Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
March 11, 2020
Page 7
This week marks anniversary of Falls flooding
In those days, during spring flooding, ten times more
water passed over Celilo Falls than passes over Niagara
Falls today...
S
ixty-three years ago
this week saw the heart-
breaking disappearance of
the mighty Celilo Falls. And
now with each passing year
there are fewer and fewer
living people who still re-
member the falls, though the
site retains great cultural im-
portance to the tribes.
The Native language
names of the area—Wy-am
is an example—of the falls
refers to “echo of falling
water” or “sound of water
upon the rocks.”
On the south side of the
falls was the Wasco commu-
nity of Wyam; and on the
north side the Wishram com-
munity of Nix-luidix, a site
now under the water of The
Dalles dam. The area was
the longest continually inhab-
ited site in North America.
The tribes traded with visi-
tors who visited from as far
away as modern day Alaska
to the north, California to
the south, and the Rocky
Mountains to the east.
The main waterfall con-
sisted of three sections: a
cataract, called Horseshoe
Falls or Tumwater Falls; a
deep eddy, the Cul-de-Sac;
and the main channel.[3]
These features—stretching
for more than nine miles—
were formed by the Colum-
bia River’s relentless push
through basalt narrows on a
final leg of its journey to the
Courtesy photos
Native fishermen at Celilo Falls; and, below, salmon drying at Celilo Village.
Pacific Ocean.
The migrating fish had dif-
ficulty passing the falls, pro-
viding for the best fishing in
the region. A famous fea-
ture was the series of
wooden scaffolds built out
over the river, fished with
long-handled dip nets. They
caught the variety of
salmons, lamprey and stur-
geon.
As more white settlers ar-
rived in the area, during the
1930s and ‘40s, the govern-
ment leaders advocated for
the construction of hydro-
electric dams on the Colum-
bia River. The completion
of The Dalles dam hap-
pened in 1957, with the
flooding event covering the
falls on March 10 of that
year.
Sonar imaging shows that
Summaries of Tribal Council
March 2, 2020
The meeting was called
to order at 9:04 a.m. by
Chairman Tsumpti. Roll
call: Lincoln Jay Suppah,
Chief Alfred Smith Jr., Vice
Chairwoman
Brigette
McConville, Anita Jackson,
Glendon Smith, Wilson
Wewa Jr., Chief Delvis
Heath, and Chief Joseph
Moses. Minnie Yahtin, Re-
corder.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
update with Floy Lori
Anderson, Superintendent.
Arlington Landfill update
with Louie Pitt, Govern-
mental Affairs:
· Louie will contact The
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla and Department of
Energy for a meeting.
Realty items with James
Halliday, Land Services ad-
ministrator:
· Motion by Brigette
adopting Resolution No.
12,672 approving a grazing
lease in the Schoolie Flat
area for George Williams,
with noted corrections. Sec-
ond by Wilson. Question: 7/
0/1, Delvis/abstain, Chair-
man not voting. Motion car-
ried.
· Reviewed lease cancel-
lation letter.
. Wilson then gave an
update on the Coronavirus
phone call.
· Portland Harbor update
with Ellen Grover and Rob-
ert Brunoe:
· Executive session,
11:13-12:30.
Internships with
U.S. Senator Merkley
Oregon’s U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley is offering
internship scholarships, al-
lowing current and recent
students to gain experi-
ence in the senator’s
Washington, D.C. and
Portland offices.
A deadline for the sum-
mer program is coming up
on March 30. Here are
some details:
Sen. Merkley’s office
has a limited number of
Otto
and
Verdell
Ruhterfod scholarships,
and We the People schol-
arships.
The scholarships are
availalbe for full-time or
part-time internships that
last between ten to 14
weeks during the summer,
fall, and winter/spring
terms.
You can find full de-
tails, and apply, at the
Senator’s website. Go to:
merkley.senate.gov/
Remembering the Falls
scholarships
They are recruiting
now for the summer and
fall, with the summer ses-
sion deadline coming up
at midnight on March
30.
Scholarships are
available for those who
could not otherwise af-
ford the educational op-
portunity to intern in
Washington, D.C., or
Portland.
Full-time D.C. schol-
arship interns receive ap-
proximately $6,000 pre-
tax for a full-time com-
mitment lasting a mini-
mum of 10 weeks.
Part-time D.C. schol-
arship interns receive
roughly $3,750 pre-tax
for a part-time internship
lasting a minimum of 10
weeks. There may be a
travel subsidy for those
relocating to Washington,
D.C.
Federal and state legisla-
tive update calls with Matt
Hill and Michael Mason.
Tribal attorney update
with Ellen Grover:
· Reviewed current and
ongoing issues.
· Executive Session, 2:38-
2:55.
Tribal attorney update
with John Ogan.
