Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
October 10, 2018
Howlak Tichum
Page 7
Summaries of Tribal Council
September 24, 2018
Melvin Greeley ~ 1935-2018
Melvin Greeley was born
on June 17, 1935 to James
Greeley of Warm Springs and
Nez Perce/Walla Walla tribes,
and Merle Scott Greeley of
Warm Springs and Wasco
tribes.
Melvin was born among
the cherry orchards at The
Dalles along the Columbia
River. He was named after the
owner of the cherry orchard.
Melvin was the third of
four children: His older sister
Lolita Greeley, and his older
brother Elton Greeley, both
who are deceased; his
younger brother Hamilton
Greeley, who resides on the
Warm Springs Reservation, is
here today.
Mel’s first and early years
of education were attending
the Warm Springs Reserva-
tion Bureau of Indian Affairs
board school, from first-
through eighth grades. He
enjoyed playing football, bas-
ketball and baseball, and was
on the school boxing team.
His free summer time days
were spent riding bare back
on an old horse that liked to
gallop around the reservation
hills. Melvin also liked swim-
ming and fishing on the res-
ervation rivers. He would also
help his grandmother with her
big garden of fruits and veg-
etables.
Most of Mel’s teen sum-
mers were spent working in
the strawberry fields and pick-
ing other kinds of berries, as
well as cherries and apples.
Towards the end of summers,
his brother and sister would
go camping up in the moun-
tains with their grandmother
to pick huckleberries.
He worked in the hop
fields too. Once I asked, “Why
do we have to pick hops?” He
replied, “It’s for the beer
people’s brewery.” In the
early fall he would pick a few
hundred sacks of potatoes a
day for 5 cents a gunny sack.
Those were 50-pound burlap
bags.
At the Indian boarding
school, most of the time it
was fun. But it was also a
place that we had to obey a
lot of rules to live by. Most
years, not a day of school was
missed. Mel was smart. He
was very good with the school
studies, and he graduated
eighth grade with high honors.
He attended high school at
Madras Union High School.
He made the basketball team.
Guys he played basketball
with liked how good he could
shoot baskets, because he al-
most never missed.
Mel got bored with high
school and in his senior year
he enlisted into the U.S. Ma-
rine Corps, to be one of the
few and the proud. After boot
camp he deployed to South
Korea for a year of overseas
duty. On his return to the
U.S., Camp Pendleton was his
duty station for the next three
years. His Marine Corps ser-
vice came to an end with an
Honorable discharge. His ser-
vice awards were:
The National Defense Ser-
vice Medal, the Foreign Ser-
vice Medal, the U.S. Service
Medal, the Good Conduct
Medal, and M1 Rifle Expert.
After his Corporal Military
Occupation Specialty, he re-
turned as an Infantry Special-
ist. Then Mel went home to
the Warm Springs Reserva-
tion to work in the field of
land management.
His next move was to en-
list in the U.S. Air Force. He
did his Basic Airman training
at Lackland Air Force Base,
Texas. Mel became an Airman
Third Class E-2. His military oc-
cupation specialty school was fuel
supply operations. After complet-
ing the fuel supply operations
school, he was deployed to an Air
Force base in France. Mel earned
the Air Force Longevity Service
Award while stationed in France.
From France he returned to the
United States and was stationed at
the Portland Air Base, from where
he was Honorably discharged.
He returned to the reservation,
where little work was to be found.
He signed up with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs relocation program.
The relocation program had all
kinds of jobs and training avail-
able in the big West Coast cities.
Mr. Greeley picked Los Angeles.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs
found Mel a good paying job with
the Fletcher Air Craft Builders. He
performed air craft assembly work
for about a year. I worked in the
sheet metal machine operation in
El Monty, California. That spring,
I told Mel I was going to give up
my sheet metal machine operator’s
job and take a motor cycle ride to
Old Mexico for a little vacation
from the Los Angeles area. Mel
told me, “That sounds like a good
idea—Wait for me.”
Mel and I departed for Old
Mexico on my brand new Match-
less 650 cc. On our way we met
up with some of Mel’s old USMC
buddies in downtown San Diego.
We spent about a week touring Old
Mexico and returned to the U.S.
by way of Tucson and Phoenix. It
was a hot ride in 120 degrees.
Mel and I journeyed to the Au-
burn, California Indian Nation,
where we were welcomed into their
homes and the Auburn community
itself. The Auburn boys were good
at helping the Greeley brothers
find work, even picking pears for
80 cents an hour.
