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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
Spilyay Tymoo Coyote News, est. 1976 February 1, 2017 - Vol. 42, No. 3 February – A’A’mi-Ushatch – Winter - Anm Tribes, state okay cannabis agreement Tribal Council Chairman Aus- tin Greene Jr. and Oregon Gover- nor Kate Brown have signed an inter-governmental agreement for the tribes’ cannabis project. The agreement between the tribes and state—the first of its kind in Oregon and unique in the nation—took about a year to ac- complish. The agreement will allow the tribes to sell on-reservation grown cannabis in the state off-reserva- tion market. Essential aspects of the agree- ment are the tribes’ own cannabis regulations, and the tribal cannabis commission. The commission works coop- eratively with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regu- lates the cannabis market in the state. The tribal regulations meet or exceed the state standards, said Don Sampson, Warm Springs Ven- tures executive director. Purchasers are assured that the highest health and safety standards are met with the tribal product, Mr. Sampson said. The tribes are working with a new cannabis production manage- ment team partner. “I’m very con- fident in their abilities and exper- tise,” Sampson said. The cannabis greenhouse op- eration overall will be a total of 24,000 square feet in size. Sixteen- thousand square feet will be for the greenhouse, and 8,000 square feet for the production warehouse and offices. The scale is about one-third smaller than initially planned: The idea is start with a smaller project, gain expertise, and then expand some time in the future, Mr. Sampson said. The start-up cost is also more manageable with the smaller facil- Year of success at ECE The teachers and staff at Warm Springs Head Start and Early Head Start. They have been working hard at ECE, and their status jump in the Quality Rating and Improvement System shows that hard work can pay off. O ne year ago Cheryl Tom trans- ferred to the Warm Springs Head Start – Early Head Start, serving at first as interim director. After submitting all the required documents, Cheryl was approved by the Office of Head Start to main- tain the position full-time. She works with Anita Hisatake, who is the edu- cation curriculum coordinator. Anita received her degree in Teaching from Oregon State Uni- versity. She supervises the current teaching staff of lead teachers: Victoria “Cakes” Smith, Justine Thomas, Sylvia McCabe, Ellen Hellon, James Keo, Leah Villa, Dor- othy “Dot” Thurby and Leanne Smith. Teacher assistants are Eileen Dick, Nellie Tanewasha, Ernestine Switzler-Ruiz, Rosa Wolfe, Meleena Edwards, Aletha Govenor, Johnson Bill, Gladys Graybael, Paulette Henry and aide Cassandra ity, he said. There are three phases of the project, moving forward now that the inter-gov- ernment agreement is in place. The first phase is site work and construction of the green- house. Phase 2 is the processing of the product, and phase 3 is the establishment of an off-res- ervation retail store. Ventures is also planning to meet with the officials of the Puyallup Tribe, which operates a cannabis testing facility, a point of serious interest to Warm Springs. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Tanewasha. Becky Danzuka is the family in- terventionist and supervisor of the Early Head Start and home visitors, Michelle Jim and Patricia Brown, and currently recruiting to fill one vacancy. Jody Begay is the family services coordinator, supervising the family ser vice advocate Cheyenne Wahnetah, and currently recruiting for one other. Danni Katchia is the health ser- vices coordinator, and Angie Spino is the Head Start – Early Head Start office manager. The early intervention program consists of the professional special- ists from the High Desert educa- tion service district, tribal disabili- ties coordinator Edna Campuzano, and consulting teacher Rose Ball. Warm Springs Head Start – Early Head Start also contracts a mental health specialist to meet the requirements of the Head Start policy and regulations. (See HEAD START on 3) ‘ Celestial Visions’ opening at Museum The Museum at Warm Springs will open the Celestial Visions exhibition this Thursday, Febru- ary 2. The opening reception will start at 5:30 p.m. This is the 2017 Tribal Youth Art Exhibit, celebrating this summer’s total eclipse of the sun. Works by individual and classrooms will be on display. The Twenty-Fourth Annual Tribal Youth Art Show will be on display in the Changing Exhibits through early April. Stop by the museum this Thursday afternoon at 5:30 to honor the youth artists. At left, an interesting work, Dreamer, by Alexi Smith, 12. Photos courtesy Natalie Kirk/Curator - Museum at Warm Springs 3 Teepees by Adrianna Perez, 14 Horse by Kiahna Allen, 9 PO Box 489 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECR WSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRT STD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Healthy snowpack so far this winter The snowpack this winter in the region is about 122 percent of av- erage. This will help the roots and fish in the spring. Tribal Natural Resources is plan- ning this week to take snowmobiles out to measure the snowpack spe- cifically on the reservation. To make the measurements, they take snowmobiles up to the Bald Peter area, toward Mt. Jefferson, said Ryan Smith, hydrologist and tribal environmental manager. The snowpack this year is healthy, especially in comparison with some other recent years. In 2015, for instance, the level was 41 percent of average; and in 2014, thirty-seven percent of average. There have been no major weather related medical emergencies so far this winter, as residents and departments have gone out of their way to help one another. There are more than 1,000 homes on the reservation; so the departments—mainly BIA Roads and Utilities—were not able to clear all the driveways. Instead, the focus was on elders, particularly those with medical con- ditions such as a need for dialysis. A list of elders’ names and addresses was made available from Vital Sta- tistics. (See HEAD START on 3) Change in marriage requirement Almost no jurisdiction in the U.S. still requires a blood test before two people can obtain a marriage license. Of the states, only Montana and Mississippi, plus the District of Columbia, have the requirement. The Tribal Council decided re- cently to eliminate the blood test and health certificate requirement for people wanting to obtain a tribal marriage license. The action came on recommen- dation of the tribal Justice Team. The requirement was that “tribal members who wish to be married must obtain a ‘health certificate’ from a licensed physician certifying that the marriage license applicants are free from certain medical ill- nesses and conditions…” The Justice Team recommended the elimination of the requirement as outdated, and because Oregon no longer has the requirement. People wanting to avoid the test could simply go off reservation to get married; so having a tribal blood-test requirement was obso- lete. It was inconvenient and an avoidable expense for members, so Council removed it.
