Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 26, 2020
Page 5
Regional employment stalls after improving
The employment recovery
slowed dramatically in July across
Central Oregon, following much
stronger job growth in May and
June. In Jefferson County, includ-
ing Warm Springs:
The seasonally adjusted over-
all unemployment rate was 11.3
percent in July, down from 13.3
percent in June. The rate remains
up significantly from before the
Covid-19 crisis: It was 4.2 percent
in early March of this year.
Jefferson County’s recovery
stalled in July as the county added
just 10 jobs on a seasonally ad-
justed basis, following a gain of
more than 170 in June.
Seasonally adjusted total non-
far m employment levels in
Jefferson County dropped by
1,260 jobs during the peak of the
covid crisis, and the county has
only regained around 180 of those
jobs through July.
Employment levels remain
down more than 16 percent from
before the onset of the crisis. Simi-
lar to other communities, the hard-
est hit industry is leisure and hospi-
tality with employment levels down
270 jobs from this time last year.
Crook County: The seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate fell to
11.7 percent in July, down from
13.3 percent in June. The unem-
ployment rate is still much higher
than before the onset of the
Covid-19 pandemic; it was 4.8
percent in March 2020.
Deschutes County: The sea-
sonally adjusted unemployment
rate dropped to 10.8 percent in
July, down from 12.4 percent in
June. The rate remains significantly
higher than before the Covid-19
crisis; it was just 3.3 percent in
March 2020.
IHS updates its covid testing data
The Indian Health Service has
updated its coronavirus data, show-
ing results across Indian country
as of late last week.
According to the data: IHS has
returned positive Covid-19 tests
for 39,051 individuals. That rep-
resents an increase of 0.18 per-
cent from the 38,982 cases previ-
ously reported.
Altogether, 613,175 corona-vi-
rus tests have been administered
through late last week. That marks
an increase of 0.33 percent per-
cent from the day prior.
Since late July there has been a
slowdown of coronavirus activity
reported by the IHS.
Overall, almost 6.4 percent of
IHS coronavirus tests have re-
turned positive, according to the
data. But the rate is far higher in
the Phoenix Area, where 15.8 per-
cent are positive.
Next is the Navajo Area, which
serves the largest reservation in the
United States. But even with about
14.5 percent of tests returning
positive, the rate has fallen steadily
over the last month, following a
noticeable decline as the region
with the highest rate.
The Nashville Area, which cov-
ers a wide area of Indian Country,
including the South and Northeast-
ern parts of the U.S., also contin-
ues to show a high positive rate of
almost 8.3 percent.
On the other end of the spec-
trum, aggressive efforts in the
Alaska Area are turning up very
few cases. Out of 126,292 tests
administered in Alaska, only 0.76
percent have returned positive,
the data shows.
The Alaska Area also outnum-
bers every other area—including
Navajo— in terms of tests ad-
ministered. The Oklahoma City
Area has fallen back to the sec-
ond spot.
The data, however, is incom-
plete. While 100 percent of facili-
ties run directly by the IHS are
reporting data, only 33 percent of
tribally managed facilities and 44
percent of urban Indian organi-
zations are doing the same.
The service population of IHS
overall is 2,562,290 individuals.
Based on that figure, 23.9 percent
of American Indians and Alaska
Natives have been tested for the
coronavirus since the IHS began
reporting data in March.
The IHS user population, on
the other hand, is a much smaller
number. As of 2019, 1,662,834
American Indians and Alaska Na-
tives have lived within a service
delivery area and have received
health care at an IHS or tribal fa-
cility during the previous three
years.
Based on the user population,
almost 36.9 percent of Native
Americans have been tested for the
coronavirus since the IHS began
reporting data in March.
Around Indian Country
At 90 speaker preserving the language
W
hen Virginia Beavert re-
ceived her Ph.D. in linguistics at
the age of 90, it was the culmina-
tion of almost eight decades of
work preserving the Ichishkiín lan-
guage.
A member of the Yakama Na-
tion, she started doing language
documentation at the age of 12.
At that time she served as an
interpreter and transcriber for re-
searchers studying languages of the
Pacific Northwest’s indigenous
groups.
As an adult, Ms. Beavert
worked on the first-ever Ichishkiín
dictionar y, recorded Yakama
myths, and contributed to gram-
mars and word lists of her mother
tongue.
Earlier this summer, when she
addressed fellow language activists
from around the world via Zoom
at a conference, she struck a de-
termined tone. “I want to let you
know that we are here,” she said
to the camera at one point, “and
we are supportive.”