After a hot Labor Day of pick-
ing pears and whatever, the Legett
brothers, Ray brothers, Cooper
brothers, William brothers and
Brownie Taylor, me and Mel
would all bike down to the Folsom
Lake for a good cool swim. Or at
other times, we all went down to
the wild part of the American
River, and we would jump off the
rock cliffs into the cold river.
Mel was taken in by grandpa
and grandma Rey, who provided
him with a good place to live with
great home cooked meals.
One of those days in Auburn,
Mel met a good looking girl,
Maxine (Max) Taylor. They fell in
love and departed to Reno for a
private wedding and short honey-
moon.
For work, Mel was hired at the
Placer Ranger District as a wild-
life fighter. About 1969 Mel’s wife
gave birth t their daughter, who
was welcomed into this world with
very much love. The beautiful
baby girl did not live very long. She
was born with some medical prob-
lems and was laid to rest at the
Auburn, California Maidu Indian
Cemetery. This was one of Mel’s
unhappiest times.
He started a new job with Airo
Jet Fire Fighting Department at the
Mather Air Force Base in Califor-
nia. His job was to help put out
fires of U.S. air craft if they caught
on fire during take-off or landing.
Mel turned out to be a jour-
neyman fire fighter in the Sac-
ramento area. His work outfit
was the fire-proof fire fighter
gear. This turned out to be his
long life work, which he en-
joyed while he was in good
health.
Fifty-plus years of his life
were being part of the Califor-
nia Rancheria Indian and non-
Native people. Mel loved life
and the local Auburn people.
He became acquainted with
just about all the Auburn
Rancheria Indian Nations
people. He loved them very
much and they loved him in re-
turn.
The Taylor-Cayton family
took extra good care of him.
They provided him a nice little
home to live in. He had all the
good comforts of a good life.
The saddest part of his life was
the loss of his loving wife, Max,
who preceded him in death by
a few years. Nobody could ever
replace Max.
Max, his pet dog Awol and
people who passed on before
him will all be waiting to wel-
come him to the other world,
way beyond the Sun. Mel lived
mostly a good happy life with
his grandmother Sally Ike up
the Tenino Valley on the Warm
Springs Reservation. Going
and playing in sports in the BIA
boarding school, attending Ma-
dras Union High School, the
best younger years serving the
U.S. Marine Corps and Air
Force that allowed him to travel
all over the world. A lifetime
working as a fire and rescue
man on the Mather Air Force
base. The happiest part of his
life was with his beautiful wife
Max. Now he will join her and
their child to their journey into
the next world.
Most of his free time he
spent having fun with the Au-
burn Rancheria Indians, swim-
ming in the American River,
socializing at the Thunder Val-
ley Casino and attending con-
cert events with his friends and
family. His last few years he
lived on the Auburn Rancheria
Reservation. The tribal mem-
bers, mainly the Cayton fam-
ily, took excellent care of his
most required life needs to
make him comfortable. Carol
Kronberger, Mel’s best friend,
made sure Mel had a good hot
meal each day.
The Greeley family would
like to give a big thank you to
the 2018 Tribal Council of
United Auburn Indian Commu-
nity of California for granting
Melvin a place to rest in peace
with his beloved wife and
daughter at the scared burial
grounds. A big thanks to the
Cayton family for a place to
crash, to share good meals and
for generous financial assistance
that comes with funeral costs.
Thanks for the good time
visits, the stories of family
good times, moral support and
some of the “hell no’s” on
Mel’s mind. Mel had nothing but
good things to say about family
and friends with added humor.
Thank you to the Confed-
erated Tribes of Warm Springs
for the casket and loans to my
family to help them make it to
be with Mel on his last days of
living on this earth. If I forgot
to thank anyone or mention
anyone, please forgive me. I
am getting old, feeble and al-
most time for me to decom-
pose too. Thank you for your
time to listen and get to know
a little bit of Mel’s life story.
Mel, I hope you are resting
well.
I remain humbly and truly
yours, Hamilton Greeley, last
of the Greeley brothers.
1. Roll call: Chief Delvis Heath,
Chief Joseph Moses, Chief Alfred
Smith Jr., Vice Chairman Charles
Calica, Raymond Tsumpti, Valerie
Switzler, Carina Miller, Lee Tom,
and Brigette McConville. Minnie
Yahtin, Recorder.
2. Budget presentations:
· Human Services budget over-
view
· Education budget overview
· Secretary-Treasurer, Commu-
nity Assistance budget overview.
· Finance budget overview
· G&A, Debt Services, Place for
Kids, Capital Projects, Election
Committee and Tribal Gatherings
budget overview.
