Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
November 20, 2019 - Vol. 43, No. 24
November – Anaku Ipach’aanxa Yaamash
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
Kah-Nee-Ta Village talk at Council Toward
Tribal Council last week heard
a promising idea for future use of
the Kah-Nee-Ta Village. A central
element of the proposal is for use
of the Village as a hydrotherapy
center.
Chris James, his associate Eric
Fristensky, and Dr. Edward
McEachern gave the presentation.
Mr. James, attorney, is a long-time
advocate of the idea, as he has
personal experience in seeking good
quality hydrotherapy for a family
member.
The hydrotherapy service his
family used during this episode was
contained wholly within a hospital
building, in a foreign country. The
family did not leave the building
for weeks—rendering the experi-
ence even more unpleasant.
Having similar services at the
Village—with sunshine and clean
air along with the hydrotherapy
pools—would make for a unique
facility. There would be the heated
hydrotherapy pools, plus lodging
for the patients and families, and
related support services. And there
would be access to all the outdoor
activities at Kah-Nee-Ta.
Good health is the most impor-
tant thing in people’s lives, and al-
ways will be, Mr. James said. For
this reason the need for services
at the Village would be “forever
with no end to the market.”
Dr. McEachern spoke with
Council by speaker phone. The
doctor is the Chief Medical Of-
ficer with Pacific Source Health
Plans. Dr. McEachern confirmed
the assessment that a hydrotherapy
center at the Village has great po-
tential.
Ms. James presented a revenue
projection for the project through
2022, and the numbers are posi-
tive. Operation of the lodge
would have to be a separate en-
terprise, he said.
Tribal Council members
showed interest, and support for
the proposal. Kah-Nee-Ta op-
erated for 47 years, said Coun-
cil Chairman Raymond Tsumpti,
“And it was a good run. We now
have to look at where we are
today.”
The hydrothereapy center
has potential, Chair man
Tsumpti said, “but we do have
to shore this up with the mem-
bership.”
Reports at Council on Willamette Falls projects
Willamette Falls is one of the
significant traditional fisheries
of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, especially for
eeling. The Falls is a usual and
accustomed fishing place of the
tribes from time immemorial.
Developments at Willa-
mettte Falls are of obvious
importance to the tribes; and
at the present time there are
three separate projects happen-
ing there. Representatives of
these projects met with Tribal
Council last week, updating
Council, the Branch of Natu-
ral Resources and legal coun-
sel.
The projects are the
Willamette Falls Heritage Area,
the Willamette Falls Locks, and
the Willamette Falls Legacy
Project.
One aspect of developments
at the Falls is the Blue Heron
Mill property, now owned by
the Grand Ronde tribes.
The mill closed in 2011, af-
ter nearly a century of opera-
tion. The mill property, adja-
cent to the Falls, is a central part
of the Legacy Project—the
potential “new home of the
riverwalk”—the planned pub-
lic access to the Falls, said Brian
Moore, project manager of the
Legacy Project.
The Grand Ronde pur-
chased the mill property this
year, with an agreement to co-
operate in cleaning the site.
A sunny day at Willamette Falls, photo courtesy the Willamette Falls Legacy Project.
The Legacy Project involves
Oregon City, Clackamas County,
Metro and the State of Oregon,
working with the site’s private
owners, the community, tribes and
others. A plan with Legacy is to
create a public riverwalk alongside
the Willamette River, leading in
time to potential new Oregon City
downtown development. The
plan envisions a $35 million invest-
ment into this project.
A separate project is the
Willamette Falls & Landing Heri-
tage Area, involving 56-river-miles
of the river. Jon Gustafson, presi-
dent of the area coalition, de-
scribed the Heritage Area last
week at Council:
The goal is to share the history
and culture of this area of river
with the public. Again, clearly, the
tribes have a significant interest
in this program.
The third component pre-
sented last week at Council is the
Willamette Locks Commission.
The Oregon legislature created the
commission this term, with Sen-
ate Bill 256.
The goal of the commission is
to advise state, local and regional
government agencies on develop-
ment and implementation of a
plan for repair, reopen, operate
and maintain the Willamette Falls
navigation canal and locks.
These had been operated and
maintained by the Army Corps of
Engineers, who closed the locks
as “non-operational” in 2011, af-
ter operating and maintaining
them since 1873. Boat traffic
through the locks under the
Corps of Engineers was free.
