Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 20, 2016
Page 5
Making a difference at the Dental Clinic
T he Dental Clinic at the Health
and Wellness Center has a great pre-
vention strategy. “I see prevention
making a big difference in the com-
munity,” said Farrell Lucei, dental
assistant.
Young people today are seeing
much less tooth decay, because of
three main prevention programs,
Farrell says. There is the fluoride
treatment at the Early Childhood
Education Center, the silver nitrate
program, and the sealant clinic.
Farrell has been with the Warm
Springs Dental Clinic for 13 years.
She is an Expanded Function Den-
tal Assistant. Her work, she says,
“is my way of giving back to my
people.”
For her dedication, the IHS Em-
ployee Appreciation Committee
chose Farrell as the Health and
Wellness Center Employee of the
Year.
Farrell grew up in Warm Springs.
During her high school years, she
lived in Bend. She first started think-
ing about becoming a dental assis-
tant when she was 13 or 14.
“I would come to the clinic for
cleanings, and every time I was here
there was music playing,” Farrell
says. “I thought it would be nice to
work where music is always play-
ing.” Her mentor was Juanita
Simpson, hygienist at the clinic.
After high school Farrell moved
Dave McMechan
Farrell Lucei at the Dental Clinic
This is a Depression-era photo of the Indian community of
Underwood. At the Tribal Council meeting last week, CRITFC
executive director Paul Lumley showed the photo as an example of
the kinds of communities taken by the floodwaters of the Columbia
dams.
6 housing program. The approach
recommended by CRITFC is to
establish a Tribally Designated
Housing Authority at the Columbia
River.
This would be similar to a tribal
Housing Authority, but the jurisdic-
tion would be areas along the river,
rather than the reservation.
Toward the goal of developing
a long-term plan, Tribal Council
members are planning to meet soon
with Yakama leaders. There is some
urgency in the matter, as the possi-
bility for significant funding is bet-
ter than ever, Mr. Lumley said.
The project itself—construction
of new tribal housing at the river—
is long-term. “We’ll need young lead-
ership,” Louie Pitt said, “because this
is a 10- to 20-year project.”
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(Continued from page 1)
Hearth of Oregon
Corps, YouthBuild, Butch
David, and Madras High
School vice principal H.D.
Weddel met last week with
Tribal Council for informa-
tion sharing.
The YouthBuild program,
vice principal Weddel said,
“has generated some excite-
ment in the hallways. Stu-
dents are saying, ‘If they can
do it, then I can.’ It’s an-
other opportunity to serve
the kids.”
Tribal Council members
said the program looks prom-
ising for Warm Springs stu-
dents and the community.
YouthBuild has worked
with the Confederated
Tribes in the past, for in-
stance at the Pine Creek
property. A YouthBuild
crew was working on nearby
BLM land, said Laura
Handy, when they were in-
troduced to the Pine Creek
manager. This led to some
YouthBuild restoration
work at Pine Creek.
The next YouthBuild ses-
sion begins in March. Any-
one interested should con-
tact Butch David at the high
school. Or go to:
heartoforegon.org
to Los Angeles for a time, and went
to Santa Clarita Career College. She
became a dental assistant at 19.
She worked in the Salem area for
a couple of years, and then came
back to Warm Springs. “This is
where I’m from. I know most of
the families here,” Farrell says.
The prevention programs at the
clinic are a great service to the com-
munity. Another good develop-
ment, Farrell says, is the oral sur-
geon who comes to Warm Springs
once a month. Before, the patient
had the choice of going off reser-
vation for surgery and paying out-
of-pocket, or having the tooth pulled
at the clinic.
As an expanded function dental
assistant, Farrell can place fillings
and crowns, and do cleanings,
among her other duties. She is one
of four dental assistants at the
clinic, where there used to be eight.
So the four who work there now
are busy. Farrell was on duty in the
clinic earlier this month when the
Health and Wellness Center was
holding its monthly employee meet-
ing. She was told this was one meet-
ing that she should attend.
