Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
October 9, 2019 - Vol. 43, No. 21
October – Anwicht’ash – Fall - Tiyam
Landmark case at half a century
After the time immemorial
there are certain years of signifi-
cance to the tribes:
The year 1805 when the Lewis
and Clark expedition arrived at the
tribes’ Nixluidix trading area at
the Columbia River. Eighteen-
fifty-five when the tribes agreed
to the Treaty. Nineteen-thirty-
eight when the tribes adopted the
Constitution and By-Laws, estab-
lishing the first Tribal Council.
And in more recent decades is
the year 1969—one half-century
ago.
It was in 1969 that federal
Judge Robert Belloni in the law-
suit Sohappy v. Smith—with the
combined U.S. v. Oregon—issued
his decision. The dispute in the
case—now called simply U.S. vs. Or-
egon–was in regard to the tribal share
of the annual fisheries harvest.
The judge ruled in favor of the
tribes and the U.S., which joined the
suit against the state on behalf of
the tribes. The judge ruled the tribes
have a treaty right to a fair share of
the harvest. As summarized:
Judge Belloni ruled that state
regulatory power over Indian fish-
ing is limited, because treaties be-
tween the United States and the
tribes in 1855 reserved the tribes’
exclusive rights to fish in waters
running through their reservations
and at ‘all usual and accustomed
places, in common with the citizens
of the United States.
The case established fundamen-
tal court precedent that exists in
present day tribal fishing rights.
Another aspect of the case:
The federal court in U.S. v. Or-
egon kept the case open—exercis-
ing continuing jurisdiction—as the
parties worked toward implement-
ing the ruling. The judge kept the
continuing jurisdiction “because
there was no way to predict
what future conditions or
events might come into play
that could require the parties to
come back to court,” explained
Mr. John Ogan, tribal attorney.
And the parties have made
use of this continuing jurisdic-
tion—asking the court to re-
solve questions and disputes as
they arose—especially in the
initial decades following the
1969 ruling. In addition, the
U.S. v. Oregon management
plans, including the 2019 plan,
are made court orders.
See U.S. v. Oregon on page 9
Wolves
add more
pups
At least ten wolf pups were
born this year to two separate
packs in Central and Western
Oregon. One of the packs—
the White River—lives and
dens on a remote part of the
Warm Springs Reservation.
This summer the tribes’
Branch of Natural Re-
sources captured trail cam-
era footage of wolves with
the White River pack rearing
six new pups.
This was a large litter, as
usually two to four pups can
be expected, said Austin Smith
Jr., wildlife biologist with tribal
Natural Resources.
Natural Resources this
year is planning to place a
tracking collar on one of the
White River wolves, to better
understand the pack’s territory
and travel habits.
The six pups born this year
to the White River pack were
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Adult and pups of the Indigo pack, photo captured by Oregon Fish and Wildlife.
its second litter, as these wolves
just arrived in the area within the
past couple of years.
Meanwhile, the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife
reported recently that four
pups had been born to the In-
digo pack.
The Indigo pack ranges in
Lane and Douglas counties.
Another pack, the Rogue, lives
in Jackson and Klamath coun-
ties. At least one additional lone
wolf lives in Lake County.
More packes live in North-
eastern Oregon.
Wolves in these areas of Or-
egon are protected under the
Endangered Species Act.
Oregon’s wildlife agency es-
timated the wolf population at
the end of 2018 to be 137 in-
dividuals in 16 packs, with a
total of 15 breeding pairs.
‘Essential Understandings’ looks at sovereignty
The Warm Springs Education
Branch has developed the docu-
ment that will guide the teaching
of the tribal curriculum in the pub-
lic schools of the region. The
Warm Springs team—Culture and
Heritage, elders and others giving
input—also worked with the state
Department of Education and
other tribes in developing this ini-
tial work.
The document is called Essen-
tial Understandings of Oregon Native
Americans—Tribal History, Shared
History.
