E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Letters to the editor
Tribal education
covid assistance
The Tribal Council of the
Confederated Tribes passed
resolution 12,741, a Covid-19
emergency education assis-
tance program. The resolu-
tion provides emergency edu-
cation related assistance to
tribal members who have
been directly impacted due to
the Covid-19 public health
emergency.
Please complete the on-
line application or drop off
at the administration building.
The application deadline is
December 16, or when funds
are depleted.
Only completed applica-
tions will be considered.
Checks will be made payable
to the parent or guardian un-
less the student is 18 years or
older. This benefit is tax-ex-
empt pursuant to the Warm
Springs Tribal Code Chapter
550, “Tribal General Welfare
Ordinance.” A W-9 form
may be requested if you are
not in the tribal accounting
system.
This program will be in
partnership with the Warm
Springs Education Commit-
tee. Thank you Council mem-
bers, with help from tribal at-
torneys for creating and pass-
ing this program. See the site:
cog n i t o f o r m s. c o m /
A r d i s C l a r k /
caresactconfederatedtribesof
warmspringscovid19emergency
educationassistanceprogram
application
Veterans list
addition
A name was missing in the
recent Spilyay Veterans Roll
call of tribal member veter-
ans.
Ruben Paul Santos, SPC
U.S. Ar my, ser ved from
2000 to 2003. He was an
Iraq War Veteran. Born
1982 ~ Journeyed to the
Sprit World 2009.
Healthy matters
The Madras High
School football camp that
was planned this month for
War m Springs is being
postponed until spring. The
camp will be for youth ages
kindergarten through
eighth grades, male or fe-
male.
In a related item: All
Madras High School sports
were put on hold as the gov-
ernor announced statewide
freeze for K-12 sports.
This will be in effect until
further notice. In other fit-
ness news:
Fitness challenge
Warm Springs Community
Wellness this month is host-
ing a fitness challenge called
‘50 Miles to the new year.’
The Challenge will run
through December 31. Par-
ticipants will track their miles
and turn them in weekly.
There will be bonus chal-
lenges for extra points. Prizes
and incentives will be offered.
To learn more and sign up
Email:
jennifer.robbins@wstribes.org
CTWS staffing
Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs government
offices will continue to op-
erated at 50 percent staffing
through Friday, December
11. Tribal facilities are closed
to the public, as a precaution
to help slow the spread of
Covid-19.
On being Native
Dear Warm Springs com-
munity,
Near the end of the
Confluence project’s recent
virtual event, an intriguing
question came in from a non-
Native attendee: “Do I have
permission to call this land
home?”
Author Robin Wall
Kimmerer responded with
words from an elder, who
told her that so many descen-
dants of colonizers seem to
act like they “still have one
foot on the boat. They’re
acting like they’re not really
here. That they’re just going
be here and to take what
they can get and go some-
where else. Well, there isn’t
any ‘somewhere else’ any-
more."
To become “native to
place,” Robin explained, is
“to live as if your ancestors
were from here and live as
if your grandchildren are
going to grow up here.”
It was a powerful re-
minder to me of the grati-
tude I feel for the Colum-
bia River Tribal elders I
have met at Confluence,
who have taught me so
much about what it means
to be from this place, to
truly embrace our land-
scape as home, and to build
a reciprocal relationship
with it.
Gratitude and reciprocity.
That is the theme of our lat-
est Confluence Story Collec-
tion. See the website
confluence.org
The videos and resources
all explore ideas of giving
thanks and giving back. En-
joy. Stay healthy,
Confluence executive di-
rector Colin Fogarty.
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus in Memorium: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our of-
fices are located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm
Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 489, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone: 541-553-2210 or 541-771-7521
E-Mail: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $20.00
Page 3
Spilyay Tymoo December 2, 2020
From St. Charles: ‘You are now the front line...’
During one of our re-
cent St. Charles Covid-19
Incident Command calls,
the dire situation we face
became increasingly clear.
On that day at that
time, our Bend hospital
was the only hospital in
Births
Benita Nezbah Kylisa
Yazzie
Alicia Yazzie of Warm
Springs is pleased to an-
nounce the birth of her
daughter Benita Nezbah
Kylisa Yazzie, born on No-
vember 19, 2020.
Benita joins brothers
McKie, 8, and Jerome 6; and
sister Jaden, 9.
Clyde Kami Charley
Austin G. Charley and
Rianna R. Fuentes of Warm
Springs are pleased to an-
nounce the birth of their son
Clyde Kami Charley, born on
November 15, 2020.
Grandparents on the
father’s side are Keith Char-
ley Sr. of Warm Springs;
Marcella Vallo of Toppenish;
Foster Kalama of War m
Springs; and J’Dean Kalama,
Yakama and Warm Springs.
Grandparents on the
mother’s side are tony
Fuentes, William Fuentes,
Tommie Fuentes, Versa
Fuentes-Smith, Stella Langley
and Rosetta Fuentes.
Restaurants
Restaurants in Oregon
can reopen for limited out-
door service this week in
the state with any available
Intensive Care Unity beds.
Suddenly, the refrain I’ve
been hearing from col-
leagues throughout the na-
tion hit incredibly close to
home: Our health care work-
ers can no longer be consid-
ered the front line of this
fight. We are now your last
resort.
You are on the front line.
Your actions and choices
can make the difference for
yourself, your families and
your loved ones.
Because we simply
may not have the beds and
staff to care for you if we
don’t stop the spread of
the virus now. Joe Sluka,
St. Charles Health System
chief executive officer and
president.