And during the Appreciation
Committee presentation, they an-
nounced Farrell as the Employee of
the Year.
Tribal housing: 10- to 20-year project
(Continued from page 1)
“… this situation requires imme-
diate attention,” the letter says. “We
therefore urge you to complete the
legal analysis as quickly as possible
in order to inform the Army Corps’
Fiscal Year 2016 Work Plan and the
President’s Fiscal Year 2017 bud-
get process.”
The letter is addressed to the As-
sistant Secretary of the Army, Civil
Works, U.S. Department of the
Army. The potential for a federal
appropriation clear, Mr. Lumley
said, but the tribes have to develop
a plan.
CRITFC has been the lead party
so far in the process, but tribal hous-
ing is not necessarily a core mission
of the commission. Instead, the
tribes now have to take the lead in
developing a long-term plan.
Agreement on a plan among the
treaty tribes of the Columbia is im-
portant, Lumley said, because if one
of the tribes is in opposition, then
a federal appropriation becomes un-
likely.
War m Springs and Yakama
would be the lead tribes for a zone
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Challenges to overcome
toward river housing
The 31 in-lieu and fishing ac-
cess sites at the Columbia River
were developed by the Corps of
Engineers in cooperation with the
treaty tribes.
The sites were designed and
developed mainly for day-use
fishing and temporary camping.
Some tribal members and others,
however, have set up permanent
residence at some of these sites.
Water and other utilities are
free, so the sites become in ef-
fect camps for otherwise home-
less people.
As they live away from the
reservation, the individuals may
have no real access to social pro-
grams, health care, child care and
education.
Through over-use, the fishing
sites and their facilities become
unsanitary and unsafe, a situation
unfair to other tribal members
who should have reasonable ac-
cess.
It was a tour of these sites that
in large part prompted the fed-
eral delegation from Oregon and
Washington to encourage the
Corps of Engineers to move for-
ward with the river housing
project.
The presence of these camps
presents one of the challenges
the tribes will face in developing
a long-term plan for housing at
the river.
Another issue: the sites by law
are now equally accessible to
members of the four Columbia
River treaty tribes, although the
area is traditionally territory of
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs and the Yakama Nation.
Identifying the families that
were actually displaced by the
dams is one of the major chal-
lenges that will have to be ad-
dressed.
These challenges, though,
should be met: “The dams are
they, and they caused a lot of
damage,” said Louie Pitt. “All
we’re asking is that they keep
their word.”
Jobs at CRITFC
The following jobs are
being advertised with the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission:
Fishery Technician II
(4 positions). Temporary
Full-Time, no benefits 3.5
months (Feb – May, 2016).
$15.78 to $16.83 per hour
(Equivalent to GS 5). Lo-
cation, Portland. Recruit-
ment Period ends January
29, 2016. February 15th,
2016 start date.
Send a complete appli-
cation materials include a
cover letter, CV/resume,
completed job application
with signature, electronic
or typed in signature is ac-
cepted (available on our
website at www.critfc.org
“employment opportuni-
ties” on the bottom left cor-
ner
or
by
calling
503.238.0667), a copy of
relevant certifications and
a list of at least three pro-
fessional references.
Submit to: Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Com-
mission
Attn: Human Resources
700 NE Multnomah
Street, Suite 1200
Portland, Oregon 97232
Email: hr@critfc.org
Additional Information:
John Whiteaker, Fisheries
Scientist, 503-238-0667
whij@critfc.org
Human Resources As-
sistant. Regular Full-Time,
GS 0200 Series. $40,673
- $43,384. (Equivalent to a
GS7); doq: $49,751 -
$53,067 (Equivalent to a
GS9). Portland. Recruit-
ment Period ends Febru-
ary 5, 2016.
Fishery Technician
(III) (3 positions). $18.54
–
19.00
per
hour.
Closing•date March; start
date June 5. Full time, tem-
porary. 4 months. Location
La Grande.