Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
March 14, 2018 - Vol. 43, No. 6
March – Wiyalppt – Winter - Anm
Plan for renovating the ballfields
The Warm Springs baseball
fields are in need of extensive
renovation. And once this work
is done, the new fields will need
ongoing maintenance. Young play-
ers, and adult softball teams, re-
quire this amenity here in Warm
Springs.
Tribal executive management
and community development have
developed a detailed plan that
would accomplish the goal, bring-
ing the fields up to a highest qual-
ity standard.
As the health of tribal youth is
a community priority, the Tribal
Council by resolution this month
endorsed the plan.
The endorsement allows man-
agement and community develop-
ment—with Warm Springs Recre-
ation as project sponsor—to pur-
sue the necessary funding for the
work, which will extensive.
One immediate source of fund-
ing—one prompting the recent
Council resolution—could be the
Oregon Parks and Recreation. The
Parks and Recreation grant would
be in addition to the tribal match,
and other potential sources.
The Council resolution states
the need for action to restore the
fields, noting: “The existing 41-
year-old ball fields complex is due
for extensive renovation and re-
development… “ The resolution
continues with some details of the
project:
A new orientation and reloca-
tion of all four current ball
fields—three Little League base-
ball, and one adult softball field—
shall be repurposed to create a
total of four new Little League
baseball fields in a typical four-plex
ball fields layout.
An additional two adult softball
size ball fields would be con-
structed adjacent to the four-
plex ball fields.
Other amenities: New chain-
link fencing, synthetic turf for
infields and outfields, spectator
seating, dugouts with players
benches, combination restroom,
food concession and picnic shel-
ter, landscaping, pedestrian
walkways, handicapped accessi-
bility, parking areas, under-
ground utilities, scorekeepers
booths, other related ancillary
items. (See the conceptual drawing
of the project on page 8.)
Getting ready at the
Plateau Travel Plaza
These are busy days at the
Plateau Travel Plaza—busy
and exciting as the 70 employ-
ees are getting ready for the
opening.
The goal is to have all of
the staff on opening day work-
ing as smoothly as though they
have been there for years, said
Eric Angel, Travel Plaza gen-
eral manager.
The employees are running
through all facets of the op-
eration—from the kitchen and
dining area, to the convenience
store, fuel stations, gaming area,
security, maintenance and
more.
The Travel Plaza will open
to the public on Saturday,
March 24, with the grand
opening planned for Friday,
April 6.
The enterprise has already
created many new jobs for
tribal members: close to 75 per-
cent of the workers there are
members. “I’m really happy
about that,” said Jeffrey
Carstensen, Indian Head Ca-
sino Chief Executive Officer.
The Plateau is a new busi-
ness, though it is a project of
Indian Head Casino. And the
two will complement one another.
The Travel Plaza—off High-
way 26 at Cherry Lane in the Ma-
dras Industrial Park—will be the
first new business enterprise of the
Confederated Tribes in several
years, and one that has taken dili-
gence and time to realize.
“We started in October of
2013, so it’s been more than four
years,” Mr. Carstensen said.
The Travel Plaza will be a 24-
hour operation, working in three
shifts. There will be many cus-
tomers from the industrial park,
which employs more than 1,000
people.
Just off the highway, and near
the intersection with Highway 97,
the vehicle traffic will also bring
in many customers.
Clearly, this month will mark a
milestone in the economic future
of the Confederated Tribes.
Dave McMechan photos/Spilyay
Photos show 1950s era harvests
Mt. Hood Meadows hosted
the annual Warm Springs
Tribal Ski Day last week. On
hand from Warm Springs
were 65 skiers,
snowboarders—like Kaliyah
Iverson (above)—and other
guests. (See page 8 for more
on Ski Day.)
Courtesy Sue Matters/KWSO
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Powwow,
new exhibit
for Museum
anniversary
Twenty-five years ago this week
the tribes celebrated the opening
of the Museum at Warm Springs.
That week saw the realization
of a vision—a museum preserv-
ing and honoring the tribal history,
culture and traditions—first con-
ceived in the 1960s.
Some ensuing milestones were
Tribal Council approval of the
charter, and membership approval
of the referendum.
The ground-breaking happened
in 1991, and the doors opened to
the public this week in March 1993.
To celebrate these first 25
years—the Silver Anniversary—
the Museum at Warm Springs will
host a powwow, and the opening
of a new exhibit.
This Saturday, March 17 the
museum will host a traditional pow-
wow and opening of the new ex-
hibit, Twanat—Celebrate Our Legacy.
Events begin at 2 p.m.
There will be commemorative
gifts, door prizes and refreshments.
Miss Warm Springs will be on
hand.
The new exhibit is a celebration
of the tribal culture and the mu-
seum. Items on display will be
rarely seen items from the Mu-
seum at Warm Springs Permanent
Collection.
Prevention task
force reports at
Tribal Council
Kathy Danzuka and Rena
Suppah (above) take
inventory in the grocery area
of the Travel Plaza; while
Cecil Brunoe (left), from the
Indian Head Casino-
Travel Plaza maintenance
crew, works by the new fuel
pumps.
Courtesy Yvonne Iverson
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
The Culture and Heritage Com-
mittee shared a recently compiled
book of photographs of tribal
members in the 1950s harvesting
huckleberries and edible lichen, and
digging roots. The publication also
has pictures of the 1953 Huckle-
berry Feast at the HeHe Longhouse.
Michelle Steen-Adams from the
University of Washington shared the
publication with the tribal Natural
Resources Branch, who shared with
the Culture and Heritage Commit-
tee.
The photograph images in the
publication are from glass slides,
originally in the collection of David
and Katherine French, now at the
University of Washington. The glass
slides allow for reproduction of the
highest quality: Many of the photo-
graphs are sharp and brightly col-
ored. Some are in black and
white.
The publication is the result
of U.S. Forest Service project
to study the effect of fire on
the health of the forest, specifi-
cally how the Native people
used fire to maintain healthy
habitat for traditional foods.
Culture and Heritage Com-
mittee chairwoman Myra
Johnson-Orange shared the pub-
lication with Tribal Council, dur-
ing her committee update.
Another topic was the
Agency and other longhouses.
Committee member Carlos
Calica said the tribes should con-
sider having an official
longhouse and meeting policy to
deal with people who are disrup-
tive or under the influence.
The team working to help address
the drug and alcohol epidemic on
the reservation shared their latest
report this week with Tribal Coun-
cil.
The epidemic—of methamphet-
amine, opiates and alcohol—is hurt-
ing everyone on the reservation, the
parties agreed. To some degree the
epidemic harms all families. “One
addicted family member can turn
the whole household upside down,”
Councilwoman Val Switzler said.
The problem has existed for
years, but recently has reached an
critical level, directly harming the
tribal organization and its ability best
to serve the membership. Even the
clinic experienced a meth incident.
The drug and alcohol epidemic
is not isolated to Warm Springs:
Reservations across Indian Coun-
try, like many other communities in
the nation, are seeing the same prob-
lem, said Councilman Lee Tom.
There are many recent drug- and
alcohol-related incidents that have
harmed and cost the Confederated
Tribes organization, affecting all
members. Some examples:
Meth and Opiate Work Group
member and Housing Authority di-
rector Danielle Wood reported that
one or more people broke into the
Housing warehouse.
(See WORK GROUP on 7)