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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
July 20, 2016
To the people of Warm Springs, and the staff at the
Museum at Warm Springs,
I wish to thank you with all my heart for your
support of my work and for the honor of your presence at
the opening.
It is the highlight of my career, and what a major
evening of good feelings, seeing everyone there.
Natalie did an excellent job of installing all the works
and was so patient with me! The gift shop staff went way
above my expectations with their support.
And Carol, Deb and Angie were always there for me,
and the guys were great help as well. Thanks to you all at
the Museum!
It was such a treat having my cousins cook and serve
the dinner. It was a family affair to me.
My family was there, thanks for putting up with me
and all my arts doings! I know I can be a pain some-
times.
Seeing the crowd of all my relatives, fellow artists,
made my choice of not pushing myself as hard, a lot
easier. I can relax now, knowing I put my best efforts
forward for my people.
Thanks again for all your support,
With love and respect,
Lillian, Wakamu, Pitt
Museum curator Natalie
Kirk, Lillian Pitt,
Roberta Kirk and JoAnn
Smith at the show’s
opening reception just
before Pi-Ume-Sha.
Around Indian Country
Sovereignty at issue in debates over genetically modified foods
Food sovereignty in In-
dian Country is at play as
the debate over genetically
modified organisms contin-
ues on legal and political
fronts.
In the legal arena, the
Quinault Nation of Wash-
ington joined a lawsuit chal-
lenging the sale of the first
genetically modified organ-
ism in the United States.
President Fawn Sharp said
the Food and Drug Admin-
istration failed to consider
Indian Country when it de-
termined that a product
known as AquAdvantage
Salmon is safe to eat.
“Although there are ob-
vious risks to our salmon,
the Food and Drug Admin-
istration surged forward
with its approval. The
agency didn’t consider treaty
rights,” Sharp said.
“It simply did not con-
sider how these man-created
animals, engineered to grow
twice as big as natural
salmon, will affect the fish
provided to us by our Cre-
ator,” Sharp said of a prod-
uct whose genes have been
modified to make them
grow faster and larger than
their counterparts.
On the political front, a
bill that requires the Depart-
ment of Agriculture to es-
tablish standards for com-
panies that wish to disclose
their genetically engineered
ingredients cleared its final
hurdle in Congress last week.
The measure—derided in
some circles as the Denying
Americans the Right to
Know Act (DARK Act)—is
controversial because it
overrides state labeling laws
and does not recognize the
authority of tribes to de-
velop their own labeling
laws.
Although labeling could
occur in different forms,
critics said the bill would al-
low companies to keep con-
sumers a step away from in-
formation about their prod-
ucts by requiring them scan
in codes using their phones
or other devices.
Civil rights leader Jesse
Jackson believes people of
color and the elderly would
indeed be kept in the dark
at disproportionate rates
due to lack of connectivity
in their communities.
“There are serious ques-
tions of discrimination pre-
sented here and unresolved
matters of equal protection
of the law,” Jackson wrote
in a July 14 letter to Presi-
dent Barack Obama, who is
expected to sign S.764 de-
spite objections from food
groups, consumer advocates
and Democrats.
Indian Country has long
been worried about the is-
sue. The National Congress
of American Indians, the
Affiliated Tribes of North-
west Indians and tribes in
Alaska are worried that ge-
netically engineered organ-
isms could negatively impact
the foods they rely on for
cultural, economic and sub-
sistence purposes.
Salmon are of particular
concern due to the highly-
migratory nature of the spe-
cies.
Although AquAdvantage
will be produced in Canada
and raised in Panama, Sharp
said the FDA failed to con-
sider whether the fish might
escape and travel elsewhere,
disrupting tribal efforts to
protect what is often re-
ferred to as the First Food
and one that is protected in
numerous treaties.
In light of the questions,
the Yurok Tribe in Califor-
nia late last year enacted a
ban on genetically engi-
neered organisms. The reso-
lution notes the Yuroks are
known as the “Salmon
People.”
“It is the inherent sover-
eign right of the Yurok
People to grow plants from
natural traditional seeds and
to sustainably har vest
plants, salmon and other
fish, animals and other life-
giving foods and medicines,
in order to sustain our fami-
lies and communities as we
have successfully done so
since time immemorial,” it
reads.
Others are already work-
ing with the Northern Cali-
Police Officer
Restoration Crew Boss
Restoration Crew/Mem-
ber Driver
Engine Operator
Assistant Engine Opera-
tor
Equipment Operator/Op-
erations
Hydrologist
Bus Driver
Teacher Aide
Daycare Teacher
Teacher Assistant
Lead Teacher
Adolescent Substance
Abuse Treatment Specialist
Adult Substance Abuse
Treatment Specialist
Dual Diagnosis Therapist
Adult Mental Health Spe-
cialist
Children's Mental Health
Specialist (2 Positions)
Secretary Treasurer
fornia Tribal Court Coalition
to develop similar laws.
