Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
December 10, 2014
Page 7
2014 ~ A Year in Review
(Here is a look back at some of
the memorable news events that hap-
pened on the reservation over the past
year.)
January
The new year started with some
good news for the Confederated
Tribes, as the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration approved the Warm
Springs Reservation as a test site
for unmanned aerial vehicles.
This could be an important eco-
nomic development opportunity for
the tribes, as the UAV industry in
the U.S. is expanding at a rapid pace.
UAV businesses will likely want
to locate facilities close to the test-
ing areas, according to Warm Springs
Ventures, the tribal enterprise work-
ing on this project. Meanwhile in
January:
Harold Baugus was feeling good
about the 2014 prospects for In-
dian Head Casino.
Baugus, who came on board re-
cently as casino general manager,
said his goal is for the casino to be-
come a top entertainment center in
Central Oregon.
“We’re centrally located, and this
is still a new casino,” he said. “The
sky is the limit.”
The casino installed 40 new ma-
chines. The Cottonwood Restaurant
on weekends is hosting live music
entertainment. And this summer
there will be outdoor concerts with
room for up to 1,500 people.
A new marketing campaign is
gearing up, with new billboards and
print advertising. The casino will
start advertising in Spanish language
television and radio stations. Else-
where:
The Museum at War m
Springs will be focusing on youth
in 2014, as the Warm Springs k-8
Academy will be opening in the fall.
The main exhibit of the year will
be Celebrating Native American
Youth, said Natalie Moody, museum
curator.
Work is nearly complete on a $1.5
million repair project at Kah-Nee-
Ta Resort.
Last summer, a fire started in the
kitchen area. The flames caused
some damage, but water from the
emergency sprinklers also was a
problem. In the lodge the floor had
to be replaced, as it was damaged
by the water.
Insurance is covering the cost of
the repairs, said Carlos Smith, Kah-
Nee-Ta general manager. The re-
sort is open, as the repair work is
nearing completion. In the mean-
time:
Tribal Council has been review-
ing the possibility of the tribes en-
tering the carbon sequestration
market. The hope is that this could
provide a new source of revenue—
possibly a very good source—to the
tribes.
Carbon sequestration is the pro-
cess of capturing and storing atmo-
spheric carbon dioxide, a green-
house gas. Certain forestry practices
can be a method of capturing and
storing carbon dioxide, and the res-
ervation includes extensive forest
land.
The Natural Resources Branch
and legal staff have been studying
the carbon sequestration market. “I
think this could be a very good
project for the tribes,” said Bobby
Brunoe, general manager of the
Natural Resources Branch.
February
The Warm Springs Academy
construction crews worked
through a stormy February.
Painters were at work inside the
classrooms, and the teachers were
preparing for the open house in
March.
Construction is scheduled for
completion in August, in time for
the start of the 2014-15 school year.
More than 700 students will be
attending the academy in the fall.
Meanwhile, the students decided on
the mascot for the academy. They
chose the eagle image as drawn by
Taylor Arthur, who was an eighth-
grader at the time. Also in Febru-
ary:
Many departments were shut
down in early February, as a major
winter weather event passed over
the region.
There were several minor mo-
tor vehicle accidents, but no seri-
ous injuries. In sporting news:
Abby Scott achieved a rare feat,
tying the all-time NCAA Division I
Women’s basketball record for most
3-pointers in a game. Abby is a
sophomore at New Mexico State.
Shoni Schimmel was having
another great year at Louisville. This
is Shoni’s final year with the Cardi-
nals, and will be entering the WNBA
draft in 2014. In other February
2014 news:
Tribal Council spent several
days with the directors and manag-
ers of the tribal enterprises. The
general fund budget, with the need
for continued cuts this year, is the
issue. Elsewhere:
The Museum at Warm Springs
opened the Twenty-First Tribal
Youth Art Show, this year called
Young at Art.
March
Elder of the Year
The Simnasho community
hosted the Thirty-Seventh Annual
Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow in
March.
The powwow is usually held in
February, but this year was an ex-
ception due to the weather. Also in
March:
The Madras Cinema 5 made a
special showing of Awakening , a
film by tribal member LaRonn
Katchia. This was a special event
at the cinema, with a showing of
Awakening plus five recent music
videos by Katchia. And this:
Culture and Heritage an-
nounced a new program, Rites of
Passage: A Young Boy’s Journey to
Manhood. The program features
lessons on Nami Tamanwit—un-
written and traditional laws; the tribal
Constitution and By-Laws; the
Treaty of 1855; making tribal laws;
net-making and catching fish. In
other March news:
War m Springs Ventures an-
nounced the tribes will host the As-
sociation of Unmanned Vehicle Sys-
tems International conference in
2014.
The association is the largest or-
ganization devoted exclusively to ad-
vancing the use of unmanned sys-
tems, with membership over 7,500
individuals.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs and the AUVSI Cas-
cade Chapter are planning a fall fo-
rum at Kah-Nee-Ta.