· Irrigation, Range & Ag Com-
mittee budget overview.
3. Federal and state legislative
update call.
4. Enrollments/disenrollment:
· Motion by Raymond adopt-
ing Resolution No. 12,515 enroll-
ing five applicants. Second by
Alfred. Question: 3/0/4, Chair-
man not voting. Motion carried.
· Motion by Raymond adopting
Resolution No. 12,516 approving
the request of a member for
disenrollment from the Warm
Springs Tribe. Second by Joseph.
Question: 5/0/3, Chairman not
voting. Motion carried.
5. Budget call backs:
· Tribal Probate and Legal Aid
· Public Safety
· Tribal Employment Rights
Ordinance.
September 26
1. Roll call: Chief Delvis Heath,
Chief Alfred Smith Jr., Chairman
Eugene Greene Jr., Vice Chairman
Charles ‘Jody’ Calica, Raymond
Tsumpti, Carina Miller, and Lee
Tom. Minnie Yahtin, Recorder.
2. 2019 proposed budget:
· Motion by Jody to post the
alternate 2019 proposed budget of
$18,403,965. Second by Carina.
Question: 5/1/0, Chairman not
voting. Motion carried.
3. Casino equity agreement:
· Motion by Jody adopting Reso-
lution No. 12,519 approving the
Addendum and Amendment No. 3
to the Equity Investment Agree-
ment in substantially the same
form as attached in Exhibit ‘A’.
Authorizes the Tribal Council
Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary-
Treasurer to execute Addendum 3
and to take or cause to be taken all
other acts on behalf of the Tribe
that the Authorized Representative
deems reasonably necessary or de-
sirable to carry out the intent of
this Resolution, Addendum 3, and
the modified repayment schedule.
Second by Carina. Question: 5/
0/1, Chairman not voting. Motion
carried.
4. Washington State University
update.
5. Kah-Nee-Ta:
· Motion by Raymond authoriz-
ing the Executive Officers to uti-
lize current year savings of up to
$300,000 for shuttering expenses
for 2018. Second by Lee. Ques-
tion: 4/0/2, Chairman not voting.
Motion carried.
6. With no further discussion
the meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
October 1
1. Roll call: Chief Delvis Heath,
Chief Alfred Smith Jr., Chairman
Eugene Greene Jr., Vice Chairman
Charles Calica, Raymond Tsumpti,
Ronald Suppah Sr., Valerie Switzler,
and Lee Tom. Recorder Alfredine
Smith.
2. BIA update
3. Office of Special Trustee up-
date
4. Realty – Randy Scott
· Motion by Charles to direct
Randy Scott to continue to do re-
search on BNSF Railway Right-of-
Way in the absence of a Realty
Officer. Second by Ron. Question:
6/0/1, Chairman not voting. Mo-
tion carried.
5. Columbia River housing up-
date
6. Federal and state legislative up-
dates
7. Tribal Attorney update
8. No further discussion. Meet-
ing adjourned at 3:17 p.m.
Language, Coyote stories
featured during Smith Rock series
Courtesy State Parks
Smith Rock will be the backdrop for the presentations.
N ative culture of the region will
be a feature at the Smith Rock
State Park Oregon Archaeology
Celebration lecture series.
The series will be Fridays dur-
ing October, from 7-8:30 p.m. at
the Smith Rock State Park Wel-
come Center, located at 10087
NE Crooked River Drive,
Terrebonne.
The lectures are free and open
to the public. Audience members
will have a question and answer
opportunity with the speaker af-
ter each talk. Scheduled presenta-
tions with Native themes:
October 19: Jarold Ramsey,
author and professor emeritus at
University of Rochester, New
York, and member of Jefferson
County Historical Society will
present In Search of Coyote: Ex-
amining the Identity of Native
America's Most Provocative Cul-
ture Hero.
October 26: Dallas Winishut,
Ichishkin language instructor with
the Culture and Heritage Depart-
ment of the Confederated Tribes,
will present Ancestral Voices: The
Ancient Languages of the Warm
Springs Reservation.
The next presentation will be
on October 12: Dr. Patrick
O’Grady, staff archaeologist at
University of Oregon Museum of
Natural and Cultural History will
present A Window to the Past: Re-
cent Archaeological and Paleo-en-
vironmental Research at Rimrock
Draw Rockshelter.
More information, including a
park map, is available at
oregonstateparks.org
Call 541-923-7551 ext 21 for
more infor mation about the
speakers.
Friday, October 19: After Senior Fitness class there
is a brunch at the Seniors building. They are serving
cream of potato bacon soup, hard tack and fruit.