Oregon but many restric-
tions will remain in place
until a vaccine against the
coronavirus is widely avail-
able. Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown announced the new
measures on Wednesday.
State officials also an-
nounced vaccines would
soon be coming to Oregon.
the Navajo Nation and execu-
tive director of the Navajo
Nation Department of
Health.
Her career has focused on
preventing chronic diseases
and addressing healthcare and
health disparities among
American Indians/Alaska
Natives.
She’s served as a cabinet
member for the Navajo Na-
tion Nez-Lizer Administra-
tion.
The Navajo Nation has
had more than 15,000 Covid-
19 cases, more than 8,600
people have recovered and
more than 640 people have
died.
Fry bread
Greetings,
In case you were not able
to join us, here is a link to
our fry bread demonstration
videos:
cocc.edu/departments/
multicultural/native-
american/featured-native-
american-events.aspx
Michelle Cary, Native
American Program coordi-
nator, Central Oregon Com-
munity College.
Covid national
response team
A key leader to the Na-
vajo Nation’s response in the
Covid-19 pandemic was se-
lected to join the incoming
Presidential advisory board
to battle the pandemic on a
national scale.
The announcement of
Dr. Jill Jim’s appointment
happened over the weekend.
Dr. Jim is a member of
Health and safety message from Human Resources
A message from War m
Springs Human Resources:
The Tribal Council de-
clared a reservation-wide
state of emergency on
March 13, 2020. The dec-
laration recognized Covid-19
as a serious health and safety
threat. As part of the decla-
ration, employees are en-
couraged to stay home if he
or she is ill.
Let’s all do our best to
protect ourselves and others.
Best
management
practices
For the health of all em-
ployees, it is the responsibil-
ity of all staff to continually
self-monitor your health.
And it is incumbent on each
employee to follow the fol-
lowing best management
practices (BMPs) for per-
sonal hygienic, physical dis-
tancing, and other aspects of
a healthy work environment.
Additional BMPs and
mitigation measures may be-
come necessary in the fu-
ture.
Basic BMPs
· Stay home if you are
sick. Persons exhibiting
symptoms of fever, dry
cough or other illness should
not come to work, and will
be sent home by their imme-
diate supervisor.
Staff that may feel or
become ill during the day
shall immediately put on a
face covering (mask), leave
the workplace area, and in-
form their supervisor by
phone or radio.
· Avoid close contact with
people who are sick.
· Recognize personal risk
factors. According to U.S.
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention:
Certain people, including
older adults and those with
underlying conditions such
as heart or lung disease or
diabetes are at higher risk
for developing more serious
complications from Covid-
19.
· Field-going employees
will minimize time in the of-
fice. Communication with
your supervisor can be par-
tially accomplished by
phone or radio.
· Staggered scheduling
may be implemented to en-
hance physical distancing
when other measures are in-
effective.
· Continue to monitor
tribal guidelines for Covid-
19 as they are evolving.
There are multiple mea-
sures and BMPs available to
reduce the chance of expo-
sure to the virus; and to en-
sure that you, the employee,
are at the very least possible
risk.
Practice Personal Hy-
giene:
· Frequently wash your
hands with soap and water
for at least 20 seconds.
When soap and running wa-
ter are unavailable, use and
alcohol-based hand rub with
at least 60 percent alcohol.
Always wash hands that are
visibly soiled.
· Avoid touching your
eyes, nose, or mouth with
unwashed hands.
· Cover nose and mouth
with elbow or fabric when
coughing or sneezing.
· Wear clean clothing ev-
ery day if possible.
Practice Physical Dis-
tancing:
· Avoid physical contact
with co-workers by maintain-
ing at least 6 feet of distance.
· Common work areas
shall be redesigned to ensure
that each staff member as
at least 6 fee of distance
from other staff
· Vulnerable staff shall
have an office with a door
for distancing from other
staff and public.
· All staff are encouraged
to close their office doors.
· Vehicles will be assigned
to staff and cross-over use
of vehicles will be avoided.
· To meet the Covid-19
physical distancing require-
ment in a vehicle:
Only one person is al-
lowed to travel in a standard
pickup or extended cab
pickup, all cars and small
SUVs. Super cab pickups
and full size SUVs may have
a second person in the pas-
senger back seat (if two
people ride in that type of
vehicle, face coverings must
be worn).
· Assign equipment, no
sharing (chainsaws, tools,
etc.).
· Promote virtual meet-
ings in lieu of traditional
face to face meetings in the
office space around build-
ings where staff interact
with the public sneezing,
coughing and other contact/
fluids from contacting staff.
· Limited access to facil-
ity from non-staff.
· Limited restrooms to
one person at a time use an
occupied/vacant sign.
Facilities/equipment
· Routine daily cleaning
for vehicles and other equip-
ment; follow the supplied
checklist and submit to the
identified safety officer.
· Designate personnel for
daily cleaning.
· Maintain/enhance
janitor’s schedule for clean-
ing buildings.
· Clean all frequently
touched surfaces every day;
follow the supplied checklist
and submit to the identified
safety officer
· Wash hands thoroughly
after cleaning.
· Managers will create a
daily checklist for cleaning of
vehicles and equipment; su-
pervisors of each depart-
ment will fill out daily.
Travel:
· Avoid all but critical
travel/transportation.
· Minimize contact and
time in public areas.
· If transportation by
commercial transportation
(bus, aircraft) use proper
PPE.
· If staying in hotel/mo-
tel clean and disinfect sur-
faces.
· Utilize take out or de-
livery.
· Clean and disinfect ve-
hicles.
· Be careful when using
public facilities.