This is the introductory docu-
ment that will lead to the curricu-
lum to be taught in the public
schools, in response to state and
federal education laws requiring
teachers to present a fair tribal
perspective to all students.
The chapters in Essential Un-
derstandings include these topics:
Since Time Immemorial. Sover-
eignty. History. Tribal Govern-
ment. Identity. Lifeways. Lan-
guages. Treaties with the United
States. Genocide, Federal Policy
and Laws.
Here is a look at the obser-
vations of Essential Understand-
ing 2:
Sovereignty
Native American Nations ex-
ercise their inherent right to self-
governance. This tribal sover-
eignty predates the existence of
the U.S. government and the state
of Oregon.
Tribal governments are sepa-
rate and unique sovereign nations
with powers to protect the health,
safety and welfare of their citi-
zens, and to govern their lands,
air and water.
Background
Tribes interact independently in
government to government rela-
tionships with other tribes, the
federal government, states and
counties. Tribes also interact with
school districts, cities, businesses,
non-profits, higher education in-
stitutions, and other non-govern-
mental organizations.
It is important to note, how-
ever, that not all tribes choose to
exercise all powers as a sovereign
government. For example, a tribe
might choose its own judicial sys-
tem and court system due to ca-
pacity or financial restraints, and
would instead choose to work with
the county or state to provide
those services in their area.
It is also important to note that
the federal government still retains
the ultimate authority or ‘trustee’
over all federally recognized tribes
and, more importantly, over-
sees and directs the necessary
funding for key areas for
tribes.
There are three types of
sovereign governments in the
United States: Federal govern-
ment, state governments, and
tribal governments:
The federal government
derives its power from the
People—its voting citizens.
State governments derive
their sovereignty power from
the U.S. federal government.
Tribal nations derive sover-
eignty from the people, the
land, and their relationships;
tribal sovereignty was not a gift
from any external government,
and though it is not defined by
the constitution, it is recognized
by the constitution.
See SOVEREIGNTY on page 9
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
2020
budget
posting
The Tribal Council last week
approved by motion the posting of
the proposed 2020. District and
General Council meetings can be
expected later this month, or early
November at the latest.
This was a challenging budget
for Council, Management and Fi-
nance, with $1.4 million in pro-
jected cuts. At their meeting last
week, Council decided to keep the
Senior Pension payment at the cur-
rent level. This could be accom-
plished through an additional divi-
dend payment from an enterprise.
As part of the budget process
this year, Council asked depart-
ments to present cuts at various
levels, from 10- to 30 percent.
This required difficult decisions, to
be discussed with the membership
in the Secretary-Treasurer budget
message, and at the upcoming com-
munity meetings.
The focus this year on reserva-
tion infrastructure needs—brought
into focus by the summer water
crisis—required discussion of how
to address the water and wastewa-
ter systems, and the needs of solid
waste disposal and sanitation.
Council members discussed at
length the question of whether the
tribes must charge customers for
these services. The Tribal Coun-
cil members agreed that monthly
fees of $15 each for water, sewer
and trash pickup—for households
that actually use these services—
appears to be the viable option in
moving forward.
This would be a completely new
approach for the tribes. How to
implement the idea will be a ques-
tion for the coming months.
For flu season
Flu season is here, while Warm
Springs Community Health offers
help in combating the highly con-
tagious illnesss.
Flu activity often begins to in-
crease in October and November.
At least one case has already been
reported in Jefferson County.
Community Health recom-
mends that most people get a flu
shot in October; so now is a good
time for the painless vaccination.
Community Health will be out
in the community giving the flu
shots. They were at the Senior
Program earlier this week, and
will be at the War m Springs
Academy Open House. The
open house is this Wednesday
evening, October 9 from 5:30 to
7:30, with dinner at 5:30.
Community Health is planning
a visit to the Early Childhood
Education Center on October
17, and to the Museum at Warm
Springs the next day. In early
November they will be at the
Compensation and Benefits Fair.