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