Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Indian Reorganization Act
(from page 4)
So what this has really done, it
has substituted in place of the gov-
erning system that the Indians had
prior to the Indian Reorganization
Act, a white man’s idea of how they
should live, rather a paternalistic
type of government which had as
its object the socializing of all the
activities of the Indian people, and
while farmers of this act and the
ones who are responsible for the
idea of formulating it probably
had the best intentions in the
world, I cannot help but think that
there was maybe not an overt con-
spiracy, but one in the back of the
mind of these bureaucrats to re-
ally perpetuate their own existence.
Question from Joseph H. Cash:
The bureaucrats in the Bureau of
Indian Affairs?
Roubideaux: Right! Now, when
I speak of bureaucrats, I not only
include the actual office holders,
but the families and friends of all
these office holders who form the
controlling and guiding member-
ships of these eastern Indian or-
ganizations. I want to elaborate a
little on the effects of the Indian
Reorganization Act insofar as it has
deterred the development and the
independent thinking of the Indian
people.
In the first place, it set the In-
dian aside as a problem. The In-
dian was told he was a problem
from the very day that he was born
under this system and as he grew
older, he was by the presence of
these so-called experts in agricul-
ture and ranching and other activi-
ties they were paying lip service to
teaching the Indians, he was some-
how made to feel that he was infe-
rior, that he wasn’t able to com-
pete. So that the whole system
emphasized the activities of the
Indians as a whole for the benefit
of the whole, rather than the indi-
vidual, private enterprise of our
American system.
He wasn’t taught to be a capi-
talist, which he must be taught in
order for him to survive in this
country.
Many of the programs had limi-
tations on them, particularly, say,
the cattle program. They would
allow an Indian to acquire some
200 head of cattle, and he couldn’t
get any more. I forget the exact
figures, but there were limitations
put on him so that any programs
that were instituted were not aimed
at benefitting the Indian, but where
some side effects did benefit him,
April 7, 2021
it was probably an unfortunate oc-
currence because their main objec-
tive was to show what they’ve been
doing to members of Congress on
the Appropriations Committee to
justify the millions of dollars they
were spending when actually the
Indian was getting little or no ben-
efit from any of this.
And I think the main thing that
was wrong with the whole thing was
that the setting of the Indian aside
on a different place in the state,
designating him as a problem, mak-
ing him feel he was a problem, beat-
ing down rebels, beating down In-
dians who expressed any indepen-
dent thinking, rewarding collabora-
tors, rewarding them with positions
of importance and completely sti-
fling independent and creative
thinking from the Indian people,
having different laws apply to him,
setting up a different kind of gov-
ernment.
In other words, he wasn’t under
the same kind of government that
his white neighbors were. Rather,
what this Indian Reorganization Act
should have done, it should have
set up a county system exactly like
the neighboring counties, with
county officials, with municipal of-
ficials, with Indians going about their
daily political and economic activi-
ties in the same way that other
people in the state are, so that they
Taking their games at the next level
Page 5
could benefit from the intercourse
with their white neighbors and the
meetings that we have, state-wide
meetings of county officials, mu-
nicipal officials, and in fact becom-
ing part of the mainstream of
American life.
‘It had a lot of benefits’—
Alfred Dubray praises the Indian
Reorganization Act. He says:
The Indian Reorganization Act
of 1934 dramatically changed the
federal government’s Indian policy.
Not all Native Americans viewed
the Indian ‘New Deal’ in equally
positive terms. But in this 1970 in-
terview, Sioux tribal leader Alfred
Dubray argued that the Reorgani-
zation Act, on balance, brought posi-
tive changes.
Alfred Dubray: It had a lot of
advantages that many of the people
didn’t see, such as making loan
funds available, huge amounts of
that. Farm programs were devel-
oped through this. Cattle-raising pro-
grams were initiated. Educational
loans were beginning to be made
available for Indian youngsters who
had never had any opportunities
before, hardly, to attend any higher
institutions. Unless they just did it
by sheer initiative, and if somebody
is sponsoring it. So there was a new
field there in education, and of
course they established their gov-
erning bodies, and voted on their
representatives and Council mem-
bers.
