Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Tribal
organization
decision
Tribal Council is meeting this
week with Management, health and
emergency advisors on the best
course for the tribes over the com-
ing weeks. Council and the Covid-
19 response team met on Monday
by teleconference, and were sched-
uled to meet again this Wednesday.
A decision as to whether the
organization stay-at-home order
should continue is forthcoming this
week. When a decision, and de-
tails of the decision are final, each
employee should plan directly with
his or her supervisor for any con-
tingency, if necessary.
Council discussion this week was
also in regard to clarifying and
strengthening the tribal Declaration
of Emergency. Food vendor safety
regulation, access by outsiders to
areas of the reservation, and imple-
mentation of a potential burn ban
were among concerns, said Dan
Martinez, director of tribal Emer-
gency Management.
Hyliss Dauphinais, director of
the Indian Health Service Warm
Springs Clinic, reported that the
clinic had conducted 13 tests for
Covid-19.
See ORGANIZATION on 8
April 8, 2020 - Vol. 45, No. 8
April – Hawit`an – Spring - Wawaxam
A
mong the highest of
Tribal Council priorities has al-
ways been the education of the
young membership: The future
of the tribes relies upon this,
literally, said Valerie Switzler,
general manager of the tribal
Education Branch.
There are any number of
future educational paths a
young person may take, Ms.
Switzler said: Training, voca-
tional or technical school,
higher education, to name only
some. These are the choices
that will define the future of
the Confederated Tribes.
As with anything worth do-
ing, this is always a challenge;
and these days the challenge has
taken on an added context:
The schools are closed—mean-
ing self-discipline and support
of family, friends and commu-
nity are essential for the tribal
youth now more than ever.
The school district continues
to provide breakfast and
lunches to the students (see the
article below). And at these
pick-up sites the district has
been making available printed
home education material. This
is now leading up to the adop-
Teachers connecting with families
Teachers at the Warm Springs
Academy are reaching out to
families to explain the new Dis-
tance Learning for All program,
taking effect this Monday, April
13. If you have not had con-
tact with your student’s teacher,
please contact Ellen at the Acad-
tion this week of ‘Distance Learn-
ing for All.’ By this Friday the
district and Academy will have
details of Distance Learning for
All, taking effect on Monday, April
13.
Distance Learning for All will
involve the distribution of writ-
ten home education material,
compiled by the teachers. There
will also be an online compo-
nent. The school district is cur-
rently working out aspects of
Distance Learning for All online.
An issue is ensuring equity in
access to the online component.
The Academy serves students
from about 400 separate home
sites, and some these do not have
access to internet; or each stu-
dent in a household may not
emy, 541-553-1128 to update
your contact information.
The school is closed to the
public, though Ms. Ames is
available by phone 8 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday.
Or you may email her at
eames@509j.net
have ready access to a computer
during the online course time.
The challenges are new, obvi-
ously, given the circumstances;
So the teachers and other edu-
cation leaders themselves are
learning, as they overcome this
mighty challenge. For context
and background:
Gov. Kate Brown in mid March
announced the closure of all Or-
egon schools. The idea at the time
was this would last through April.
Then on March 30 state leader-
ship said, “There is a very real
potential that our students may not
return to school this academic
year.” The state of Washington,
for instance, announced the clo-
sure of its schools for the re-
mainder of the current school
D.McMechan/Spilyay
Warm Springs Academy lead chef Beverly Gallimore and Principal Bambi VanDyke
distribute the breakfsats and lunches by the Academy bus drop-off.
· Tenino Apartments at Elk
Loop and Kalama Lane, 10 to
10:15 a.m.
· Trailer Court: Little Oitz and
Regarding facemasks
Warm Springs Tribal Com-
munity Health and Emergency
Management encourage every-
one to wear a mask when go-
ing out in public.
Wearing a facemask in pub-
lic settings, such as at the gro-
cery store, may prevent the
spread of Covid-19. By keep-
ing your mouth and nose cov-
ered you may prevent spread-
ing the virus. This is impor-
tant because some people who
are carrying the virus show no
symptoms.
Avoid touching your face or
the mask while you are wear-
ing it; and you still need to stay
6 feet away from people when
wearing a mask: A mask is no
substitute for social distancing.
There are many ways to
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Schools and ‘Distance Learning for All’
School meals to-go during the closure
D uring the school shut-
down, the Jefferson County
509-J school district is offer-
ing breakfast and lunch to
youth age 1 to 18 years.
The grab-and-go meals are
provided with breakfast and
lunch available together at the
following locations and times,
Monday through Friday. The
meals are free to kids. Youth
should be present to pick up
the meals:
In War m Springs the
meals are available between
9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at the
Warm Springs Academy: Go
to the curb next to the bus
drop-off area by the sports
fields.
The other Warm Springs
locations for weekday meal
pick-ups are by necessity more
limited as to time availability.
Pick up:
· West Hills at Poosh and
West Hills Drive, 9:30 to 9:45
a.m.
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
make a mask. See, for instance,
Surgeon General Jerome
Adam’s Youtube video for an
easy way to make one:
y o u t u b e . c o m /
watch?v=tPx1yqvJgf4
You can also sew one. Please
make one for you, your family
and others.
Tribal community Health and
Emergency Management are
taking donations of cloth
facemasks to give to the com-
munity. There is a donation bin
at the entrance of the clinic.
You may drop off donated
masks between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Donated facemasks are re-
quested to be washed, dried and
placed in a sealed bag such as a
Ziploc.
See FACEMASKS on 5
Kuckup Street, 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.
· Upper Dry Creek at Tommie
Street at the North End, 9:30 to
9:45 a.m.
· Sunnyside at Crestview
Drive and Sunnyside Drive, 10
to 10:15 a.m.
year.
In the weeks following the clo-
sure of Oregon classrooms, school
districts like 509-J implemented a
program of ‘supplemental learn-
ing,’ involving the distribution of
district compiled, grade-relevant
take-home material at the meal
pick-up sites.
Then last week the Oregon De-
partment of Education gave new
guidance to the districts. This is
the ‘Distance Learning for All’ pro-
gram, with the teachers taking the
lead in the education curriculum.
In a letter last week school dis-
trict superintendent Ken Parshall
explained the new program to par-
ents, guardians and students:
“The Oregon Department of
Education has issued new guidance
to school districts. This represents
a significant shift from ‘supplemen-
tal learning.’ The new approach
‘Distance Learning for All’ includes
a blended instructional framework,
and an online format as part of
the process.”
Districts have until Monday,
April 13 to submit the local dis-
trict plan to the state Department
of Education:
See DISTANCE LEARNING on 8
Cannabis
project
progress
The U.S. Department of Agri-
culture has approved the tribal plan
for the cultivation of an outdoor
hemp crop on the reservation.
Warm Springs Ventures made the
announcement last week.
The hemp project, as approved
earlier by Tribal Council, is to
carry out the tribal cannabis refer-
endum of December 2015.
Th USDA approval allows the
enterprise to move forward with
operations, with the goal to get a
crop planted for the 2020 grow
season.
The hemp project is continuing
to work on the necessary steps to
make this happen. The Ventures-
CP Enterprise team is doing what
they can while working with chal-
lenges presented by Covid-19 re-
strictions.
See PICKUP SITES on 8
Vital census count for tribes
A great example of why the
Confederated Tribes need a strong
membership showing in the 2020
U.S. Census is happening now, as
we contend with the present na-
tional health crisis: The federal
CARES—Coronavirus Aid, Relief
and Economic Security—Act is $2
trillion legislation that includes sev-
eral billion dollars specifically to
tribes across the U.S.
The supplemental funding could
help tribes address some costs of
the Covid-19 response. The im-
pact on tribal essential services, and
each tribes’ demographics would
play a large part in how the billions
are allocated among the 573 fed-
erally recognized tribes.
The community profile gathered
during the census would help guide
this determination. This is just one
of a myriad of examples of the
vital need for membership census
participation: Until the next cen-
sus in 2030, the 2020 count will
determine the allocation of fed-
eral funding for Medicare and
Medicaid, housing, public safety,
transportation, water and other
essential services.
Easy to complete
The easiest way to complete the
2020 Census during the Covid-19
pandemic is to do it online. Got
to: my2020census.gov/login
If you don’t have your 12-digit
census identification, just click on
the option below the ‘Login’ but-
ton that says: “If you do not have
a Census ID, click here.”
If you don’t have the ability to
do the census online, you can do
the questionnaire by phone.
The 2020 Census will ask a
few simple questions about you
and everyone who was living with
you on April 1 of this year. You
will need their birth dates. Call
844-330-2020 and follow the
prompts.
You may be on hold for a
while, Please be patient. When
you get to talk to a person, let
them know you get your mail at
a post office box, and you do not
have a census ID.
You can call in your 2020 cen-
sus information everyday from
4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific Time.
The Confederated Tribes’
Complete Count Committee en-
courages you to Be Counted
Warm Springs.
See WE COUNT on 8