Spilyay Tymoo
April 7, 2021 - Vol. 46, No. 7
Coyote News, est. 1976
Community
update
A Warm Springs Indian Health
Service-Community Health update
early this week reported zero new
Covid-19 cases on the reservation,
from 62 who were newly tested.
There were just four known active
cases on the reservation, as of late
Monday of this week.
IHS has given 2,123 primary
doses of the vaccine against Covid-
19; plus 1,600 booser doses. To
schedule a vaccination appointment
call 541-553-2131. Vaccinations
from IHS are for anyone 18 and
older, and in some cases 16 and
older, who either: Lives in Warm
Springs; works in Warm Springs, or
is Indian Health Service eligible.
April – Hawit`an – Spring - Wawaxam
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Senator virtual town hall from Warm Springs
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron
Wyden stopped at the Warm
Springs Media Center this week
to broadcast his virtual town
hall meeting. “I would rather
meet with people eye to eye,”
Sen. Wyden said. But with the
covid restrictions, he said, the
next best option is a Facebook
Live broadcast, during which he
fielded questions from the
Warm Springs and Madras com-
munities.
For the Confederated Tribes,
the first topic of discussion was
the water infrastructure on the
reservation. Sen. Wyden, with
Senator Jeff Merkley, are the
primary sponsors of the Western
Tribal Water Infrastructure Act,
which would help address the tribes’
water, and some other infrastruc-
ture needs. This bill recently crossed
a major hurdle toward becoming law
(see article below on this page).
Sen. Wyden then talked about
the Covid-19 relief that will help
school districts, including 509-J, to
safely continue and expand in-per-
son teaching.
Speaking with the Senator,
Warm Springs’ Carina Miller also
mentioned the fundamental impor-
tance of the water and other tribal
infrastructure.
See SENATOR on 7
D.McMechan/Spilyay
At the Confederated Tribes Media Center, Sen. Ron Wyden
and staff prepare Monday for the virtual town hall,
conducted on Facebook Live.
Sacred
Reflections
at the museum
The Museum at War m
Springs is hosting Sacred Reflec-
tions: The Art of Umatilla Artist
Ellen Taylor. The show opens
this Thursday, April 8 at the mu-
seum Changing Exhibits Gallery.
Ms. Taylor is renowned for
her Contemporary Native
American paintings, a descrip-
tion of her style being: “Picasso
meets Native American type of
Contemporary art in Andy
Warhol’s living room…” Her
artwork “comes from visions,
feelings, life experiences,
death, turmoil, new birth, ill-
ness, relationships and history
of life.”
Ms. Taylor adds, “The per-
fect balance comes from find-
ing the time to create, articu-
late and harmonize these ideas
onto canvass, in an otherwise
busy life.” Her show will be on
display through May.
“For 28 years the Museum
At Warm Springs has been
proud to showcase the work of
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Pi-Ume-Sha
has to wait
another year
Courtesy photos
The artist with one of her paintings, and another of her recent works.
artists not only from the Warm
Springs community but also artists
of regional and national renown,”
says museum executive director
Elizabeth A. Woody.
“Ellen’s innovation is phenom-
enal and the way her ideas hit the
canvas is like no other. Visitors can
expect to experience the incredible
outpouring of Ellen’s creativity and
be inspired by her immense tal-
ent.”
The museum Gift Shop has
an exclusive one-of-a-kind Ellen
Taylor exhibition t-shirt.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs Tribal Council
requires all visitors and staff to
wear masks while in the mu-
seum. Other health and safety
procedures are in place, which
include allowing only a certain
number of visitors in the Mu-
seum at a time and temperature
checks at the entrance. All pro-
tocols are designed to keep the
public and staff safe during the
ongoing pandemic.
Like last year, there will be no
Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days Pow-
wow this year. Elders made the
decision at the Root Feast, held
safely this year outdoors at the
Community Center Pavillion area.
On the reservation, “We’re do-
ing great with the vaccine,” said
Cassie Katchia, Pi-Ume-Sha Com-
mittee member. “But some young-
sters will not have had the vac-
cine, and we’re not sure about the
visitors.”
