Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
May 13, 2015
Vol. 40, No. 10
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Ventures
to fill key
positions
The weather held out again for
another incredible Warm
Springs Honor Seniors Day.
It was cold earlier in the week,
and then it rained afterward,
but last Friday was sunny and
mild: “We must be doing
something right,” said Wilson
Wewa, director of the Senior
Program and Senior Day
master of ceremonies.
All the volunteers came
through for the day, and the
door prize donations were very
generous, he said.
The lunch this year was Indian
Tacos, which proved to be a
very popular choice.
Dinner included the traditional
salmon bake. The students at
the Early Childhood Education
hosted their Seniors Day
Powwow, and this year a
couple got married during this
memorable occasion (see
page 3).
Alyssa Macy photos.
Council addressing fossil fuel transport issue
Councilman Smith suggested the
Branch of Natural Resources cre-
ate a position that is dedicated to
the Columbia-Deschutes rivers fos-
sil fuel transport issue.
Tribal Council met with CRITFC
staff earlier this week, discussing the
subject in detail. CRITFC policy
analyst Julie Carter shared informa-
tion she has been collecting for
some time.
She shared information on sev-
eral coal and oil transport projects
in Oregon and Washington. The
transport route to and from these
refineries and transport sites is
through the Columbia Gorge,
mainly by rail and barge.
It is not clear how much oil is
being transported, as the companies
do not publicly disclose this infor-
mation, but the amount is clearly
signficant.
One concern for the tribes is that
a derailment could be a disaster for
fisheries. Derailments and explo-
sions of fossil fuel transport trains
happen with some frequency: There
have been several high-profile oil-
by-rail accidents in the last couple
of months.
Last week in North Dakota, for
instance, an oil-transport train de-
railed, causing a six-tank car explo-
sion, forcing the evacuation of a
nearby town.
Council directed the tribes’ emer-
gency manager Dan Martinez to
monitor the number of oil trans-
port rail cars that are traveling
through the reservation.
Council also directed staff to
look at the rail leases that are on
the reservation, and their renewal
status.
Coyote Island
The concern at Coyote Island
involves a coal transport pro-
posal. The issue at Coyote Island
is the loss of an established tribal
fishing site, among the last re-
maining in that area.
At the Council meeting this
week, Bruce Jim listed some of
members, himself included, who
fish at this site. There is evidence
at the site, and in official docu-
ments with CRITFC Enforce-
ment and other entities, that show
this is a usual and accustomed
fishing place, Jim said.
See FISHERIES on 12
Year 5 of
horse removal
The Branch of Natural Re-
sources Range and Ag Depart-
ment is in year five of the Warm
Springs Reservation horse re-
moval program.
The spring 2015 inventory will
show the current state of the
excess or unwanted horse popu-
lation on the reservation.
The program so far has
proven to be a success: The ini-
tial goal in 2011 was to remove
500 excess horses per year; and
Range and Ag has far exceeded
that number.
The herds of unclaimed horses
cause several problems on the
reservation: They destroy fish
habitat, and reduce habitat for
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
50 cents
May – Xawit’an – Spring - Wawaxam
25th
Seniors
Day
Fossil fuel transport through the
Columbia River Gorge is of increas-
ing concern to the Confederated
Tribes.
There is one specific coal-trans-
port proposal that the tribes are ac-
tively opposing, at Coyote Island,
Port of Morrow. But there are
many other projects in various
stages of planning and development.
The tribes should take a compre-
hensive approach to deal with this
problem, said Councilman Carlos
Smith, chairman of the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
The tribes cannot take on each
project as they come up, he said,
because there are too many of them
in recent years. Instead, the tribes
need a set of policies that will apply
to all these types of projects.
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
The problem is evident in this photo of unclaimed horses roaming the reservation.
deer and elk. They deplete land that
could be used for livestock and ag-
riculture, and degrade the rangeland.
Jason Smith, Range and Ag di-
rector, estimates there were more
than 6,000 excess or unwanted
horses roaming the reservation in
2011.
That year, the removal program
brought in more that 1,200 of the
animals. In 2012, seven-hundred
were removed; in 2013 another
1,245; and in 2014, more than
1,300. The total number removed
at that point was about 4,450. The
spring inventory will show the cur-
rent situation.
Range and Ag follows a set of
Courtesy Range & Ag/BNR
detailed guidelines in removing
the animals.
The department developed
the policies with input from graz-
ing, agriculture, fish and wildlife,
and other interested parties. Any-
one interested can review the
guidelines at the Branch of
Natural Resources.
Warm Springs Ventures is taking
the next step in developing the Tribal
Employment Rights Office, or
TERO. Ventures is advertising for
a TERO director.
Ventures meanwhile is also look-
ing for a business development and
marketing manager, to oversee the
business and financial growth of the
economic enterprise.
The TERO program has poten-
tial for significant job growth among
tribal members.
The TERO requirements apply
on the reservation, and also within
a 60-mile radius of the reservation
boundary.
The TERO director will work
with the contractors and
subcontractors, ensuring tribal
member access to the employment
opportunities.
These
would
include
construction work such as Oregon
Department of Transportation
projects. The range of the Warm
Springs TERO is from Bend to
The Dalles, the largest in Oregon
and among the largest in the U.S.
The Grand Ronde and Umatilla
tribes have TERO programs, which
served as models for the Warm
Springs program, approved by
Tribal Council earlier this year. (See
page 3 for summary descriptions of the
TERO director and Ventures business
development and marketing manager
positions. Or contact Ventures at 541-
553-3565.)
Comedian plans
laughs in W.S.
Native American comedian
Mitch Factor will perform at the
Warm Springs Community Center
on Thursday, May 28. Dinner will
be at 5:30, and the show starts at
6:30.
The show will include a joke con-
test, with Mitch offering a cash
prize for the best joke. The event is
sponsored by Warm Springs Com-
munity Counseling and the Native
Aspirations Coalition.
Mitch is one of the top Indian
comedians in the U.S. He has per-
formed for thousands over the last
10 years, from Alaska to Germany,
and most of Indian Country, at na-
tional Indian conferences, casinos,
powwows, banquets, etc.
Mitch is a Seminole and
Menominee Indian, born the
youngest of 10 children in Okla-
homa. He has been involved in
Head Start for many years, and
worked as a teacher and education
manager at Head Start. He per-
forms comedy because he loves to
see people laugh together.
His topics include children, rela-
tionships, teachers, getting older, and
the Indian way of life.