E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Page 7
Spilyay Tymoo October 24, 2018
We can ‘just do it’
A letter to fellow tribal members
I’ve lived through 79
years of watching the
changes that have occurred,
bringing this reservation to
the brink of falling off a
cliff, economically. Me and
my brother grew up in the
old two-story house that sits
along Highway 26. I recall
the meetings that were held
there by my grandfather
‘Judge’ Jerry Brunoe. Those
meetings were the ones that
set up the future of the
Warm Springs tribal govern-
ment.
In those days the tribes
did not have a lot of money,
so they pooled their funds
and sent one individual to
Washington, D.C. to do busi-
ness with the U.S. govern-
ment. This individual
shared the results of the
meeting with the War m
Springs Tribal Council.
Those members of the first
Tribal Council did a good job
of getting this reservation
on its feet, ready to move
ahead.
In 1958, Warm Springs
got a financial settlement
from the U.S. government
for inundating Celilo Falls
when The Dalles dam was
built. The Tribal Council
made a very good decision
in using part of those funds
to have an economic survey
of the reservation, done by
positive move into the fu-
ture.
Protection of the
Treaty and Ownership
of the Land
Ted Brunoe
Oregon State University.
The results of that sur-
vey showed that the reser-
vation had many opportu-
nities with regard to natural
resources. These resources
could be accessed without
harming the Treaty and our
culture and heritage. Those
opportunities are still wait-
ing to be utilized. (They will
be identified in upcoming
articles.)
From those days to the
present, the tribes have not
kept up with the economic
growth of the surrounding
country. We have to under-
stand that changes need to
happen before we fall off
that cliff.
This letter is not to pin
blame, but only to suggest
the changes that need to
occur in order to make a
We need to understand
that we can take advantage
of those opportunities with-
out harming our Treaty or
our culture and heritage.
There are possibilities of
doing this without any finan-
cial expenditure by the
tribes. What it will do is
bring additional, badly
needed income to the tribes
and increase employment
and education.
In the 1950s and 1960s
the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation was recognized
as one of the more eco-
nomically successful reser-
vations in the country.
Many contacts were
made by other reser va-
tions to inquire on how we
did it, and our attorneys
did a lot to help those res-
ervations, including the
Grand Ronde.
My suggestion to my fel-
low tribal members is to un-
derstand that we can be
there again, by taking ad-
vantage of those opportu-
nities that lay before us.
Let’s make the changes
and ‘Just do it.’
Ted Brunoe
Warm Springs artist Travis Bobb wishes Warm Springs a Happy Halloween!
Letter to the editor
Election
I am a pharmacist and
can no longer remain silent
about this. According to the
OpenSecrets database, op-
Indian Business Talk
A lesson in history, and smart budgeting
By Bruce Engle
Loan officer
W.S. Credit Enterprise
A history of the saying ,
‘A tightwad would squeeze
an Indian Head/Buffalo
nickel so hard that the buf-
falo would squeal.’ And how
squeez ing a buf falo coin
might help you...
The story, according to
legend, probably goes back
several hundred years to
when there were Buffalo
along the Sprague River in
South Central Oregon.
We know it was long ago
because buffalo don’t roam
there now. By the way, our
word for Buffalo is Yuho.
Another possible pronuncia-
tion comes later.
A Modoc boy named
Joe—that’s close enough for
English—about 12 or 13
years of age lived with his
family along the river.
Joe had entrepreneurial
urges and was being cau-
tioned by mom, dad, and
most of the cousins, aunties
and uncles. They thought his
big idea wouldn’t work.
Well, enterprising youth
that he was, Joe explained
his plan to the elder grand-
father and asked for permis-
sion to pursue it.
To this day we don’t
know what the plan was. We
don’t need to know. It’s un-
related to this story though
a future entrepreneur might
want to research it if he des-
perately needs a new busi-
ness idea.
Grandfather was skepti-
cal and also inclined to say
no; but he also saw poten-
tial in the boy and decided
to assign the lad a task so
he might earn the approval
to pursue his dream enter-
prise.
His task was to ‘Burp a
Buffalo.’ It was a test of
will, strength and cunning.
All entrepreneurial traits.
Joe accepted the chal-
lenge and cautiously sneaked
up on the nearest herd. He
quickly decided that Bulls
were too big and dangerous
to tangle with and Cows
were no safer.
Inspiration came with the
sight of a Calf curled up
and asleep near the bank of
the Sprague. Joe didn’t see
a mamma nearby.
Surely, that was one
Burpable Buffalo.
Well, Joe sneaked up on
the calf, wrapped his arms
around and squeezed. That
calf didn’t burp. It squealed!
Mamma was grazing
about 40 yard away. Her ears
perked up and she charged
to save her baby. Her intent
was to trample the perpetra-
tor; but she couldn’t risk
hurting her kid.
So she head-butted Joe
over the bank and into the
Sprague. Her baby was safe
and Joe learned something
about evaluating risk asso-
ciated with new ventures.
Yes, Joe survived. He
landed in a nice deep pool
and floated until he came to
the next riffle whereupon he
crawled out of the river and,
Wellbriety Celebrating Families—Parent only
classes—will meet through November at the Warm
Springs Behavioral Health Center.
