E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Letters to the editor
On spring break
Schools are on spring
break this week; and the
tribes are encouraging every-
one to consider your activi-
ties with regard to Covid-19.
If you plan on traveling
or spending time with oth-
ers, remember that continu-
ing to take precautions like
wearing a face mask and
maintaining 6-feet of social
distance protects everyone.
If you do gather with
others who you do not live
with, do so outdoors, as this
is the safest and healthiest
way.
Tribal public health offi-
cials remind us that there is
a ways to go before Covid-
19 is gone, and to avoid any
behaviors that put your fam-
ily and friends, the commu-
nity and yourself risk.
Food help
The Warm Springs Com-
modities Food Bank will be
open from noon to 4 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday, April 3
and 4; and Saturday and Sun-
day, April 17 and 18.
The food bank offers ce-
real, fresh fruit and produce,
canned fruit and veggies,
pasta, meat, eggs, juice and
cheese.
You do need to meet eligi-
bility requirements to qualify
for commodities. Call 541-
53-3422 for details, or check
out the Warm Springs Com-
modities Facebook page for
updates:
facebook.com/wscommods
The food bank is located
at 4217A Holiday Street, the
Commodities building at the
industrial park.
“We all need a helping
hand sometime, and the
Warm Springs Food Bank
team is here to help,” is their
motto.
Fish advocate
A statue honoring the late
Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually
tribal member who champi-
oned treaty rights and pro-
tecting the environment, is
one step closer to being on
display at the U.S. Capitol.
The state of Washington
House of Representatives
approved a bill this month
that starts a process to re-
place the state’s Marcus
Whitman statue in the Na-
tional Statuary Hall Collec-
tion with a statue of Mr.
Frank. After a bipartisan 92-
5 vote, as part of the pro-
cess, the proposal will now
head to the Washington Sen-
ate.
“Billy Frank Jr. has
walked every watershed to
the east and the west of the
mountains,” Washington
Rep. Debra Lekanoff said
on the House floor.
“He has stood in every
river and collaborated with
local, tribal, state, federal
communities to say ‘How do
we rise together to protect
the values of Washington
state? How do we stand to-
gether?’”
A first at Interior
The U.S. Senate last week
confirmed New Mexico Rep.
Deb Haaland as Secretary of
the Interior. This makes Sec-
retary Haaland the first Na-
tive American to lead a Cabi-
net department, and the first
to lead the federal agency
that wields the most influence
over tribes.
Tribal groups hailed Ms.
Haaland’s confirmation as
historic, saying her selection
means that Indigenous
people will for the first time
see a Native American lead
the powerful department
where decisions on relations
with the nearly 600 federally
recognized tribes are made.
Interior also oversees a
host of other issues, includ-
ing energy development on
public lands and waters, na-
tional parks and endangered
species.
At Council
Some of the items re-
maining on the Tribal Coun-
cil agenda for the rest of
March include the following
(subject to change at Coun-
cil discretion):
Wednesday, March 24
9 a.m.: Health and Hu-
man Services update with
Caroline Cruz, branch man-
ager.
9:30: Education update
with Valerie Switzler, branch
manager.
10: Public Utilities update
with Travis Wells, branch
manager.
1:30: TERO update with
Wendell Jim, program direc-
tor.
2: Gaming Commission/
Surveillance update with
Josephine Johnson, director.
2:30: Cannabis/Kah-Nee-
Ta updates with Wakinyan.
3:30: Willamette Falls dis-
cussion with Louie Pitt, Gov-
ernmental Affairs director.
Movie Night
Warm Springs Juvenile
Crime Prevention presents a
Family Movie Night this
Wednesday evening, March
24. The show will start at
8:43 p.m. Meet at the Be-
havioral Health Building
lawn. Bring something to sit
on, and a blanket. The movie
will be Tom and Jerr y.
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 4 Spilyay Tymoo March 24, 2021
Vaccine Voices: Oregon Teacher of the Year Nicole R. Butler-Hooton
N icole
back to normal within a
few days.
The second vaccine
caused me to experience
severe flu-like symptoms
for two days following. I
had a high fever, chills,
headache, body aches, and
nausea.
R. Butler-
Hooton, Oregon’s 2021
Teacher of the Year, is a
second-grade teacher at
Irving Elementary. Her
teaching style “goes be-
yond instruction and
serves to build lasting re-
lationships with students
and families,” Ms. Butler-
Hooton says.
As a teacher and a
Siletz and Apache tribal
member, Nicole felt it was
important to get the
Covid-19 vaccine. She
shares:
I got vaccinated against
Covid-19 because I want
to feel safe to be around my
family members and
friends. I want to feel safe
returning to the classroom
and teaching.
The evidence has shown
that it can help bring an
end to the pandemic. In ad-
dition, Indigenous commu-
nities have been dispropor-
tionately affected by
coronavirus, and I know I
am more likely to have a
Birth
Xander Cole George
James Russell George and
Lillian Gonzalez of Warm
Springs are pleased to an-
nounce the birth of their son
Xander Cole George, born
on March 14, 2021.
Xander joins brothers
Lucas David George, 4, and
Joseph Ryan George, 3; and
sister Amelia Rose-Marie
George, 1.
Grandparent on the
father’s side is Dayle Tufti of
Warm Springs.
Grandparent on the
mother’s side is Josephine
James of Warm Springs.
Workshops
WorkSource Oregon will
host virtual workshops in
April. You can register by
calling 503-947-1670. Work-
shop topics will include In-
terviewing; Virtual Inter-
viewing; Soft Skills Work-
shop; Resumes; Networking;
and Successful State Appli-
cations Workshop.
