Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Covid-19
measures
The tribal organization is on a
50-percent workforce reduction
through December 2. General
managers are deciding as to the 50-
percent workforce personnel for
each area.
This week’s Tribal Council ac-
tion comes on the recommendation
of the tribal Covid-19 Response
Team; as the reservation this week
has seen a significant spike in posi-
tive cases.
The state of Oregon, mean-
while, is on ‘freeze’ with many busi-
ness closures and safety restrictions.
The tribal and state restrictions are
both in effect through December
2.
Before the Covid-19 spike this
week, the reservation last week saw
28 new cases for a then-total of 39
active cases. The positivity rate was
13.8 percent, before adding this
week’s cases. And there were many
close-contact tracings, monitored by
Public Health.
· Total cases of Covid-19 on the
reservation identified since the pan-
demic began in March is more than
430. Over that time, IHS and
Health and Wellness have con-
ducted more than 4,430 tests for
Covid-19.
· Since March, 47 people of the
reservation have been hospitalized
due to Covid-19. Forty-six people
have been discharged from the
hospital, as of late last week.
Ten tribal members of the res-
ervation have died from the virus.
November 18, 2020 - Vol. 45, No. 24
November – Anaku Ipach’aanxa Yaamash
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Solar solution to water, development
The Confederated Tribes, the
War m Springs Economic
Development Corporation and
private donors are making it
possible to partner with Source
Global, a public benefit
corporation, to deploy
sustainable solutions to the
tribe’s longstanding water crisis.
Over the past two weeks,
Source Global has hired 14
members of the Warm Spring
community to begin installing
the first phase of a ‘Source Field’
in Warm Springs.
A Source Field is made up
of a large array of Source
hydropanels that harness the
power of the sun to create clean
water out of the vast amount
of moisture in the atmosphere.
From there, the system enhances
the water with minerals and
provides water to a filling station
where residents can get the
equivalent of high-end bottled
water free of charge and free of
single-use plastic waste.
Once installed to full capacity
next spring, the Field will be able
to make a significant
contribution to the community’s
need for clean drinking water.
The economic development
arm of the Confederated Tribes,
the Warm Springs Economic
Courtesy Ben Bisland/WSED
A SOURCE technician joins Warm Springs Construction at the panel field by the industrial park.
Development Corporation is
leading the project.
“For years, our community has
endured shortages and poor water
quality, and at times we haven’t had
the drinking water to meet our
basic needs,” said Jim Souers, chief
executive officer of Warm Springs
Economic Development. “Now
we’re creating our own sustainable
source of drinking water, using
nothing but the earth’s renewable
resources: Sunlight and air.”
Many in the Warm Springs
community have been relying on
bottled water to meet their drinking
water needs. Source and Warm
Springs Economic Development
estimate that in the next year alone,
the initial Source Field will
sustainably create enough drinking
water to offset up to three quarters
of a million plastic bottles. Over
its lifetime, the Source Field built
to full capacity can save tens of
millions of single-use plastic bottle
waste from going into landfills.
As part of the project, reusable,
two-and-a-half-gallon containers
will be provided free to the
community to be used at the filling
station with UV technolog y
sterilizing the containers as they are
filled. The project could be
operational by the end of the year.
To support homes that have
ongoing water quality issues, the
Tribal Council also allocated
Covid-19 funding to provide up
to 50 Source residential systems
to homes with a two hydropanel
system. The system will provide a
separate water faucet in the house,
and it will not be connected to the
current water plumbing—thus
providing an independent drinking
water supply to the home.
See WATER PANELS on 3
Supreme Court case and
the ACA in Indian Country
Mitchell Lire/KWSO photos
The Confederated
Tribes, veterans and
families, and the
American Legion
Auxiliary No. 48 hosted
the 2020 Veterans Day
Parade, November 11
(see more on page 2).
In 2014 the Affordable Care
Act opened up expanded Medic-
aid for all people of a certain in-
come level. Before the ACA, Med-
icaid coverage was mostly limited
to low-income children and preg-
nant women, the disabled and the
elderly.
Expanded Medicaid has allowed
for greater health insurance cov-
erage among the tribal member-
ship. Close to three-quarters of
the Confederated Tribes members
now have insurance coverage un-
der Medicaid Expansion.
Before the Affordable Care
Act and Expanded Medicaid cov-
erage, the tribal Managed Care
program had to cover much
more of the medical costs of the
members. This would lead to
shortfalls, and some rationing of
non-essential health services, espe-
cially during the later times of the
year.
Without Medicaid Expansion,
there is the possibility that Man-
aged Care could go into limited
services as happened in the early
2000s.
With the coronavirus prevalent,
if Medicaid Expansion didn’t ex-
ist, Managed Care’s funding would
be depleted exponentially, jeopar-
dizing the health services of our
community.
Clearly, the ACA has improved
health care among the membership.
In short: The ACA Medicaid Ex-
pansion led to coverage gains
among American Indians, and in-
creased revenue to IHS- and trib-
ally-operated facilities.
And for these reasons the recent
U.S. Supreme Court case involving
the ACA has been of great interest
to tribes. The Supreme Court heard
arguments in the case earlier this
month. One option for the court
could be to overturn the ACA as
unconstitutional.
There was some good news fol-
lowing the oral arguments, be-
cause court observers said the jus-
tices appeared to reject the idea
that the entire ACA should be
thrown out.
Those in particular who appeared
to reject the challenge to the law
were Chief Justice John Roberts,
who voted to uphold the ACA in
2012; and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
They suggested that it was not the
place of the Supreme Court to in-
validate the entire law.
This was the third time since
2014 that the Supreme Court has
heard a significant challenge to the
Affordable Care Act. Regarding
this most recent case, U.S. Senator
Tom Udall of New Mexico, vice
chair of the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs, commented:
Please see ACA on 4