2020 Salmon Camp:
· Motion by Anita ap-
proving $5,000 donation for
the 2020 Salmon Camp, to
be held in Warm Springs.
Secretary-Treasurer to de-
termine which budget to use.
Second by Jay. Question: 5/
0/0, Vice Chair not voting.
Motion carried.
Motion by Anita to ad-
journ at 4:46 p.m.
March 3
The meeting was called to
order at 9:14 a.m. by Vice
Chairwoman
Brigette
the rock formations of the
falls remain below the res-
ervoir of the dam.
McConville. Roll call:
Raymond Captain Moody,
Lincoln Jay Suppah, Chief
Alfred Smith Jr., Chief
Delvis Heath, Glendon
Smith, Chief Joseph Moses,
Anita Jackson. Minnie
Yahtin, Recorder.
COVID-19 update with
Danny Martinez, Tribal
Emergency manger; Hyllis
Dauphinais, Indian Health
Service CEO; and Russell
Graham, tribal Sanitation:
· Katie Russell will be
back-up to Louie Pitt as
point of contact.
Cannabis Board ap-
pointments with Michele
Stacona, Secretary-Trea-
surer:
· Motion by Glendon
adopting Resolution No.
12,673 appointing the direc-
tors of Warm Springs Eco-
nomic Development Corpo-
ration, dba Warm Springs
Ventures, to the Board of
Directors of CP Enterprise.
Second by Captain. Ques-
tion: 6/0/0, Vice Chair not
voting. Motion carried.
The record of human habitation proves Wy-am
to be one of the longest occupied sites on the conti-
nent. For thousands of years, Wy-am was one of
history’s great market places. A half-dozen tribes had
permanent villages between the falls and where the
city of The Dalles now stands. As many as 5,000
people would gather to trade, feast, and participate in
games and religious ceremonies.
Elders and chiefs regulated the fishing, permitting
none until after the First Salmon ceremony. Each
day, fishing started and ended at the sound of a whistle.
There was no night fishing. And when a fisher was
pulled into the water—most who fell perished in the
roiling water—all fishing ceased for the day. In later
years, each fisher was required to tie a rope around
his waist, with the other end fastened to the shore.
Elders and others without family members able to
fish could take what they needed from the catches.
Visiting tribes were given what they could transport
to their homes. The rest belonged to the fishers and
their families.
All this changed on the morning of March 10,
1957, when the massive steel and concrete gates of
The Dalles Dam closed and choked back the down-
stream surge of the Columbia River. Four and a half
hours later and eight miles upstream, Celilo Falls, the
spectacular natural wonder and the age-old Indian
salmon fishery associated with it was under water.
That was 63 years ago. But the spirit of Wy-am—
which some say means “echo of falling water”—still
lives in the traditions and religions, indeed in the very
soul of Columbia River Indian people.
When the United States government submerged
Celilo Falls in 1957, it attempted to compensate the
tribes for flooding their fishing sites, though this was
an invaluable part of the tribal economy. The
governement did not, however, purchase their fish-
ing rights. Those rights, as set forth in the 1855 trea-
ties, were not affected, and exist to this day.
Article by the Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
United States Fish & Wild-
life Service, NOAA Fisher-
ies, and Bureau of Reclama-
tion government-to-govern-
ment consultation with
Tribal Council regarding the
Deschutes Basin Habitat
Conservation Plan.
Kah-Nee-Ta discussion
with Wakinyan, introducing
Kevin Mass, FFKR architec-
ture firm principal.
HUD 184 discussion with
Howard Arnett, tribal attor-
ney:
· Motion by Glendon
adopting Resolution No.
12,674 hereby approving
HUD and Bureau of Indian
Affairs form ‘Residential
Lease of Tribal Owned
Land’ (attached as Exhibit A)
for use in leasing tribal land
on the Warm Springs Reser-
vation for residential hous-
ing to be financed in whole
or in part through the Sec-
tion 184 program. The Sec-
retary-Treasurer/CEO of
the tribe is authorized to ex-
ecute any further documents
as may be needed to qualify
the Tribe and the Warm
Springs Reservation for par-
ticipation in the Section 184
program, including submit-
ting Resolution No. 12,639,
and Resolution 12,639A,
and this Resolution to HUD
staff for their review and
certification of the Tribe
and Warm Springs Reser-
vation as eligible for partici-
pation in the Section 184
program. Second by Anita.
Question: 3/2/1, Captain/
No, Jay/No, Alfred/Ab-
stain, Vice Chair not voting.
Motion carried.
· Anita gave an update
on the Columbia River
Housing meeting.
· Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natu-
ral History Native Ameri-
can Repatriation Review
Committee vacancy:
· Motion by Captain
nominating Brigette to sub-
mit a statement of interest
for the vacancy. Second by
Jay. Question: 6/0/0, Vice
Chair not voting. Motion
carried.
Motion by Captain to
adjourn at 2:28 p.m.