Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
March 16, 2016
Page 3
Language
Learners
BIA working on law
enforcement funding
Annie Kirk teaches
language at the Warm
Springs Academy.
Language teachers from
Culture and Heritage
work with Academy
students in the
mornings.
The session at right
was held just before the
school assembly for the
Madras High School
girls basketball team.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Smelt fishing open on the Sandy
Tribal Council has
opened the smelt fishing
for the Sandy River, as
recommended by the
Branch of Natural Re-
sources Fisheries Depart-
ment.
March is expected to
be the best harvest
month on the Sandy. The
fishery is open to tribal
members from 6 a.m. to
6 p.m., seven days a week.
Fishing will continue
until the harvest reaches
5,500 or until the run
ends.
The smelt fishing sea-
son earlier this year on the
Cowlitz was a success,
said Brad Houslet, BNR
Fisheries Department man-
ager.
At the Cowlitz tribal mem-
bers harvested about 2,000
pounds of the smelt, or Pa-
cific eulachon.
Natural Resources staff
gave some of the Cowlitz
smelt to tribal elders, Houslet
said. Some other provisions
in the Sandy smelt resolution:
Gear for the harvest is lim-
ited to dipnets. The Branch
of Natural Resources is re-
sponsible for the biological
monitoring of the fishery.
Pursuant to tribal law, tribal
member fishers shall upon
request allow authorized fed-
eral, state or tribal officers to
inspect the catch.
Tribes host meeting with
state education officials
The Confederated Tribes
and the Education Commit-
tee hosted a visit last week
with officials from the Or-
egon Department of Educa-
tion.
The meeting saw a good
turn-out of parents and other
community members. This
was a chance for them to
share thoughts on how to im-
prove education services to
tribal members in Jefferson
County.
The information will help
the state in implementing the
Oregon American Indian
Education Plan.
The conversation focused
on the education strengths,
needs and priorities.
Some of the strengths
identified included extended
family support system plus
cultural knowledge, Native
language and history.
The meeting was part of
the community discussion on
changes to help more stu-
dents stay in school, get a
good education, and pursue
their interests after they
graduate.
Meanwhile, the Education
Committee, Tribal Council
and the board of the 509-J
school district are working
toward a new long-term edu-
cation agreement.
The Council and commit-
tee hope to have this com-
plete by the end of the term
of the Twenty-Sixth Tribal
Council.
If you would like more
information on this process,
or to comment, contact
Deanie Smith, Ardis Smith
Clark, or June Smith; or one
of your Tribal Council mem-
bers.
A tribal member must
carry an enrollment card at
all times while fishing or trans-
porting the fish. The mem-
ber must produce the card
upon by state or tribal en-
forcement officers. Any per-
son who produces the tribal
enrollment card is not re-
quired to produce a state fish-
ing license.
Tribal members must re-
port catch to Natural Re-
sources on-site at fishery lo-
cations. Those not reporting
on-site are to report the har-
vest within 24 hours at the
Branch of Natural Resources
office in Warm Springs.
This is a subsistence fish-
ery. There is no harvest limit
per individual within the
tribal allocation of 5,500
pounds.
Subsistence fishing
means the taking of fish
by members is for per-
sonal use. This includes
the sale or exchange with
other treaty Indians for
their personal use. No
sales or trades are allowed
with non-Indians.
Commercial fish sales
are not allowed. The use
of alcohol or drugs is pro-
hibited when fishing un-
der treaty rights.
Penalties for violations
are strictly enforced to
ensure compliance with
all rules and regulations.
4202
Holliday St.
New at Counseling
Walk-in groups at the
Community Counseling Cen-
ter are from 1:30-2:30 p.m.,
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays.
This is a new development
for potential clients to start
the process for Counseling
services.
For any inquiries, please
call the Community Counsel-
ing Center at 541-553-3205.
The Twenty-Third Annual Native American Educa-
tion Program Powwow at the Siuslaw School District
is this Saturday, March 19. The powwow will be at the
Siuslaw Middle School, 2525 Oak Street in Florence.
Grand Entries will be at 1 and 6 p.m. Open drum. Pot-
luck to follow powwow. Call 541-997-5458.
WSFPI
Election
(Continued from page 1)
The BIA election
packet includes an analy-
sis of the proposed
changes. The analysis of
the first proposed amend-
ment (Organization of
Tribal Council—Compo-
sition) states:
The proposed change
would require Tribal
Council elections to be
conducted as secretarial
elections by the BIA; and
changes the Council
The BIA has been working to find additional fund-
ing for law enforcement on the reservation.
BIA Warm Springs Agency Superintendent John
Halliday said he has been meeting with agency Re-
gional Director Stan Speaks, and tribal Public Safety
director Stan Suenaga on the matter.
Mr. Halliday updated Tribal Council on progress
of this project last week. The BIA has funds set
aside specifically for reservation law enforcement,
he said.
Part of the additional BIA funding for Warm
Springs would go to Corrections, and part to the po-
lice.
Law enforcement positions on the reservation have
not received a salary increase for 10 years, Mr.
Halliday said.
The pay rate for tribal law enforcement is below
that of neighboring areas, such as Jefferson and
Crook counties.
This leads to the problem of an officer starting
his or her career on the reservation, going through
training and gaining experience, and then taking a job
off the reservation. In the long-term, this ends up
costing more, because of higher turnover.
The planned additional BIA funding would not
impact the tribal general fund.
membership to nine.
Regarding the Orga-
nization of Tribal Coun-
cil—Apportionment, the
analysis reads:
“The
proposed
change would remove
districts; Council to be
chosen from members at
large; and Chiefs would
not be members of
Council.”
Voters should consult
their packets for further
explanations.
Call 541-
615-0555
(Continued from page 1)
But the payments
would then be subject to
tax. And this could also re-
quire a reduction in the
tribal operation budget,
possibly costing jobs
within the organization.
About 60 tribal mem-
bers work at the mill.
Tribal Council, the mill
board and management,
and the BIA have been
working for some time
now on a fix for the mill.
The hope is to keep the
jobs in the community,
but the situation is com-
plicated. The BIA, for in-
stance, could issue a cease
and desist order on the
mill operation, if the
tribes are not receiving
fair market value for the
timber.
An alternative would
be for the Tribal Council
to agree in writing that the
tribes are knowingly pro-
viding the timber to
WSFPI at a value less than
the fair market.
Another alternative
would be for the tribes to
sell the logs on the open
market. This would ap-
parently bring in less rev-
enue than the mill opera-
tion, according to an analy-
sis by WSFPI.
Brisland, who works at
Warm Springs Ventures,
also made an interesting
suggestion at the Council
meeting last week.
If the mill remains vi-
able at least for the next
few years, then there may
be the possibility of com-
bining the operation with
a hemp production enter-
prise.
Hemp production has
been mentioned as an ad-
dition to the tribal cannabis
growing operation.