned.” As the dams were built and the Indians fought to re- assert their treaty fishing rights, the federal govern- ment did agree to develop replacement fishing sites to compensate for those flooded by the dams. Tribal leaders say the government also promised to rebuild living Record salmon returns in recent years have drawn even more Indians to fish as a livelihood, something that would have been impossible a few de- cades earlier when fish runs drastically declined quarters, but later denied that such a promise had been made. It took seven decades of struggles to replace the fish- ing sites. The Corps initially developed five so-called “in- lieu” sites; another 26 “treaty fishing access sites” were de- veloped in the past two de- cades. In 2008, the Corps also rebuilt the dilapidated Celilo village. During those decades, the river Indians say, they endured years of prejudice from Or- egon and Washington officials who tried to eliminate Indian fishing by restricting it and arresting and jailing Native fishermen. White property owners barred Indians from accessing fishing sites and white fishermen destroyed their nets, the Indians say. The replacement fishing sites provided the Indians places of their own—families who had been displaced by the dams moved onto the sites as soon as they were opened and set up permanent homes in drying sheds and other structures. From the start, the Bureau of Indian Affairs— the sites’ landlord—didn’t approve of their presence: Federal officials harassed and aimed to evict the dwellers. In the 1980s, the Indians filed suit and won. A judge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the Indians had maintained homes at their fishing sites prior to the con- struction of the dams and could do so again at the five in-lieu sites. It remained ille- gal to live on the other 26 sites developed after the court vic- tory, but people moved onto some of them anyway. Today, the sites still offer little beyond basic amenities: a fish cleaning station, com- munal restrooms and show- ers, a boat dock, an access road. Over the years, they have degenerated due to over- crowding, inadequate infra- structure and neglect. Some attracted crime and other so- cial ills. The sites lack plumbing or electric lines. They have no fire, police, or ambulance ser- vices. In some cases, there is no septic system, just a stor- age tank that must be pumped out weekly. The water systems were not meant for perma- nent homes, and recently some were designated as pub- lic water systems—meaning substantial renovations are needed. Residents have built make- shift homes, added primitive plumbing or additions to sheds and trailers. None of the housing is built to code, tribal leaders say... At Lone Pine, makeshift dwellings support about 40 permanent residents, includ- ing children. There’s running water and sewers, but no plumbing to dwellings. No electricity either, though the Dalles Dam can produce up to two million kilowatts of power just a few feet away. Three years ago, the Co- lumbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission took over management of the fishing sites. The fish commission has 12 tribal police officers who enforce fishery laws and who now oversee the fishing sites. CRITFC embarked on a three-year clean-up campaign. See RIVER HOUSING on 12
