Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 20, 2016
Page 3
Tribes oppose Columbia oil project
Tesoro-Savage has pro-
posed to build and operate a
crude oil shipping terminal on
the banks of the Columbia
River.
The terminal would handle
an estimated 360,000 barrels
of oil per day, coming into
the project by rail and leav-
ing by tanker down the river
to other ports around the
Pacific. This would be the
largest oil terminal on the
West Coast.
Tribal members have
Treaty fishing rights at the
river, and the Confederated
Tribes are in opposition to the
Tesoro Savage proposal.
The terminal would be on
the Washington side, at
Vancouver. Tribal members
spoke against the project at a
recent hearing held in Clark
County, Wash.
Tribal Council Chairman
Austin Greene Jr. last week
sent a letter, on behalf of the
Council and the tribes, to the
State of Washington - Energy
Facility Site Evaluation Coun-
cil.
The letter lists specific rea-
sons—potential damage to
cultural resources, and dam-
age to fisheries habitat—why
the Confederated Tribes are
in opposition.
The Tesoro-Savage pro-
Courtesy photo.
Tribal Councilman Carlos Smith speaks at a public
hearing on the Tesoro-Savage shipping proposal.
posal is in the draft Environ-
mental Impact Statement
phase. The letter from Chair-
man Greene says:
“The draft Environmen-
tal Impact Statement (DEIS)
concurs that the potential
impacts of oil spills, train ac-
cidents, increased train and oil
tanker ship traffic, toxic air
pollution, harm to tribal re-
sources, and vehicle delays at
railroad crossings are signifi-
cant and unavoidable. The
DEIS demonstrates that oil
train accidents could result in
injuries or fatalities. An oil spill
from the project could extend
all the way to the mouth of
the Columbia River.”
There is a potential for
catastrophic damage to fish
habitat: “The action of oil
sticking to sediments and to
the surface of cobbles and
pebbles would be very harm-
ful to fisheries habitat. There
would be an adverse impact
from oil that migrates down-
ward in the spaces between
cobbles, pebbles and grains
of sand, accumulating in un-
derlying sediment layers.”
There has been a surge in
recent years in U.S. and Ca-
nadian oil production, much
of it from the Bakken shale
and Alberta tar sands, accord-
ing to an article at
riverkeeper.org
“There has been 4,000
percent increase in crude-by-
rail shipments in recent years,
and trains may include up to
120 tank cars. The result has
been oil spills, destructive
fires, and explosions when oil
trains have derailed.”
In one recent year, there
was more oil spilled than in
the previous 38 years, the
article says.
The DEIS provides
ample evidence for the state
agency and governor to
deny the application. “The
Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs Reservation
ask that the state of Wash-
ington act swiftly in taking
this action,” Chair man
Greene’s letter concludes.
The comment period on
the Tesoro-Savage DEIS
ends this Friday, Jan. 22. You
can comment online at:
efsec.wa.gov/
Education: importance of culture, heritage
(Continued from page 1)
“It is the policy of the
United states to preserve,
protect and promote the
rights and freedom of Na-
tive Americans to use, prac-
tice and develop Native
American languages…”
The federal government
“encourages all institutions
of elementary, secondary
and higher education, where
appropriate, to include Na-
tive American languages in
the curriculum in the same
manner as foreign lan-
guages, and to grant profi-
ciency in Native American
languages the same full aca-
demic credit as proficiency
in foreign languages.”
Deanie and June Smith,
both on Education Commit-
tee, met with Tribal Council
last week for an update on
the education agreement.
The current agreement—
among the tribes, school dis-
trict 509-J, and the BIA—is
set to expire this summer.
The Tribal Council, Edu-
The Education Committee will meet this
Thursday, Jan. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the Boys
and Girls Club, to discuss the education
agreement, among other topics.
cation Committee and com-
munity have been talking for
about a year on what they
would like to see in the next
agreement. At last week’s
meeting, Deanie provided the
Tribal Council will copies of
the Native American Lan-
guages Act.
“There is some powerful
wording in this law,” she said.
“I think the language is clear,
and I think this is something
we can implement.”
It will take some time to
figure how best to imple-
ment the law, “and we’re 26
years behind,” Deanie said.
But the time is right—with
the tribes and school district
negotiating toward the new
agreement—to focus on the
issue.
The Culture and Heritage
Department teachers do a
great job of teaching the
tribal languages to young
people, at the Early Child-
hood Education Center, the
Eagle Academy, high school
and Central Oregon Commu-
nity College.
A question going forward
with the school district nego-
tiation is what more could be
done to better bring the lan-
guage, culture and heritage to
the Native students of the
district.
The Education Committee
4202
Holliday St.
has conducted public input
sessions on what the commu-
nity members would like to
see added, or different in
school programs.
A consistent response is
that the tribal culture should
have a greater place in the
schools. This could help ad-
dress absenteeism, and the
drop-out rate.
As an example, the Edu-
cation Committee asked com-
munity members what were
among their best experiences
at school.
Many of the people said
the best part was when they
finally felt like they be-
longed at the school,
“whether it was through
sports, a club, or something
else,” Deanie said.
St. Charles OB opening
The Family Birthing
Center at St. Charles Ma-
dras is reopening on Mon-
day, Jan. 25.
In July, St. Charles had
to temporarily close the
unit to allow the Madras
hospital to stabilize its staff-
ing situation and provide a
higher level of service to
patients.
Since that time, a team
of health system leaders,
Madras caregivers and
physicians has worked to
address the underlying is-
sues faced by the unit.
The team hired a new
Madras OB nurse man-
ager, Tammy Wilson,
whose responsibilities in-
clude managing staff and
ensuring the service line
meets the American Con-
gress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists’ high clinical
standards.
The team secured the
services of 11 labor and
delivery nurses, ensuring
there is sufficient depth in
staffing.
They began exploring
the possibility of a fellow-
ship program to train St.
Charles nurses who are in-
terested in a career in la-
bor and delivery. And they
completed a market analy-
sis of Madras nursing
wages, finding that their
wages are in line with other
similar health systems
across the state.
Looking ahead to Seniors Day
The Twenty-Sixth Annual
Honor Seniors Day will be
held May 13 at agency
longhouse in Warm Springs.
If you want to volunteer
to help out in some way, con-
tact the Senior Program at
553-3313.
Births
Eli Bo Harley-Morris Padilla
Jarren Davis and Julia
Simtustus are pleased to an-
nounce the birth of their son
Eli Bo Harley-Morris Padilla,
born on December 19, 2015.
Eli joins sisters Taralynn,
4, and Denyse, 10.
Grandparents on the
mother’s side are Vincent
simtustus and the late Juanita
Blodgett, both of War m
Springs.
Grandparent on the
father’s side is Dellah Davis
of Denver.
Colin James Walters
Christopher and Christie
Walters of Madras are
pleased to announce the birth
of their son Colin James
Walters, born on January 7,
2016. Colin joins brothers
Shilo and Archer.
Grandparents on the
father’s side are Victoria
Krausman of Nevada, and
Edward Walters of Califor-
nia. Grandparents on the
mother’s side are Rick and
Mary Smithers of Califor-
nia.
Call 541-
615-0555
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