Page 4
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
A Year in Review ~ 2020 ~
The following are more of the
memorable news events during 2020
on the reservation.
April
I n April, despite the Covid-19
pandemic, the Celilo Village decided
to hold the First Salmon Feast,
while limiting attendance in order
to reduce the public health risk.
Several people who attended the
feast on April 13 later tested posi-
tive for Covid-19, including Celilo
Village leader Bobby Begay; al-
though it was not confirmed that
any of these people had contracted
the virus at the longhouse event.
Less than two weeks later, how-
ever, Mr. Begay, 51, died from com-
plications due to the virus. A lead-
ing fish technician for the Colum-
bia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis-
sion, Bobby had a reputation as an
effective advocate for cultural and
environmental protection. Friends
and colleagues described him as a
force of nature: upbeat, welcom-
ing, and keen to build bridges be-
tween Native American communi-
ties and outsiders.
The tragedy of this year’s feast
brings into focus the terrible
choices tribal communities every-
where are now facing. On the one
hand, canceling events may save
lives, and is necessary in the fight
a pandemic that has already devas-
tated lives and livelihoods across the
world. Yet for many Native Ameri-
can communities, such gatherings
are critical; they reinforce a sense
of cohesion and identity.
May
L ike all graduating classes, the
Class of 2020 is unique, though
the graduation ceremony this year
will be especially memorable.
The seniors at Madras High
School and Bridges who have met
all requirements will graduate on
time, in June, as is the custom.
This spring there had been
some question as to how the
graduation ceremony could hap-
pen while keeping everyone safe
from the virus.
To address the question, the
school district asked the seniors and
families about what they would like
to see for the graduation ceremony.
The district received nearly 200
responses; and these ideas will be
incorporated into the ceremony.
Graduation Day will be Satur-
day, June 13 at the high school.
Details are still being worked out;
though for sure each student will
get to walk across the stage to re-
ceive his or her diploma.
T ribal member and leader
Ken Smith passed away on Wednes-
day, May 13 at his home in Warm
Springs. He was 85.
Mr. Smith was born in The
Dalles on March 30, 1935, into a
poor family. He would grow up to
be one of the most important lead-
ers of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs. Ken had a charisma
that brought others to him through-
out his lifetime.
T he Tribal Council endorsed
the hiring of a new BIA superin-
tendent for the Warm Springs
Agency. The presentation of the
hiring recommendation was at
Council this month, via teleconfer-
ence with BIA regional director
Bryan Mercier.
Council and Mr. Mercier had
earlier interviewed two finalist can-
didates for the position, and came
to a unanimous decision on the hir-
ing. The new Warm Springs Agency
superintendent will likely arrive in
two months, Mercier said, as the
background and other require-
ments are met.
T ribal Council in May voted to
cancel the 2020 Pi-Ume-Sha
Powwow and related Treaty Days
community events like the rodeo,
parade, health fair and run.
Council made the decision
based on the recommendation of
the tribes’ Covid-19 Response
Team.
Pi-Ume-Sha usually happens in
late June. The powwow annually
brings hundreds of visitors to the
reservation: The potential for visi-
tors bringing the coronavirus to the
reservation was the factor in the
Council decision.
June
T he Confederated Tribes and
Indian Head Gaming decided to
reopen in the casino in mid June.
“We are very excited to open and
with the amount of phone calls we
receive on a daily basis from our
guests, we know they are looking
forward to our opening too,” said
Belinda Chavez, Director of Mar-
keting for Indian Head Gaming.
“We are committed to following
the Centers for Disease Control’s
guidelines, and we have imple-
mented safety and sanitation mea-
sures in addition to limiting our oc-
cupancy to 250 total guests,” said
Chavez.
T ribal Council voted 5-4 to be-
gin the reopening of the tribal
organization on June 8. That
week will be the first phase of the
four-phase re-opening, with 25-
percent of employees returning
over each successive week.
The Covid-19 Response team
had recommended a delay of one
more week, to June 15. A majority
of the Council members, though,
felt it is time on June 8 to begin
the reopening. As the employees
return there will be new precau-
tions such as more cleaning sup-
plies and hand sanitizers, ther-
mometers, plexi-glass windows
when appropriate, and in time ad-
ditional precautions.