Those efforts could be dis-
turbed by S.764 if it becomes
law because the bill fails to
include a provision that
would have recognized tribal
authority over genetically en-
gineered organisms.
“Consumers should have
the right to know what’s in
the food that they are buying
and serving their family. Con-
gress shouldn’t actively work
to limit that information,”
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Cali-
fornia), whose pro-tribal
amendment was rejected last
summer, said on Thursday.
The lawsuit that the
Quinault Nation joined was
filed on March 31 in federal
court in northern California.
Summary of Tribal Council
July 12, 2016:
1. Roll call: Chief
Delvis Heath, Chief Jo-
seph Moses, Chief
Alfred Smith Jr., Chair-
man Eugene Austin
Greene Jr., Vice-chair
Charles Jody Calica,
Raymond
Tsumpti,
Ronald Suppah Sr.,
Valerie Switzler, Carina
Miller, Lee Tom, and
Brigette McConville. Re-
corder Emily Yazzie.
2. Motion made by
Raymond to amend the
Tribal Council agenda to
address tribal member
concerns; second by Ca-
rina; question. Vote: 7
Yes, 0 Opposed, 0 Ab-
stain, and the Chairman
not voting, motion car-
ried.
3. Tribal Member Con-
cern with Public Safety
Branch Chief of Police.
4. Warm Springs Com-
posite Products update.
· Discussion on power
and water supply to com-
posites from Mill.
5. Warm Springs Credit
Enterprise update.
6. 509-J Memorandum
of Understanding discus-
sion.
· Motion made by
Brigette to nominate and
recommend Valerie and
Carina as Tribal Council li-
aisons to the MOU with
509-J and Education Com-
mittee; second by Lee;
vote: 6 yes, 0 opposed, 2
abstaining, 2 out of the
room, and chairman not
voting; motion carried.
7. Cannabis over-
view.
· Motion made by
Carina to accept Reso-
lution no. 12,192 ap-
pointing Ronald Roome
as Chair man, Shana
Radford as Vice-Chair-
man, and Starla Jade
Greene as Secretary to
the Cannabis Commis-
sion for a 3 year term;
second by Valerie; ques-
tion; Vote: 7 Yes, 2 Op-
posed, 1 out of the
room, and chairman not
voting. Motion Carried.
8. Motion to adjourn
made by Brigette; sec-
ond by Ron; adjourned
3:20 p.m.
Tribal employment
The following jobs were
advertised recently with the
Warm Springs Human Re-
sources Department:
Full Time Fire Medic
Receptionist-CPS
Home Visitor
Water & Waste Water
Operator
Purchasing Agent Spe-
cialist
Limited Duration-Finance
Fuels Monitor Technician
CPS Protective Care Pro-
vider
Limited Duration Fisher-
ies Technician I (the Dalles)
Deputy Prosecutor
Fish Biologist
Check Scaler
Internal Audit Officer
Chief of Police
BNR Conservation Law
Enforcement Ranger
OSU Extension Office
Coordinator
ECE Day Care Substi-
tute Teacher
Fire Medic (Part-Time)
Heath Systems Special-
ist
Journeyman Plumber
Corrections Officer
Communications
Officer(Limited Duration)
----------------
------------------
The following are jobs
that were advertised re-
cently with with the Indian
Head Casino Human Re-
sources Department:
Coffee station atten-
dant - two part-time atten-
dants. Contact Heather
Cody at 541-460-7777
Ext. 7710 or 7725
IT
network
adminisrtator - full-time -
Contact Contact Donovan
Todacheene 541-460-7777
Ext. 7674.
Busser - part-time -
Esten Culpus 541-460-
7777 Ext. 7710.
Line cook - full-time -
Mark Oltman 541-460-7777
Ext. 7755
Lounge bartender -
part-time - Heather at 541-
460-777 Ext. 7725.
Tule Grill attendant -
part-time - Jordan Caldera,
Heather Cody 541-460-
7777 Ext. 7725
Host/cashier - part-
time - Esten Culpus 541-
460-7777 Ext. 7710
Tule Grill cook - part-
time - Jordan or Heather.
Cage cashier - full-time
- Wyval Rosamilia 541-
460-7777 Ext. 7737.
Security officer - full-
time - Tim Kerr 541-460-
7777 Ext. 7749.
Table games dealer -
full-time - Jami Deming
541-460-7777 Ext. 7724.