For any questions or as-
sistance in registering, they
may call Wayne at 541-553-
3328 or Melinda at 541-553-
3324
Side effects
Courtesy OHA
Teacher of the Year Nicole R. Butler-Hooton,
having just received her covid vaccination.
negative outcome than many
of my colleagues if I get sick.
I believe the vaccine is safe.
The first vaccine I experi-
enced a sore arm, lethar gy,
and a mild headache. I was
Vaccine side effects
often mean the vaccine
is working.
You may have no-
ticed that some people
have side effects, while
others do not.
According to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention, side ef-
fects are normal signs
that your body is build-
ing protection.
Having side effects
may make it difficult to
do daily activities, but
they should go away in a
few days. Some people
have no side effects, but
the vaccine is still work-
ing. The important thing
is to get the vaccine.
Breathing exercises for relaxation
by Alicia Oberholzer
Physical Therapist
W.S. Holistic Health
Diaphragmatic breathing
is a specialized breathing
practice that can help to re-
duce stress, encourage relax-
ation, and improve respira-
tory efficiency.
This technique empha-
sizes the use of a thin hori-
zontal muscle that sits at the
bottom of your rib cage be-
tween your chest and ab-
dominal cavities.
With each breath in, the
diaphragm contracts and
descends as the lungs fill with
air. With each breath out, the
diaphragm muscle relaxes
and elevates into a dome
shape, driving air out from
the lungs.
Diaphragmatic breath-
ing for beginners:
Find a quiet place to prac-
tice. You may choose to ei-
ther sit in a chair or lie down
on your back. If you choose
to lie down, feel free to use
a pillow under your head or
knees for comfort.
Place one hand on your
stomach, just below your
ribcage. Place your other
hand on your chest.
Take a deep breath in
through your nose, feeling the
hand on your stomach slightly
rise while the hand on your
chest remains relatively still.
Purse your lips like you are
preparing to whistle and en-
gage your abdominal muscles
as you slowly breath out.
You should feel your stom-
ach lower to its resting position.
Be sure to exhale completely.
Repeat this for 5 minutes.
Progression
Once you have mastered
the basics of diaphragmatic
breathing, the next step is to
try the 4-7-8 technique to
encourage deep and rhythmic
breathing.
This practice, common in
meditation and sleep promo-
tion, focuses on elongating
the breath.
If you have a history of
cardiovascular or respiratory
issues, it is best to first con-
sult your physician before try-
ing this at home.
Assume a comfortable po-
sition for diaphragmatic
breathing, as outlined above.
Exhale completely to
empty your lungs of air and
relax your diaphragm.
Take a gentle breath in
through the nose for 4 sec-
onds. Hold the breath for a
count of 7 seconds. Exhale
through pursed lips for a to-
tal of 8 seconds. Repeat four
times.
If this breathing pattern is
too challenging, you can start
by dividing all the times in half.
This would translate to a 2 sec-
ond inhale, 3.5 second breath
hold, and 4-second exhale.
If you have additional
questions on breathing prac-
tices, please feel free to reach
out to the Physical Therapy
Team at Warm Springs Ho-
listic Health: 541-777-2663.
Planning for the Center for Tribal Nations at Portland
The Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians is inviting
tribes and tribal organizations
to participate in planning for
the Center for Tribal Nations
and Waterfront Education
Park in Portland.
ATNI and partners are in
the initial planning stage of
this project; and are seeking
advice, ideas and assistance
as they develop the concep-
tual plans for this project, to
be located at Oregon Mu-
seum of Science and Indus-
try—OMSI—district in Port-
land.
See this website for more
information, including how
to register to participate:
atnitribes.org/center-
tribal-nations/
Center for Tribal Nations
The Portland Metropoli-
tan Area—Metro—early this
year awarded a grant to plan
for a Center for Tribal Na-
tions on the OMSI property.
Metro
awarded
the
$750,000 grant to OMSI
and the City of Portland.
The grant supports stra-
tegic planning and engage-
ment efforts for the Center
for Tribal Nations, and a wa-
terfront education park at
the OMSI District.
The Columbia River In-
ter-Tribal Fish Commission
and the Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians is helping
to lead the visioning process
with tribes, tribal and inter-
tribal organizations, and In-
digenous community mem-
bers. For more background:
Last October, the Port-
land Metro Council pro-
claimed the second Monday
in October as Indigenous
People’s Day across greater
Portland. The Metro reso-
lution recognized that this
region “is built upon the an-
cestral homelands, villages
and traditional use areas of
the Indigenous People and
tribes who have been care-
takers of these lands we
cherish since time immemo-
rial.”
The project seeks to lever-
age the redevelopment of
the OMSI property to model
a new partnership between
OMSI, tribal and inter-tribal
organizations, the greater
Portland Native American
community and the City of
Portland to restore the Na-
tive community’s presence
on the Willamette.
Metro said, “The United
States has a history of vio-
lence against Indigenous
People, including termina-
tion and assimilation policies,
broken treaties and reloca-
tion—wrongs that have
taken place in Oregon and
across the country.”
The planning grant will al-
low the project partners to
engage tribes, tribal organi-
zations and the Native
American community to
identify and begin planning
for a broad range of uses on
the site.
The award is part of
Metro’s 2040 planning and
development grants program,
which supports regional and
local planning, economic de-
velopment and community
stabilization, and equitable
development
projects
throughout the region.
The Center and water-
front education park seek to
meaningfully restore Native
peoples’ connection to the
Willamette River in the Port-
land area.
The Center and adjacent
park will be part of an inte-
grated package of redevel-
opment that will include
riverfront restoration, and
office and community gath-
ering spaces for Native
people and tribal and inter-
tribal organizations who live,
work or visit in the Portland
metropolitan region.