As is the case for so many dur-
ing the pandemic, language activ-
ists, linguists, and others who work
on revitalization campaigns are
reimagining their work at a time
when coronavirus has made in-per-
son meetings impossible.
It’s a transition that has taken
on particular urgency given the
fact that the speaker pool for the
W.S. Credit
hours, safety
The Warm Springs Tribal
Credit Enterprise is a mask
zone upon entry at all times.
Other safety measures at
Credit:
The ATM lobby is open
to one person at a time.
Cash checks and make loan
payments at the drive-
through window. Turn in
loans and pick up loans at
the drive-through.
The hours at Credit are
Monday through Friday 10
a.m. to 3 p.m., closed from
noon to 1 p.m.
Virginia Beavert
world’s threatened and endangered
languages skews older—precisely
the population most at risk from
the pandemic. This problem is com-
pounded by the fact that indig-
enous communities not just in the
United States but around the world
are disproportionately affected
both by the virus and by the eco-
nomic toll of the shutdown.
Against this backdrop, the push
to keep language revitalization go-
ing under lockdown is a symbol of
cultural resilience—and, for many,
an opportunity to build national and
international solidarity among indig-
enous peoples around the world.
Many indigenous groups in the
United States have long had pro-
visions for distance learning. This
is particularly the case for reser-
vations that are “checkerboards,”
with plots owned by native and
non-native people intermingled,
the legacy of 19th-century poli-
cies aimed at forcing assimilation
by carving up communally owned
land into private allotments.
In some places, however, per-
sistent connectivity issues make
transitioning to online revitalization
work a challenge. Despite calls
from indigenous communities to
address disparities, the FCC esti-
mated in 2018 that 35 percent of
tribal land residents still don’t have
broadband access.
In spite of these obstacles, a
number of language revitalization
professionals report that their
projects are not just continuing
under quarantine—they’re ex-
panding.
Attention W.S. small business owners
If your company did not receive
Paycheck Protection Program, or
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
funding—or any other type of fed-
eral or state Covid-19 relief assis-
tance—you may be eligible for grant
awards that are being made avail-
able locally in Jefferson, Crook and
Deschutes counties. Sole Proprietors
are being encouraged to apply.
The Central Oregon Intergovern-
mental Council and a host of re-
gional partners have successfully
awarded just over $400,000 in
grants to small businesses through-
out Central Oregon since July.
With approximately $250,000
still available, COIC is re-opening
the application on a first-come, first-
serve basis. Small businesses and
non-profits located anywhere in the
tri-county region are encouraged to
apply by visiting coic.org/grant.
Or contact COIC at 541-383-
7290. Or emial:
sbdc@cocc.edu
COCC updates
reopening plans
for fall term
Central Oregon Commu-
nity College announced an up-
date to its fall term reopening
plans. After careful consider-
ation of ongoing Central Or-
egon health trends—and with
utmost concern for the health
and safety of its students, fac-
ulty, and staff—the college
made several amendments to
the board-approved plans that
were originally shared back in
July.
At the time, COCC noted
that those plans were subject
to change as the coronavirus
pandemic continued to unfold.
Over the summer, COCC
implemented a robust set of
safety measures, including
mandatory face coverings, en-
hanced cleaning protocols,
physically distanced classroom
setups, hand sanitizing stations,
and more.
COCC’s Summer ter m
classes were offered predomi-
nantly in remote or online for-
mats, with the exception of
some Career and Technical
Education courses—Automo-
tive, Aviation, Manufacturing,
Nursing/Nursing Assistant,
and CPR/First Aid.
Housing and facilities were
closed with the exception of
drop-in computer labs and
curbside pickup at the Barber
Library and the bookstore.
Student services, including
advising, financial aid, tutor-
ing and more were all offered
remotely.
With the updates to the
college’s reopening plans, fall
term—which begins Septem-
ber 21—will now more closely
resemble COCC’s summer
term. The college will shift
its planned in-person course
offerings for Fall term, with
75-80 percent of classes now
to be offered remotely or
online. The exception will be
some Career and Technical
Education classes, labs and
practicums that require hands-
on learning that cannot be
taught effectively in a distance
format. The CTE in-person
course offerings will expand
from summer term to include
Apprenticeship, Culinary Arts,
Dental Assisting, Fire Science,
Massage Therapy, Medical
Assisting, Outdoor Leadership,
Paramedicine, Phar macy
Technician and Veterinary
Technician. Select internships,
forestry field classes,
practicums and science labs
will also be held in-person.
Mazama Gym and Fitness
Center will be closed, along
with dining services and the
library and the bookstore.