Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
August 15, 2018 - Vol. 43, No. 17
August – Shatm – Summer - Shatm
Proposed changes to enrollment requirements
Referendum in
February 2019
A tribal referendum set for Feb-
ruary 15, 2019 will ask tribal mem-
bers to vote on changes to the how
blood quantum is determined for
the purposes of automatic enroll-
ment.
Specifically, the referendum will
ask: “Should Resolution 12,157
determining the blood quantum
for the purpose of automatic en-
rollment be approved?”
In April 2016, the Twenty-Sixth
Tribal Council adopted Resolution
12,157, changing the rules for de-
termining blood quantum for au-
tomatic enrollment.
The change would be the addi-
tion of the 1980 census to the list
of baseline census years for deter-
mining the Confederated Tribes
blood quantum.
Simnasho District Tribal Coun-
cil representatives invoked Article
VI of the Constitution and By-
Laws to call for a tribal referen-
dum on the resolution.
The Twenty-Seventh Tribal
Council approved a referendum
date seeking input from the mem-
bership on the proposed change.
Warm Springs Enrollment Or-
dinance 94 outlines the require-
ments for automatic enrollment
and adoption.
Currently, an individual is eligible
for automatic enrollment if they
have at least one-quarter of Con-
federated Tribes blood; that is,
Warm Springs, Wasco, or Paiute.
Resolution No. 10,934, passed
in September 2008, allows indi-
viduals to also consider blood
quantum from neighboring tribes
based upon valid traditional kin-
ship and ancestral ties that can be
documented and confirmed as
traceable to legitimate treaty and
pre-treaty family affiliation con-
nected to the War m Springs
(Sahaptin or Ichiskin); Wasco
(Chinookan or Kiksht); or Paiute
(Shoshonean or Numu).
Adoption enrollment
Individuals who do not meet
the automatic one-quarter blood
quantum requirement may get en-
rolled through the adoption pro-
cess.
To be eligible for adoption, in-
dividuals must have one-eighth
blood quantum of Indian blood,
descend from a current or
former tribal member, meet
the residency requirement, not
be enrolled in another tribe,
and receive the majority of the
vote in an adoption referen-
dum.
Recent tribal adoption ref-
erendums have failed for not
meeting the required 50-per-
cent voter participation re-
quirement. This includes the
June 13, 2016 referendum—
987 votes of the required
1,600 votes—and the May 15-
16, 2007 referendum.
The last adoption referen-
dum to meet the 50-percent
requirement occurred on Oc-
tober 16, 1996.
been riding bucking ponies
bareback for two years now.
She had a hectic start to
her young rodeo career, at first
trying sheep riding. She did
that maybe twice, then
switched to calf riding—win-
ning her first event in 2016.
Next, Siddalee went right
into riding mini-broncs bare-
back and steers, competing in
the Northwest Youth Rodeo
Association.
So when it comes to Jun-
ior Rodeo, Siddalee has seen
and done it all, with one goal
in mind: To win a buckle for
Mini-Buckers.
That goal had gone
unachieved but not forgot-
ten—until Friday, August 3 at
the Yuba-Sutter County Fair
in Yuba City, California.
At the Yuba-Sutter Rodeo,
Siddalee overcame the odds,
riding against six boys, all com-
Courtesy Paleena Spino
Siddalee Spino-Suppah with
Regional Finals Peewee
Bareback Buckle.
peting for a chance at the Junior
National Finals Rodeo.
Siddalee not only successfully
won the West Coast Regional Fi-
nals for Peewee Bareback, she
achieved her dream, earning a spot
to compete in the Junior National
Finals Rodeo, ranking with the top
peewee bareback riders across the
country.
However, that was not her ini-
tial goal: At first she just wanted
the chance for her three siblings
and herself to see and experience
new things and places. And this
will surely happen at the National
Finals in Las Vegas.
Her aunt Paleena Spino explains
how it’s all come about:
“The paperwork for the Jun-
ior Rodeo Association for Siddalee
was just something we thought we’d
try out, when she attended Wild
West Buckers Saddle Bronc and
Bareback clinic in Yuba City, just
to see just how far she could make
it.”
“She’s ended up earning herself
a spot in the Junior NFR,” Paleena
says. “This is an accomplishment
Report
outlines
water
options
See CHAMBER on page 5
See WATER on page 5
The logo from the 2018 JNFR,
coming up in December at Las
Vegas.
in itself, with so many young-
sters gunning for the same op-
portunities.”
Siddalee’s family is now pre-
paring for her trip to Las Vegas
for the Junior Finals in Decem-
ber. They will be holding
fundraising events and sales in
the near future, so Siddalee can
represent the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs in the
2018 Junior National Finals
Rodeo. All of your support will
be greatly appreciated!
