Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
February 15, 2017
Tribes, state officials talk at Capital
T he Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs joined the
eight other Oregon tribes in
Salem last week.
The event was Tribal
Government Day at the
Capital.
The tribal leaders met
with the state legislators and
staff members, state em-
ployees, and the public.
During Tribal Govern-
ment Day, February 9, Warm
Springs Tribal Council-
woman Val Switzler, director
of Culture and Heritage, had
the opportunity to testify in
favor of Oregon Senate Bill
13.
SB 13 would direct the
state Department of Educa-
tion to develop curriculum
relating to Native American
experience in Oregon, and to
provide professional devel-
opment related to curricu-
lum.
The law would require
Oregon school districts to
implement this curriculum;
Courtesy Jane Hill
In Salem last week, Tribal Councilwoman Carina
Miller speaks with Gov. Kate Brown’s chief legal
counsel Benjamin Souede at the Capital.
and would direct the Edu-
cation department to make
reports related to develop-
ment of the curriculum.
This would apply to stu-
dents in grades k-12. Topics
to be included in the SB 13
curriculum would include:
Tribal history, sover-
eignty, culture, treaty rights,
government, socio-economic
experiences and current
events.
The Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs, Tribal
Council and the Education
Committee have long been
advocating this approach to
education, especially in the
Jefferson County 509-J dis-
trict.
The tribes are trying to
include this approach in the
new long-term agreement
between the tribes and the
school district.
At the state level, the Sen-
ate has a work session on SB
13 scheduled for this Thurs-
day, February 16.
Page 3
Transportation plan
meeting in W.S.
Central Oregon In-
tergovernmental Coun-
cil is updating the Cen-
tral Oregon Human Ser-
vices Transportation
Coordination Plan.
The purpose of the
plan is to:
1) Identify transpor-
tation gaps and barriers
for persons with disabili-
ties, senior citizens, and
low-income populations
in accessing needed
health and social ser-
vices; and
2) To prioritize solu-
tions (actions, projects,
programs, operations,
etc.) to meet identified
needs and/or leverage
opportunities.
The Plan will help co-
ordination between pro-
viders of transportation
and health and human
services in order to bet-
ter use transportation re-
sources and serve more
people. The public, in-
cluding human services
and transportation repre-
sentatives, are invited to
attend the Warm Springs
Transportation Strategy
Session on Thursday,
February 23, from 2 to
3 p.m. at the High Lookee
Lodge, 2321 Ollallie Ln,
Warm Springs.
Form more informa-
tion contact Judy Watts
at 541-548-9534; email:
jwatts@coic.org
COIC ser ves as a
project leader, planner,
and project administrator
for a variety of regional
transportation planning
and coordination initia-
tives. The goal of these
projects is to improve
and enhance the avail-
ability of transportation
options to Central Or-
egonians.
Congressman: discussion on jail, cannabis, business, resources
(Continued from page 1)
Meanwhile, the heating
and cooling, washer and
dryer, generator, boiler and
other parts of the jail are
often in need of repair,
Suenaga said.
There are times when the
tribes have to transport all
the inmates to the Jefferson
County Jail, because the
Warm Springs facility is not
acceptable for housing in-
mates.
Fortunately, Mr. Suenaga
said, the Public Safety
Branch has a good relation-
ship with the Jefferson
County Sheriff ’s Depart-
ment, which operates the
county jail.
Any help the Congress-
man could give in prompt-
ing the BIA to address the
matter would be greatly ap-
preciated, Suenaga said. Rep.
Walden asked for the lead
contact person at the Agency
district office, and said he
would follow up with the in-
quiry.
Cannabis project
The next item was pre-
sented by Pi-ta Pitt, working
on the tribal Cannabis
project. He said the tribes
have cooperated openly and
transparently with the De-
partment of Justice and the
BIA during the planning of
the cannabis project.
The tribal grow operation
on the reservation would in-
volve a lease of tribal trust
land, requiring further coop-
ervation infrastructure, Jack-
son said, “is prohibitive to
economic growth.”
Natural resources
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Tribal economic development coordinator Kahseuss Jackson speaks with Congressman Walden. To their
right, Branch of Natural Resources general manager Bobby Brunoe talks with Walden’s policy advisor and
Central Oregon office director Nick Strader.
eration with the BIA.
A goal of the tribes, Pi-
ta said, is to see federal of-
ficials treat the tribes equally
with the state in regard can-
nabis, which Oregon resi-
dents in 2014 voted to le-
galize.
Ventures chief executive
officer Don Sampson said
the tribes have invested valu-
able time and expense in the
cannabis project, which tribal
voters approved over-
whelmingly in December of
2015.
Regarding the move to le-
galize cannabis: “It’s a big
question, the approach this
administration will take,” the
Congressman said.
His impression, he said,
is that the administration
often prefers to defer to the
states on some issues. “My
sense is that they’ll have
other priorities,” he said.
Cannabis is still illegal un-
der federal law, while many
states, including California
last fall, have legalized mari-
juana. Seven more states
could join the list in 2017.
Old infrastructure
Louie Pitt, director of
tribal Governmental Affairs,
served as moderator of the
meeting with Rep. Walden.
Mr. Pitt also brought up
the subject of the reserva-
tion infrastructure, especially
at the campus and the indus-
trial park. Developing a
strong small business com-
munity is not possible with-
out proper infrastructure:
At the campus, Pitt said, the
pipes are 1930s ear.
Tribal economic devel-
opment
coordinator
Kahseuss Jackson also em-
phasized this point. The
BIA, which installed the
original piping at the cam-
pus, and tribes need to work
on a broad resolution to this
problem, rather than repair-
ing breaks as they happen.
The condition of the res-
Branch of Natural Re-
sources general manager
Bobby Brunoe talked about
an issue involving the Forest
Service and tribal huckle-
berry areas off reservation.
A final piece from the Forest
Service is needed to fulfill the
wilderness legislation, passed
some years ago, he said.
Mr. Brunoe also talked
about the complex water is-
sues facing the Deschutes
basin, including fish and other
species protection. The
tribes, he said, have made a
large investment in restoring
fish runs, and saw a good re-
cent return.
Public broadcasting
As a final matter, Sue
Matters, director of KWSO
91.9, said public broadcast-
ing funding helps community
radio stations in providing a
great service.
Congressman Walden, who
has a background in commu-
nity radio, said his approach
would be to keep the funding
at the current level. He is a
chairman of the subcommit-
tee on Communications and
Technology. He also serves
on the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce.