Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Tribes continue cautious
coronavirus policy
Areas of Jefferson
County off the reservation
began relaxing the Covid-19
distancing and stay-home
measures; meanwhile a court
has ruled all of the state re-
strictions are unenforceable,
though the state provisions
remain in effect pending fur-
ther court review.
The developments are a
concern, considering that
many people from the res-
ervation travel off the res-
ervation to shop, for in-
stance,
said
Hyllis
Dauphinais, director of the
Warm Springs Clinic.
For the reservation and
membership, Tribal Council
is taking the more measured
and safe approach to the
very dangerous Covid-19
disease, Mr. Dauphinais said.
“It is important for the
tribal community and mem-
bers to continue covering
your face with masks, to so-
cial distance, avoid crowds,
wash you’re your hands of-
ten—These are actions that
really do make a difference.”
The approach of the
tribes for now continues to
be that social distancing is a
must, on the reservation and
when community members
visit or shop off-reserva-
tion—‘Don’t bring back the
virus’ is the policy.
The tribes as of earlier
this week had seen a total of
17 positive test results, out
of more than 300 tested. All
of the pending tests could be
back by this weekend, Mr.
Dauphinais said.
The level of infection on
the reservation has remained
relatively low, as community
members are staying home,
and following the other pre-
cautions as adopted by Coun-
cil.
Emergency Management
and the Response Team
have been handing out gro-
ceries, sanitizers and protec-
tive equipment to individu-
als and families, as the orga-
nization shut-down continues
through May.
Dave McMechan
May 20, 2020
Notice regarding W.S. Agency Water System
This Tribal Utilities-
Water Department notice
applies to Kah-Nee-Tah,
Wolfe point, Sunnyside,
Dr y Creek subdivision,
the industrial park, Miller
Heights, the Campus,
West Hills, Tenino Val-
ley, Tenino Apartments,
the Trailer Courts,
Greeley Heights subdivi-
sion and also the High-
way 26 industrial cor ri-
dor from Brunoe Log ging
to Eagle Crossing Res-
taurant:
As we approach the
summer months, we
tend to use more water
for other purposes than
washing, cleaning and toi-
lets. I would like to take
this time to advise resi-
dents that we are still
operating on the emer-
gency repair of the
Shitike Creek crossing,
which limits our ability to
maintain high flow situa-
tions.
Currently, we are able
to maintain flow rates to
Summary of Tribal Council
May 18, 2020
The meeting was called to
order at 9:10 a.m. by Vice
Chair Brigette McConville.
Roll call: Chief Joseph
Moses, Chief Alfred Smith
Jr., Lincoln Jay Suppah,
Glendon Smith, and Chief
Delvis Heath. By phone:
Anita Jackson, Wilson Wewa
Jr., and Raymond Captain
Moody. Minnie Yahtin, Re-
corder.
· Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs Superintendent discus-
sion.
· Housing lease resolution
with Danielle Wood, Hous-
ing Director:
· Motion by Wilson
adopting Resolution No.
12,668. Second by Anita.
Question: 8/0/0, Vice Chair
not voting. Motion carried.
· Tribal Attorney John
Ogan contract discussion:
Motion by Wilson adopt-
ing Resolution No. 12,689.
Second by Anita. Question:
8/0/0, Vice Chair not vot-
ing. Motion carried.
· Kindred Spirits Project
Grant Resolution with
Valerie Switzler:
Motion by Anita adopting
Resolution No. 12,690. Sec-
ond by Jay. Question: 7/0/
0, Vice Chair not voting.
Motion carried.
Covid-19 Response
Team update:
· Motion by Anita
(amended) to cancel Pi-
Ume-Sha and all associated
activities due to Covid-19.
Second by Glendon. Ques-
tion: Glendon/yes, Joe/yes,
Jay/yes, Delvis/no, Alfred/
yes, Anita/yes, Wilson/yes,
Captain/yes, 7/1/0, Vice
Chair not voting. Motion
carried.
· Political endorsements
for Representative Daniel
Bonham
and
Cal
Mukumoto with Louie Pitt,
Governmental Affairs Di-
rector:
Does Tribal Council sup-
port Louie endorsing Rep-
resentative Daniel Bonham
and Cal Mukumoto on be-
half of the tribes?
Glendon/yes, Joe/Yes, Jay/
yes, Delvis/yes, Alfred/yes,
Anita/yes, Wilson/yes, Cap-
tain/yes.
Page 3
Recommendation by
the Covid-19 team to adopt
the traditional event, fu-
neral and burial guidance
provided by Louie Pitt, in
collaboration with spiritual
leaders and the Culture and
Heritage Committee:
· Motion by Anita to
adopt the funeral guidelines
as presented by Louie and
Wilson, and make sure all
Churches are aware. Sec-
ond by Wilson. Question:
Glendon/yes, Joe/no, Jay/
yes, Delvis/yes, Alfred/yes,
Anita/yes, Wilson/yes, Cap-
tain/no, 6/2/0, Vice Chair
not voting. Motion carried.
Proposed Covid-19 or-
der with Glendon Smith.
Nena Springs fire up-
date with Josh Newton and
Howard Arnett, tribal attor-
neys:
· Executive Session,
1:37-2:25 p.m.
· Motion made by Anita
based on the confidential
and privileged briefing that
Tribal Council received
the reservoirs to keep them
full enough to provide nor-
mal daily use of housing and
commercial buildings.
We will all need to do our
part in conserving water to
maintain the reservoir lev-
els for urgent and emer-
gency use.
The primary concern is
to maintain the reservoir
levels to provide as much
fire protection as is possible
with the emergency repair
line at the Shitike Creek
crossing.
There is a possibility that
water availability could be
compromised for emer-
gency use if the reservoirs
are not maintained at their
full capacity due to water
waste (see Schoolie Flats boil
water notice on page 6) .
We do have plans to in-
stall a new water line to
meet the needs of the com-
munity in a safe and consis-
tent manner by installing a
larger water line to cross
Shitike Creek. Those plans
are currently in the engineer-
from the tribal attorneys
regarding the litigation aris-
ing out of the Nena
Springs fire, I move to au-
thorize:
a) stays of the civil ac-
tions—Wasco County Cir-
cuit Court and War m
Springs Tribal Court—and
the BIA Trespass Action
through August 30, 2020,
to allow the Chair, Vice-
Chair, and Secretary-Trea-
surer to work with the tribal
attorneys to develop and
implement a reasonably
scoped discovery process
that allows the parties to
engage in well-informed
settlement negotiations,
which includes mediation
if needed, and allows all
parties, including the tribe,
a reasonable opportunity
to be heard in BIA Tres-
pass Action; and
b) immediate transmit-
tal of insurance policy lim-
its settlement demands to
Mr. Lindell and the
Wisenbakers for a com-
bined total of approxi-
mately $3 million. Second
by Wilson. Question: 8/0/
0, Vice Chair not voting.
Motion carried.
ing development stage,
which are slated to be com-
pleted this coming fall.
After the engineering
plans have been developed
and approved, we will then
move into the procurement
phase which will be done
sometime in the Spring of
2021 with construction to
start in the summer or early
fall of 2021.
It is important to re-
mind each other that we
are not completely back to
100 percent on the capac-
ity of our system until the
new water line crossing is
completed.
Let’s all do our part in
conserving water as much
as possible. Some of the
things we can do to help the
conservation efforts in-
clude:
Limiting the use of wa-
ter for lawns by only wa-
tering in the early morning
or late evening hours for a
few minutes at a time. We
can also limit the use by not
allowing water to run down
driveways.
Kah-Nee-Ta letter of
intent with Wakinyan:
Resume proposed Covid
19 order with Glendon:
· There was an email re-
quest to re-open fishing per-
mit sales. This will be dis-
cussed after the Fish and
Homeowners can do
their part by making sure
their water service lines
are not leaking by getting
them repaired as soon as
possible.
Please call the Water-
Wastewater Utilities De-
partment at 541-777-
1335 for potential water
main leaks.
Our water crews will
monitor water use and
they may stop, and ask
that residents turn off
water that is not being
used in a conservative
effort. These folks are
doing their job to help
maintain our capacity.
As always, if you
have any questions or
concerns regarding wa-
ter conservation efforts
you may contact me at
541-553-3246.
Chico Holliday,
Warm Springs Water De-
partment super visor.
chico.holliday@
wstribes.org
Wildlife On-Reser vation
Committee gives a recom-
mendation.
· This discussion will con-
tinue on the next scheduled
meeting.
Motion by Captain to ad-
journ at 3:33 p.m.