New phase for W.S.
Chamber of Commerce
A federal judge this month
has ruled in favor of the Con-
federated Tribes of War m
Springs and Portland General
Electric, in a lawsuit alleging vio-
lations of clean water regula-
tions.
U.S. District Court Judge
Michael H. Simon ruled that
undisputed evidence showed
that the tribes’ and PGE’s Pelton
Round Butte hydroelectric
project is operating consistently
with conditions of its water qual-
ity certificate from the Oregon
Department of Environmental
Quality.
The specific legal action by
Judge Simon was to dismiss a
motion for partial summary
judgement from the plaintiff
Deschutes River Alliance, while
granting motions by the tribes
There is a great need for more
small businesses on the reservation:
A recent study found the local small
businesses provide fewer than 200
jobs. That is far below the 1,000
small business jobs that would
make a stable and healthy local
economy.
Small business development is a
focus at the Warm Springs Com-
munity Action Team. A notewor-
thy milestone at the WSCAT: The
Warm Springs Area Chamber of
Commerce is now an official non-
profit organization serving the tribal
business community.
The non-profit 501(c)3 designa-
tion is essential for many areas
fundraising. In getting started, goals
of the Chamber are to have an ex-
ecutive director, and an office build-
ing probably on campus, said Dustin
Seyler, Community Action Team
See LAWSUIT on page 5
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
small business coach and finan-
cial counselor.
The Chamber office would
serve as a one-stop service cen-
ter for business people, Mr.
Seyler said. This would be for
existing and potential busi-
nesses, and for people who are
visiting the reservation. The
Chamber will also serve as the
advocate of business interests
among its members.
The Warm Springs Area
Chamber of Commerce is
unique in that it is the only
Chamber in the U.S. located on
a reservation.
While the Chamber just re-
ceived its non-profit status, the
idea of a Warm Springs Area
Chamber goes back some
years.
See ENROLLMENTS on 8
River lawsuit dismissed
against tribes, PGE
and PGE.
With that action, the judge
dismissed the lawsuit.
The tribes and PGE are co-
owners and operators of the
Pelton-Round Butte system,
including the selective water
intake tower designed to facili-
tate fish passage above and be-
low the dams.
“Salmon and steelhead runs
on the Deschutes are at the
heart of our culture. They’re a
basic necessity for us to con-
tinue our traditional way of
life,” said Robert Brunoe, the
tribes’ Branch of Natural Re-
sources general manager, after
hearing the judge’s ruling.
“We understand the heartfelt
concerns of the lawsuit’s sup-
porters,” Mr. Brunoe said.
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
Testing shows the Warm Springs
domestic water is perfectly safe to
drink. That is the good news.
On the other hand, the tribes are
facing critical and expensive issues
regarding the future of the Warm
Springs domestic water system.
The Dry Creek Water Treatment
Plant must be expanded and im-
proved, or replaced entirely by a
new plant, according to a recent
study.
Meanwhile the water distribution
lines are leaking, most clearly shown
by the many small wetland areas in
neighborhoods and around the com-
munity. There are likely many more
leaks that are not immediately vis-
ible.
As a result of leakage and over-
use, the Warm Springs system con-
sumes relatively much too much
water.
An investment of $16-to-$22
million would provide a water sys-
tem serving the community for de-
cades to come, said Alyssa Macy,
chief operations officer.
There is no longer a choice as to
whether or not to make this invest-
ment. “We’re really beyond the point
of no return,” said tribal Utilities’
Chico Holiday.
Tribal Council, management and
Utilities have been working toward
a solution, the challenge and goal
being the necessary funding.
This week the tribal committees
met with management, Utilities, and
commission officers and engineers
with the Indian Health Services.
The tribes are working with IHS,
and other federal agencies such as
the EPA and HUD, on finding a
solution to the problem.
Community meetings will happen
over the coming months and years
as the tribes develop and implement
a long-term solution.
The joint tribal committee meet-
ing this week was called to review a
newly published engineering report
on the existing water treatment
plant, and options to consider for
the future. IHS commissioned the
report, produced by Century West
Engineering based in Coeur d’Alene.
An initial evaluation was the iden-
tification of the potential sources of
domestic water for the War m
Springs community.
Groundwater is not an option, as
this could not come close to meet-
ing the demand, the report says.
The report also looks at the pos-
sibility of using either Shitike Creek
or the Warm Springs River as a new
source of domestic water.
Both of these options, though,
have significant drawbacks. In time
the demand would require remov-
ing a large percentage of the flow
from the Warm Springs River, and
especially from Shitike Creek.
Costs of building these new treat-
ment plants would also be prohibi-
tive.
Peewee bareback rider earns spot at Finals
S iddalee Spino-Suppah has
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761