Pi-Ume-Sha is greatly missed,
as the weekend events are some
of the most anticipated of the
year: The Grand Entries and
dance and drum competitions; the
Traditional Saturday Parade, the
rodeo and boxing, Health Fair,
Endurance Horse Race, stick
games, and concessions.
Pi-Ume-Sha since the late
1960s marks the signing of the
Treaty of 1855. This year on June
25 the treaty will see its One-Hun-
dred and Sixty-Sixth anniversary.
Tribal infrastructure bill moves out of Indian Affairs Committee
Tribal Council Chair man
Raymond Tsumpti Sr., and other
tribal leaders, advocated to the U.S.
Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs for passage of a Western
tribal infrastructure bill.
The Senate committee then last
month approved the bill, sponsored
by Oregon’s U.S. Senate delegation.
This is encouraging news, as on
average only one in four bills are
reported out of committee.
Infrastructure needs on the
reservation exceed $40 million,
with immediate improvement to
the watery system estimated at $5-
$6 million, Chairman Tsumpti said.
Investment in infrastructure could
lead to economic development and
employment for the membership,
Mr. Tsumpti said.
The Senate first heard the
proposal to fund Western tribal
infrastructure—inspired in large
part by the condition of water
system serving the Warm Springs
Reser vation—two years ago.
The Western Tribal Water
Infrastructure Act would provide
up to $62 million specifically for
long-neglected Western reservation
infrastructure.
“There are many federal
programs to assist tribes,” Mr.
Tsumpti said. “But they have not
individually or collectively been
able to meet the magnitude of
infrastructure challenges on our
reservation.”
Sen. Ron Wyden told the
committee that the water crisis at
Warm Springs and other tribes
nationwide demands “swift federal
action to fix a disgraceful legacy
of shameful neglect by the federal
government. And I’m glad to see
the Indian Affairs Committee give
this issue the attention it requires.
I hope the Senate will advance our
bill as soon as possible. No tribe
should go without clean water.”
In some of the other March
testimony before the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee, director of the
There are many
federal programs to
assist tribes, but they
have not individually
or collectively been
able to meet the
magnitude of
infrastructure
challenges on our
reser vation. ’
‘
Tribal Council Chairman
Raymond Tsumpti Sr.
Navajo Department of Water
Resources Jason John said tribal
water systems were not originally
built by federal trust agencies to
support growth and development.
“To be able to afford the delivery
of water, we need businesses to be
part of the plan,” Mr. John said.
“It’s really hard to build businesses
in the Navajo Nation because of
the lack of infrastructure.”
Colorado River Indian Tribes
Chairwoman Amelia Flores told
lawmakers: “You don’t need to just
throw money at the problem,”
adding that more than money has
held back tribal community
development. Flores cited policies
and laws affecting water rights and
water quality. She said water
management needs to improve
with infrastructure.
Committee Vice Chair Sen. Lisa
Murkowski, R-Alaska, opened the
hearing by citing dangerous
conditions in her home state,
descriptions that echoed the
problems in Warm Springs. “Boil
water notices have become a way
of life,” Sen. Murkowski said.
The Alaska Native Tribal
Health Consortium serves 229
federally recognized tribes in the
state. Interim president Valerie
Nurr’araaluk Davidson told
lawmakers it’s long been time to
make a significant investment in
water infrastructure.
“What we found is that infants
in communities without adequate
sanitation facilities are 11 times
more likely to be hospitalized for
respiratory infections and five
times more likely to be hospitalized
for skin infections,” Davidson said,
citing a study by the CDC.
“Put another way: Every year,
we expect that one out of every
three infants in those communities
will be hospitalized, simply because
they don’t have running water,” she
said.
At the March oversight hearing,
the Senate Indian Affairs
committee also advanced the
Respect Act, which its Republican
sponsors say would repeal 11 laws
that discriminate against Native
Americans. “Throughout history,
Native Americans have been
subjected to federal laws that are
offensive, immoral, and outright
racist,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South
Dakota said.
See WATER on 7