The locks commission is con-
sidering options for future main-
tenance and operation, and this
may involve a user fee for some
watercraft, such as tour boats
and commerce transport.
In a worst case scenario,
abandonment of the locks could
be harmful to fish, another as-
pect of importance to the tribes,
said Robert Brunoe, general
manager of the tribal Branch of
Natural Resources.
Tribal Council, committees
and staff said they plan to be
actively engaged as these three
projects progress.
Dave McMechan
New building idea for Early Childhood
The Early Childhood Education
building has experienced recurring
repair problems in recent years. A
leaky roof is an example, and prob-
lems with the ECE kitchen are
another.
Policy makers for ECE are now
considering the option of having
a new building for Head Start,
Early Head Start and day care.
Recent work to keep ECE open
and safe for children and staff has
been expensive, and more work is
needed. A roof repair, for in-
stance, is an estimated $100,000,
funded through a grant.
Meanwhile, there are at least
two federal grants that could help
fund a new facility, said Casandra
Moses, director of the Early Child-
hood Education Center.
One of the grant sources would
be the federal Head Start program
itself, and another is the Children’s
Care and Development Fund, Ms.
Moses said.
Staff and the Policy Council
have been weighing the options for
the past several months, working
also with Jefferson County School
District 509-J. Site options for a
new building may involve the
school district, while another op-
tion may involve the Health and
Human Services Branch.
Rather than continue to expend
resources on repairs at the existing
ECE facility, the long-term practi-
cal solution could be a new facility,
Ms. Moses said. Funding sources
become increasingly reluctant to
continue putting money into the
older building, she said.
She met last week with Tribal
Council, joined by Alvis Smith III
and Tamera Coffee of tribal Utili-
ties.
In other news from ECE, shared
recently with Tribal Council:
Through another grant
through the Central Oregon
Disability Support Network,
ECE is contracting with a
speech and language special-
ist.
This will provide students at
ECE, and at the Warm Springs
Academy, access to these ser-
vices without the need of par-
ents having to drive them to
Redmond or Bend, as is cur-
rently the situation.
Dave McMechan
Tribal Vital
Economies
Allen Nygard has spent 20
years studying tribal economies,
over time working with 150 Na-
tive communities. “I’m not a
consultant, I’m a student,” Mr.
Nygard said. Over time he has
learned that “every tribal com-
munity is different, having devel-
oped over thousands of years.”
My Nygard is now working
with the Warm Springs Commu-
nity Action Team on the team’s
Vital Tribal Economies project.
The Northwest Area Founda-
tion—dedicated to reducing pov-
erty in communities of the re-
gion—is a supporter of the
Warm Springs Action Team. Last
year the foundation provided an
economic advancement grant to
the action team.
The purpose of the two-year
grant is to conduct a comprehen-
sive study of the reservation
economy, and develop a compre-
hensive economic development
strategy, in partnership with the
community.
Mr. Nygard, member of a
North Dakota tribe, is helping
with the assessment of the Warm
Springs economy, the needs and
assets. He spoke last week with
Tribal Council, initially explaining
the Vital Tribal Economies sur-
vey of earlier this year.
The survey is to get a picture
of the strengths of the local situ-
ation, and areas in need of atten-
tion and improvement.
With two decades of experi-
ence studying tribal communities
and economies, Mr. Nygard now
realizes that every community—
each one being different—begins
the economic development jour-
ney from different places.
Yet there are some aspects that
exist—to one extent or another—
in all communities. These include
qualities such as trust within the
community and leadership, on the
positive side; versus aspects such
as the degree of lateral oppres-
sion and trauma among the mem-
bers, for instance.
Some tribal communities have
more to overcome on the nega-
tive side, while others start with
more to work with on the posi-
tive side.
In the case of Warm Springs,
he said, there is a good level of
positive aspects in the commu-
nity—trust, helpfulness, leader-
ship, etc.
Based on his research, Warm
Springs is given a good assess-
ment, Nygard said; so the com-
munity is already prepared to
change for the better in terms of
the local economy. “You already
have a lot going for you,” Mr.
Nygard said.
In time the answer will not be
just more money, he said. Some-
times an influx of a great deal of
money can actually have an ad-
verse impact.