I think it was difficult for the
people to really recognize what they
were doing for probably several
years after that, until they got into
the change.
Article by Lonnie James,
Radine ‘Deanie’ Johnson, Cul-
ture and Heritage Department.
(This article will conclude in the April
21 Spilyay.)
Employment with the tribes
The following are positions posted by the Confederated
Tribes Personnel Department. You can reach the depart-
ment at 541-553-3262.
Archaeologist II. Patrol Sergeant. Part Time Surveillance
Observer. Administrative Officer. Warehouse. Fish Tagger. Home
Visitor. Firefighter - Fuels (five positions, permanent). Firefighter
- Fuels (two positions), seasonal).
Travel Accountant. Data Processor Clerk. Support Services
Coordinator. Conservation Enforcement Officer. Youth Program
Employment. Wildlife Technician. Budget Contract and Grant
Analyst.
Protective Care Provider. Outreach Coordinator. Covid Tem-
porary Technician (six positions). Teacher Aide. Disabilities
Coordinator. Wildland Fire Module Crew Member.
General Staff Technician. Indian Language Teacher. Limited
Duration Fish Tech I. Hood River Fisheries Program Supervisor.
Wildlife Technician. Wildlife Biologist II. Secretary - John Day.
Soil Scientist/Watershed Planner. Corrections Officer Trainee.
Deputy Clerk. Director of Finance. Indian Language Teacher.
Development Director. Corrections Officer (five positions). Wildlife
Biologist II. Fisheries Department Manager. CPS Center Super-
visor. US Census Field Representative. Treasury Controller.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Enforcement is hir-
ing four new police officers. The officers will be based at
Hood River or Boardman. Starting salary range is $50,506
to $55,157. Closing date is April 30. Employment applica-
tion and full job announcement: critfc.org
Courtesy photos
Dominuque Walker and Jiana Smith-Francis, during their playing days at Madras.
Dominique Walker and Jiana Smith-Francis
this week are playing their first game as team-
mates on the Chemeketa Community College
women’s basketball team.
Dominique and Jiana are both former play-
ers for Madras High School, and both are from
Warm Springs.
They play guard for the Chemeketa Storm, their
first game scheduled for this Wednesday, April 7
against the Clackamas Cougars. The teams are the
Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Cougars-Storm game will be at 5 p.m. at
Chemeketa in Salem; their next game, this Satur-
day, April 10, at Clackamas in Oregon City.
Regional employment sees boost as restrictions ease
After moving out of the extreme
category of Covid-19 public health
restrictions, Central Oregon began
to see more sustained job gains in
February. Around seven out of ev-
ery 10 jobs lost during the initial
Covid-19 shock has been added
back across the region.
Jefferson County posted a mod-
est loss of 20 jobs in February, due
to seasonal adjustment.
In the county, the employment
levels remain down around 2 per-
cent from this time last year, or a
loss of 130 jobs.
Jefferson County has regained
84-percent of the jobs lost since the
initial Covid-19 shock. The leisure
and hospitality sector remains down
by 100 jobs from this time last year,
and manufacturing is down by 40
jobs. Retail trade posted a gain of
50 jobs over the past year.
Crook County’s seasonally ad-
justed unemployment rate was un-
changed at 8 percent in February.
The unemployment rate remains
significantly higher than in Febru-
ary 2020, when it was 4.8 percent.
Employment in Crook County
Graph shows the large spike in unemployment a year ago,
and the gradual recovery since that time.
remains down 3-percnet from last
year. The county has regained 69-
percent of jobs lost last spring.
Deschutes County, especially the
Bend-Redmond areas, saw the un-
employment rate drop by 6.8 per-
cent in February, down from 7.0%
in January. The rate remains up
from February 2020, when it was
3.4 percent.
Deschutes County posted a gain
of 430 jobs on a seasonally ad-
justed basis in February. These
gains were primarily concentrated
in leisure and hospitality, as the
county moved out of the extreme
category of Covid-19 restrictions,
allowing for a return to indoor din-
ing and recreation. There was also
a notable gain in local government
education, after a partial return to
in-person school.