Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
July 3, 2019 - Vol. 43, No. 14
July – Pat’ak-Pt’akni – Summer - Shatm
U.S. Senate approves 1865 nullification
The 1865 Treaty Nullification
Act—to formally and finally nul-
lify a fraudulent treaty with the Con-
federated Tribes of the Warm
Springs—last week passed the
United States Senate.
Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron
Wyden were sponsors. The next
step is to go to the U.S. House of
Representatives, where Rep. Greg
Walden supports the bill.
“A black cloud will be lifted by
this legislation,” said Tribal Council
Chairman Raymond Tsumpti. “So
future generations will not have to
endure it.”
Tribal Council, with governmen-
tal affairs director Louis Pitt for the
past year especially have made the
federal 1865 nullification a priority.
The bill, as passed last week by
the Senate, would nullify the 1865
document, and clearly validate an
1855 treaty that establishes the
tribes’ reservation and preserves
off-reservation hunting, gathering
and fishing rights.
“Finally, we are taking significant
steps to right this tremendous
wrong,” Sen. Merkley said.
“Documentation shows that the
1865 treaty is a complete fraud.
The signatories were lied to, and
the tribes never agreed to relinquish
their rights. Officially recognizing
and correcting this unjust history
is one way we can empower and
affirm tribal sovereignty today.”
Wyden added, “I know from
my meetings with the War m
Springs tribe that this 154-year-
old outrage has left lasting pain
with tribal members, and I am
glad that the Senate has agreed
to end this shameful history. I
look forward to the House tak-
ing similar action to reverse this
travesty of a treaty, support tribal
sovereignty and formally recog-
nize the 1855 agreement.”
In 1855, the Warm Springs
Tribes entered into a treaty with
the United States, defining the trust
relationship between the parties,
and establishing rights to land
and off-reservation hunting and
fishing.
Ten years later in 1865 the
apparently unscrupulous Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs for
Oregon, J.W. Perit Huntington,
wrote a supplemental treaty that
amended the 1855 agreement to
prohibit members of the Warm
Springs from leaving their res-
ervation without government
permission and relinquishing all
off-reservation rights.
Oregon Governor Kate
Brown has said the policy of
the State of Oregon is that the
1865 treaty is null and void.
Jeff Sanders (above) wore new
regalia at Pi-Ume-Sha this year.
He had lost all but the Eagle
Staff in a house fire last year.
Anson Begay, Mike Collins,
Krysta Rhoan, Marcella Tish
Martinez and Sandra Greene-
Sampson made him new
regalia, presenting to him on
Friday at Pi-Ume-Sha.
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Water
update
A message from tribal management:
We would like to thank the Com-
munity for your patience with the
water issues.
Normal summer activities will
continue as scheduled, including
the Fourth of July events.
The lack of water and high fire
potential require the containment
of the the July Fourth events to
the Community Center, Simnasho
and Agencies Longhouses parking
lots, and campus for those folks
who come to agency.
We are discouraging lighting fire-
works from residences.
Given the complexity of the
water situation, we can’t say for
certain when the water issues will
be resolved. The boil water notice
remains in effect, and conservation
is strongly encouraged.
We are making the following
recommendations to enjoy summer
events safely. Some tips for a safe
Fourth: Adult supervision required
at all events.
· Bring water with you to all
events.
· For the Fourth of July, please
bring your personal fireworks to
the Community Center parking lot,
the Longhouses, or campus across
from the court house to light and
enjoy.
See FOURTH on page 7
Great new
exhibit at
museum
Challenges, opportunities for small business
The shortage of small business
employment on the reservation is
one of its biggest economic chal-
lenges—that and basic infrastruc-
ture serving the Agency area. The
two of course are related: Busi-
nesses can’t thrive without a stable
infrastructure, while a healthy
economy brings infrastructure in-
vestment.
Carina Miller is the new eco-
nomic development researcher
with the Warm Springs Commu-
nity Action Team. Her work in-
cludes research on the condition
of the economy and business on
the reservation; and identifying
barriers to successful business de-
velopment. In time the research
will lead to recommendations as
to a course of action.
Her position with the Commu-
nity Action Team is a new one,
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
funded through an 18-month grant
from the Northwest Area Foun-
dation and its Vital Tribal Econo-
mies program.
Through small business devel-
opment on the reservation, the
community could rely less on the
tribal organization for employment,
and could work instead in the pri-
vate sector.
A shortage of small businesses
on the reservation results in what
is described as ‘leakage’—the lo-
cal community taking its money
and capital off-reservation for
goods and services, Ms. Miller said.
In Warm Springs’ case, a very
large percent of money that could
circulate locally ends up in other
communities—Madras, Redmond,
Bend, etc.
In economic terms, leakage re-
sults in a gap in the supply and de-
mand chain. When this kind of
economy persists, businesses have
to find other ways to generate rev-
enue.
Tourism is a way to bring new
money into the local economy,
Miller said; and this industry will
be an important part of her re-
search. Her findings will be shared
with the community through the
tribal portal, a video, and reports.
In the late 1950s, after the Celilo
settlement, the tribes developed an
economic plan for the future. The
tribes followed the plan, and the
results were successful, a kind of
economic boom time for the tribes.
The hope is that a new plan for
the future could bring about simi-
lar results.
In her job Ms. Miller will be
looking at issues around having
tribal Commercial Code. The
Warm Springs Area Chamber of
Commerce is also interested in the
tribal Commercial Code idea,
which has seen success with other
tribes.
Commercial Codes give cer-
tainty to business transactions,
helping both the business and the
consumer.
On the near horizon for Warm
Springs is the small business incu-
bator project of the Community
Action Team, Ms. Miller said.
Her work involves coopera-
tion among all in the commu-
nity—from individuals to enter-
prises, the Area Chamber of
Commerce, the tribal govern-
ment, etc.—and regional part-
ners like the Northwest Area
Foundation, Rural Development
Initiatives and others.
Dave McMechan
Libby Chase attended Chilocco
Indian School in Oklahoma, 1963-
67. Of the experience Libby says:
Best years of my, I counted and
had a voice. I met kids from all
over the U.S. and loved it. You get
out of the experience what you put
into it. Lots of great memories in
four years. Some memories of
boarding school:
Becoming the Student Body
President, Class President, and
Football Queen Candidate.
Part of the new exhibit at the
Museum at Warm Springs—Resil-
ience: The Boarding School Expe-
rience of Warm Springs and be-
yond—examines Chilocco, and part
focuses on Chemawa. And the
Warm Springs boarding schools
are a central feature.
The exhibit displays rare old
photos; student publications such
as decades-old year books; and
touching personal items: A sewing
machine from the Warm Springs
school, a student’s stool, a suitcase,
typewriter, a formal boarding
school cap, a flag that flew at one
of the schools.
As with her other changing ex-
hibits, museum curator Natalie
Kirk took special care with Resil-
ience.
See BOARDING SCHOOLS on 7