T he Warm Springs Commu-
nity Action team has activated a
Souce hydro-panel array to pro-
vide a renewable supply of
clean drinking water for the
community. The Community
Action Team contracted with Zero
Mass Water to install the panels.
Source hydropanels look like so-
lar panels; instead of energ y,
though, the panels produce clean
drinking water.
The panels make the water us-
ing only sunlight and air. This re-
newable method is opposed to tra-
ditional systems that filter ground
water; or treat surface water.
Th hydro-panel form of water
production is sustainable, while
also removing the need for heavy
chemicals used in drinking water
filtration.
The ten hydropanels are located
on the west side of the Commu-
nity Action Team office. The pan-
els will produce up to 50 liters of
drinkable water a day, said Carina
Miller, Action Team researcher.
T he Agency area is on a boil
water notice: Extreme water con-
servation measures should be
taken throughout the area served
by the Warm Springs system; and
the Schoolie Flat system.
“We’re at a very critical point,
where conservation efforts need
to be followed by all community
members,” said Travis Wells, direc-
tor of Public Utilities.
It has been noted that
community members are mis-
using water to fill swimming pools,
and water lawns for extended pe-
riods of time. “Until we can do
the required repairs, folks will
need to utilize water only for per-
sonal use—flushing toilets, show-
ering, boiling for consumption.”
This summer’s boil water require-
ment is similar to that of last year,
which the community endured for
several months.
December 16, 2020
(Continued from
December 2)
early part of the last century, plus
beaded objects, a review of the
Treaty of 1855, and more. All of
the works are from the museum’s
Permanent Collection and Archives
Department.
With its re-opening this month
the museum is taking precautions
to ensure the safety of staff and
visitors.
July
S tudents
of the Jefferson
County 509-J School District have
not been in a classroom since
March, when the schools closed
because of the virus. Three and a
half months later—and with the
virus still very much among us—
the district is now planning for
the 2020-21 school year.
On the statewide level the Or-
egon Department of Education,
Oregon Health Authority and Gov-
ernor Brown have developed
guidelines, called ‘Ready Schools,
Safe Learners—Guidance for
School Year 2020-21.’ The state
guidelines provide a model for on-
site classes, and the 509-J district
is planning to implement this
model for all the district schools—
including the Warm Springs Acad-
emy—in the fall of 2020.
Y vo n n e
Greene
and
C h a C h a R a m i r e z o f Wa r m
Springs have been asked to
represent the Pacific North-
west basketball team at an in-
ternational basketball tourna-
ment planned for next summer
in the Dominican Republic.
A s of this month since the out-
break, the Warm Springs Health
and Wellness Center has conducted
more than 1,850 Covid-19 tests.
Approximately 1,645 tested nega-
tive, with some tests still pending.
On the reservation so far there
have been at least 165 positive test
results. In Jefferson County over-
all, there have about 270 positive
Covid-19 results.
On the reservation 16 tribal
members have been hospitalized,
and six discharged. Very sadly,
there have been at least three
deaths in the community directly
attributed to the virus. The num-
ber of positives on-reservation has
been increasing this month, with
more members requiring hospital-
ization.
( Review continues on page 5)
T ribal Council has adopted a
program to provide Cares Act fi-
nancial grants to tribal members
who are suffering personal eco-
nomic and health hardships due to
the Covid-19 public health emer-
gency. Tribal management is
seting up the program, and is ex-
pecting to begin taking applications
and issuing grants to qualified tribal
members this month.
T here was a time when life on
the reservation was less compli-
cated—Never easy, just not so
complicated like today. If you visit
the new exhibit at the Museum at
Warm Springs, you can see first-
hand some Native works from
many decades ago, in some cases
from more than a century ago.
The exhibition is called The
Path of Resilience , on display
through the summer. Featured
items include woven bags from the
The Madras High
School Class of
2020 held their
graduation
ceremony in
June.
This was a unique
graduation, as
only one student
was allowed on
stage at a time to
receive the
diploma.