The smelt season this year for
the Sandy and Cowlitz rivers, and
other Columbia River tributaries,
runs through the end of March.
The tribal catch limit is 7,500
pounds, or about 107,100 fish. The
smelt of Oregon, Washington and
California are listed under the fed-
eral Threatened and Endangered
Species Act.
April
A proposed increase in coal and
oil transportation by rail and barge
through the Gorge is a growing con-
cern among tribal officials. Natu-
ral Resources Branch General Man-
ager Bobby Brunoe updated Tribal
Council on these matters in April.
A coal export facility proposed
for the Port or Morrow at
Boardman is another item of con-
cern, Brunoe said. Impacts on cul-
Spilyay file photo.
Edna Gonzalez and her mother Viola, 2014 Senior of the Year.
The Warm Springs Senior
Program hosted the annual
Honor Seniors Day in May.
Viola Kalama was honored
as Senior of the Year for
2014.
Viola was born in early July
of 1921, at the area that is
now Elmer Quinn Park. The
area once was used for Fourth
of July celebrations.
Viola’s mother was Ida
Palmer, and her father was
Custer Wallulatum. Growing
up Viola lived on the reserva-
tion and at the Columbia River,
where she learned from her
grandmother Susan Palmer, In-
dian name Youdel.
From her grandmother
Viola learned the Wasco lan-
guage, and traditional basketry
skills.
Growing up at the Colum-
bia she helped with the fishing,
tural resources, water quality and
the Columbia fishery are the main
concerns, he said.
A cultural site within an area of
immediate impact dates back to
1300 B.C., said Tribal Councilman
Kahseuss Jackson.
The Warm Springs Telecom has
seen great progress since beginning
operation in early 2012. The
Telecom is now serving about 80
percent of the residential market on
the reservation.
The enterprise also has several
hundred non-residential customers.
These include Indian Head Casino,
which was the Telecom’s first cus-
tomer; tribal administration and
most other departments; Power and
Water, Natural Resources, and some
telecommunication aspects of the
clinic.
The Telecom this month is es-
tablishing a new tower that will
greatly enhance the broadband ser-
vice at Kah-Nee-Ta. New towers
are serving Simnasho, the Schoolie
and Sidwalter Flat areas, and
Seekseequa. In other news:
Veterans and their family and
friends met at the HeHe Longhouse
for the Annual Veterans and Fam-
ily Healing Circle.
Larson Kalama and family have
organized this event for the several
years now. Many kinds of healing
practices—sweat lodge, talking
circle, washing and healing touch,
music and poetry among them—are
used at the gathering.
May
Spilyay file photo.
Early in 2014, construction was under way on the new Warm Springs Eagle Academy gymnasium.
The Confederated Tribes this
month hosted the first unmanned
aerial vehicle fly-overs on the res-
ervation.
and dried and canned the
salmon.
Later as a young woman,
Viola attended technical college
in Corvallis, at what is now
Oregon State University.
She has spent most of her
adult life on the reservation,
where she was a rancher.
Viola is the third eldest tribal
member. She has 13 grand chil-
dren, 25 great grandchildren,
and four great-great grandchil-
dren. Her Indian name A-
tumani.
Viola served six terms on
the Culture and Heritage Com-
mittee, and was active in the
Language program with atwai
Gladys Thompson and
Madeline McInturff. She is an
Agency Longhouse elder, and
keeps active by gathering roots
and other traditional foods, and
beading.
Staff from Oregon State Univer-
sity and the company Virtual Data
Operations Support (VDOS) oper-
ated the UAV flight, coordinated by
Warm Springs Ventures.
OSU is interested in studying the
effects of wildland fires. During the
fly-over, the UAV flew above the
area of the reservation that burned
last summer, making a video re-
cording. In other May news:
The Jefferson County School
District 509-J received a $1.64 mil-
lion grant for Warm Springs El-
ementary. The funding comes from
the U.S. Department of Education
School Improvement Grant pro-
gram.
This federal funding is designed
to help improve student achieve-
ment. The funds will be distributed
over a three-year period. In other
education news:
The Warm Springs community
hosted a surprise assembly for
War m Springs Elementar y
School Principal Dawn Smith,
who will be retiring from the elemen-
tary school at the end of the year.
Smith is going to direct the Roots
alternative education program in
Warm Springs. And this:
Ventures announced a renewed
interest in the motorsports project.
This project was the subject of two
referendums, both of which failed
for lack of voter participation. Else-
where:
The Natural Resources Branch
is preparing a major stream im-
provement project, at Potter’s Pond
on Mill Creek.
This is a large-scale improve-
ment project that will improve fish
habitat along a stretch of the creek
that was damaged over the past sev-
eral decades.
(To conclude in the Dec. 24 Spilyay)