Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
December 19, 2018
Page 5
The Middle Oregon Treaty of 1855
by Jim Zeender
Senior Registrar, National
Archives Exhibits Office
That the exclusive right of tak-
ing fish in the streams running
through and bordering said reser-
vation is hereby secured to said
Indians; and at all other usual and
accustomed stations, in common
with citizens, of the United States,
and of erecting suitable houses for
curing the same; also the privilege
of hunting , gathering r oots and
berries, and pasturing their stock
on unclaimed lands, in common
with citizens, is secured to them.
— Middle Oregon Treaty
signed at Wasco, near the Dalles
of the Columbia River, June 25,
1855
F or thousands of years, Native
peoples of various tribes resided
in what, in the 1850s, was known
as the Oregon Territory. Their
cultures were closely tied to the
land, its waters, and the many
forms of life it supported.
In 1846 the Oregon Treaty,
signed by the United States and
the United Kingdom, settled the
northwest border between the
United States and Canada. More
importantly, it set the stage for
thousands of American settlers
to swarm over what had been
Indian lands.
In 1853, Joel Palmer, the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs Superin-
tendent for the Oregon Territory,
negotiated a series of treaties
with the tribes of the northwest
to obtain much of their land and
force them on to reservations.
Under the provisions of the 1855
Middle Oregon Treaty, the tribes
ceded 10 million acres to the
Ruling puts
Indian health
law in question
A federal judge who invalidated
the Indian Child Welfare Act is-
sued another controversial ruling
that could devastate tribal nations.
In a 55-page decision issued on
Friday, Judge Reed O’Connor de-
clared the entirety of the Afford-
able Care Act to be unconstitu-
tional.
The law, enacted in 2010, in-
cludes a permanent reauthoriza-
tion of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act; so now the
IHCIA has been thrown into an
legal gray area.
And just like the ICWA ruling,
O’Connor did not attempt to de-
termine whether he could save the
IHCIA, which updates key pro-
grams at the Indian Health Ser-
vice, or other provisions of
Obamacare that benefit Indian
Country.
Except for one sentence about
tribal citizens who are exempt
from the law’s health care insur-
ance mandate, the decision did not
address the federal government’s
trust and treaty responsibilities.
“American Indians and Alaska
Natives have specific health cov-
erage benefits and protections in
the Health Insurance Market-
place,” the IHS noted in a post on
Facebook, reminding tribal citi-
zens of the ability to choose to
enroll in a health care plan.
“Members of federally recog-
nized tribes and ANCSA share-
holders can enroll in a plan year-
round, but this is still a good time
to think about your health care
needs,” the post continued, link-
ing to an explanation of
Obamacare’s Indian Country pro-
visions. Unlike the ICWA decision,
though, O’Connor did not impose
an injunction that might otherwise
suspend the Affordable Care Act
so the law—including the
IHCIA—remains in force. Califor-
nia Attorney General Xavier
Becerra is vowing to ensure it
stays that way.
Courtesy National Archives
One of the Treaty signing
pages.
United States, and 578,000 acres
were reserved for what became
the Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Reservation.
The Columbia River soon be-
came a major east-west route for
settlers and others traveling to the
Pacific Northwest region. The
land reserved at Warm Springs was
a remote corner of the territory.
One Wasco elder told Palmer, “The
place you have mentioned, I have
not seen. There [are] no Indians
or Whites there yet, and that is the
reason I say I know nothing about
that country. If there were Whites
and Indians there then I would
think it was a good country.”
---------------------------------------
In January of this year, we re-
ceived a loan request from the
Museum at Warm Springs to fea-
ture the original 1855 Middle Or-
egon Treaty in October 2018 as
part of their Memor y of the Land
exhibition. In her request, the
museum’s former executive direc-
tor, Carol Leone, wrote:
“The Museum at Warm Springs
exists as an answer to a question that
has troubled Native Americans in
general, and the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs in particu-
lar, for most of the past century.
Can this nation’s indigenous peoples
take meaningful steps on their own
initiative, under their own control
to halt the erosion of their tradi-
tions, the dispersal of their sacred
artifacts, and the loss of their very
identify as a culture. After 25 years,
the answer this question is, decid-
edly, yes.”
In the months that followed,
many emails and multiple phone
calls were necessary to explain
NARA’s loan requirements and to
work out logistical details for trans-
port, installation, and security.
See TREATY on page 8
May the good cheer last throughout the year!
~ Travis Bobb
Ball fields
(Continued from page 1)
The soccer and softball fields
together create the multi-pur-
pose sports fields.
There will be new fencing for
backstops, fence lines and out-
fields. The ballfields will have
new restrooms, and a food con-
cession building.
Outfields will be grass. There
will be walkways, players fabric
shelters, and park furniture to
include picnic tables and picnic
shelters, plus players benches
with backrest.
Courtesy Bruce Irwin/CTWS
Schematic drawing of the ball fiend project.