The next meeting is this Friday, October 26, with
the topic being Anger Management. The classes
meet from 9 a.m. to noon.
while drying out on the
bank, took stock of his as-
sets and liabilities. He con-
cluded that some endeavors
are too risky, too dangerous,
and maybe too likely to re-
sult in failure.
Joe learned his lesson
well. He shared his new wis-
dom with family and espe-
cially with his grandfather.
He became known as Joe
Buffalo Squealer. It’s inter-
esting how we sometimes get
our names.
Joe also became a suc-
cessful fisherman because
of what he observed while
floating down the Sprague.
More about that some other
time.
Buffalo Squealing be-
came legend; passed on by
word of mouth for years
and generations. It spread
North, South, East and West
as tribal members traveled
and shared wisdoms around
campfires.
It may be that the Lewis
and Clark expedition en-
countered it somewhere
along their trail and took it
back east on their return
journey. It had to get there
somehow.
It seems reasonable that
it resided there in legend
and was restored to popu-
lar understanding when
hose 1913 Indian Head/
Buffalo coins were brought
into circulation and Tight-
wads became examples.
The story also resided in
our tribal memory and,
maybe as part of our per-
sonal DNA when memories
grew faint.
I think the 2005 Buffalo
Nickel and the 2005 Kansas
Buffalo Quarter struck a
spark to memory or DNA,
and I was moved to suggest
Burping a Buffalo when it
was necessary or more ben-
eficial to say NO when a
YES was easier and less help-
ful—or even hurtful.
This new method is sim-
pler and less dangerous than
the historical task.
All you need is to have one
of the new Buffalo coins
handy and squeeze it when
you are tempted to spend for
a WANT when you NEED
the money to provide for a
NEED. That’s two NEEDS
to one WANT.
The Needs deserve it. The
Needs should prevail. The
Needs have it.
Suggestion—Drill a hole in
one of the coins and put it
on your key ring. Squeeze it
when tempted.
Nobody has to see you
squeeze it.
And nobody will hear it
burp or squeal. Not even you!
Remember, you aren’t try-
ing to make it squeal; Joe and
the tightwads did that. You are
trying to make it Burp—sort
of like the grandfather sug-
gested.
It’s relatively safe; you
won’t get trampled or head
butted into a river. Sprained
fingers are a small risk.
And, you will save lots of
money in a lifetime. Think of
all the new NEEDS you
could afford. What a deal!
Yahoo!!!
The Monday meeting, October 29, will focus
on facts about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Then on Wednesday, October 31, the topic is:
Chemical dependency is a disease. And on Fri-
day, November 2: Chemical dependency affects
the whole family.
erated by the Center for Re-
sponsive Politics, as of June
30, 2018, Greg Walden has
received $507,500 from the
pharmaceutical industry, in-
cluding companies that
manufacture, market and dis-
tribute opioids. Companies
which he oversees in his role
as Chairman of the House’s
Energy and Commerce Com-
mittee. And yet, he sent out a
single-issue flyer to voters last
week about his efforts to
solve the opioid crisis. Inter-
esting, don’t you think?
If you are on Medicare
and take prescription medi-
cations, you should put some
extra thought into your vote
in this election. According to
AARP, the 2006 Medicare
drug benefit helped millions
of older Americans from hav-
ing to choose between buy-
ing medicine and putting food
on the table. Since 2006, how-
ever, prescription drug prices
continue to skyrocket and
older Americans are having
to choose between their medi-
cations and other necessities.
Why do American’s pay
the highest prescription drug
prices in the world? The phar-
maceutical industry, which
determines drug pricing and
has about two lobbyists for
every one member of Con-
gress, has spent $152 million
on influencing legislation in
2016. Drug companies also
contributed more than $20
million directly to political
campaigns last year. Walden
is the chairman of the influ-
ential House Energy and
Commerce Committee that
has broad jurisdiction over
healthcare issues. Out of the
535 members of Congress,
he is the largest recipient of
donations from pharmaceu-
tical and healthcare compa-
nies. This troubles me and
I’m not alone.
As voters, don’t you think
that we should be supporting
candidates willing to stand up
to the entire drug industry
and who are willing to allow
Medicare to negotiate lower
prices with drug companies?
Candidates who would sup-
port legislation to allow ge-
neric drugs to come to mar-
ket faster and who would re-
quire pharmaceutical compa-
nies to explain large drug
price increases?
Who is Walden represent-
ing—the people or the cor-
porations that fund his cam-
paign? I will be voting for
candidates who support ac-
cess to low cost prescription
medications. Jamie McLeod-
Skinner believes in providing
access to high quality, afford-
able health care for all Ameri-
cans. This includes affordable
prescription dr ugs. She
strongly supports increasing
the availability of low-cost
generics, enabling Medicare
to negotiate with pharmaceu-
tical companies for the best
available prices and placing
caps on out-of-pocket costs.
Jamie McLeod-Skinner has
my vote!
Michele Gemelas, Ma-
dras
The Vital Statistics
Department
is
closed this week,
through October 26.
Vital Stats will re-
open on Monday,
October 29.
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus in Memorium: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Con-
federated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our offices are
located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 489, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone: 541-553-2210 or 541-771-7521
E-Mail: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $20.00