Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 21, 2021
Page 5
Tribes advocate Snake dams removal
Reservation burn notice
Northwest tribal leaders are call-
ing for the removal four massive
dams on the Snake River. This
would help restore the dwindling
salmon runs of the river system,
tribal leaders say.
In a letter to Pres. Biden and
members of Congress from Or-
egon, Washington and Idaho, the
11 tribal representatives—under
the umbrella of the Northwest
Tribal Salmon Alliance—say
breaching the dams is needed to
avoid extinction of Snake River
salmon and steelhead; and to honor
treaties between tribes and the fed-
eral government.
“Congress and the president
must act boldly and urgently to
remove the lower Snake River
dams and put into place a perma-
nent solution to fix this crisis be-
fore it passes a point of no return,”
they wrote.
The letter was signed by mem-
bers of the Yakama and Lummi
nations, Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Reservation and the
Tulalip, Swinomish and Makah
tribes. The signers do not neces-
sarily represent the official posi-
tion of their tribal governments.
Absent from the list were rep-
resentatives from the Nez Perce
and Shoshone-Bannock tribes of
Idaho that have treaty rights on
the Snake River and its tributaries.
Both tribes have endorsed Idaho
Rep. Mike Simpson’s proposal to
breach the four lower Snake River
dams. And the Nez Perce have long
been involved in a legal battle over
the dams and their effect on salmon
and steelhead.
Some environmental groups are
against Simpson’s proposal, saying
it would preclude future litigation
based on the Endangered Species
Act and other laws.
The Snake River dams pro-
duce hydropower and allow tug-
and-barge transportation between
Lewiston and the Tri-Cities. But
the concrete, steel and earthen
Wildfire officials are re-
porting that the number of
small wildfires has tripled this
spring partly because dry con-
ditions.
Warm Springs Fire Man-
agement reminds you that a
burn permit is required for any
burning on the reservation.
You can get a permit by
Regarding the
Johnson &
Johnson vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and Centers
for Disease Control earlier
this month recommended a
pause in the administering of
the Johnson & Johnson covid
vaccine.
In response and as a
safety precaution, Warm
Springs Community Health
has been reaching out to any-
one who has gotten a
Johnson & Johnson dose.
An estimated 190 community
members have gotten the
Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
For context regarding this
issue: 6.85 million doses of
Johnson & Johnson vaccine
had administered in the U.S.
Out of that total, there were
six reported cases of a rare
type of blood clot in indi-
viduals who had received the
Johnson & Johnson shot. All
six cases occurred among
women ages 18 to 48 years.
In each case, the symptoms
appeared 6-13 days after re-
ceiving the vaccine.
Symptoms to look for in-
clude:
Severe headache. Back
pain. Severe abdominal pain.
Nausea and vomiting. New
neurological symptoms
(weakness in one part of the
body, changes in vision).
Petechiae (tiny red spots on
the skin- look like pinpoint
bruises). New or easy bruis-
ing. Shortness of breath. Leg
swelling.
War m Springs people
who got the Johnson &
Johnson vaccine who have
questions or concerns can
call 541-553-5512.
Courtesy
Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Wash.
structures also harm juvenile fish
on their downstream journey to
the Pacific Ocean, despite includ-
ing fish ladders.
They are blamed as one of the
top causes of Snake River salmon
and steelhead landing on the En-
dangered Species list.
Many of the tribes in the Co-
lumbia Basin and elsewhere in the
Pacific Northwest signed treaties
with the federal government that
reserved their rights to fish in
“usual and accustomed” places. If
salmon and steelhead are allowed
to go extinct, the federal govern-
ment will not be meeting the terms
of the treaties, they argue.
“Salmon are inseparable from
who we are. We exist because
salmon exist. They are our food,
ceremony, our culture and the very
heart of our economy and lifeway,”
the letter to Biden and Congress
states.
“Even as our ancestors’ lives
and homeland were threatened,
they made sure to protect within
the treaties our ancestral salmon
lifeway. Those treaties were prom-
ises made by the United States gov-
ernment. Those promises must be
kept.”
They said they can’t tolerate
more delays from the federal gov-
ernment, and while they appreciate
a collaborative process being led by
the governors of Oregon, Washing-
ton, Idaho and Montana aimed at
finding solutions to declining
salmon runs, “the time for talk has
long passed.”
The letter doesn’t mention the
recent $33 billion proposal from
Simpson, Republican Congressman,
that would breach the dams and
mitigate affected communities and
industries. Simpson’s effort is men-
tioned in an accompanying news
release. The alliance was formed to
advocate for the importance of res-
toration of the lower Snake River
and salmon recovery in the Pacific
Northwest.
“The Northwest delegation must
engage now to ensure a future
where salmon are once again abun-
dant,” said Don Sampson of the
Northwest Tribal Salmon Alliance
in the news release.
“What we cannot do is wait.
Waiting is death. It is our sacred
obligation to preserve these salmon
and our ways of life.”
Indian Health Services and Community Health provided
the most recent data on the incidence of Covid-19 on the
reservation. The demographics are as of April 14. On that
date there were four active covid cases on the reservation,
isolating and receiving daily monitoring.
As of April 14, since the pandemic began last March, there
had been a total of 807 cumulative cases on the reserva-
tion and among the IHS service area members.
Due to the number of active cases being less than five,
only the cumulative numbers are reported on the demo-
graphic charts, for patient confidentiality.
stopping in at the Fire Man-
agement Dispatch office at the
industrial park.
When you plan on burning,
check the weather and don’t
burn on windy days. You also
need to call the Warm Springs
Police Department to notify
them that you will be doing
burning prior to getting started.
State and regional responses to
Covid-19 post-Easter increases
The state of Oregon—includ-
ing Jefferson County—has seen an
increase this month in Covid-19
cases. A part of the cause may be
attributed to Easter gatherings,
health officials said.
Meanwhile, as a result of the
increase, a top state health official
has considered indefinitely extend-
ing rules requiring masks and so-
cial distancing in all workplaces in
the state.
The proposal would keep the
rules in place until they’re “no
longer necessary.” New Covid-19
incidence statistics are coming out
this week, and could impact the
school sports at Madras High
School and elsewhere.
The administrator of Oregon’s
Occupational Safety and Health
department says the “permanent”
rules are needed because of a tech-
nicality in state law that allows the
current restrictions to expire.
Here in Warm Springs you can
call 541-553-2131 to set up a vac-
cine appointment.
From St. Charles Health
A recent message from St.
Charles Health System president
and chief executive officer Joe
Sluka says in part:
“Almost 91,000 people have
been vaccinated in Central Oregon,
including more than 82 percent of
our residents who are 80 and older.
“This is significant because in the
early days of the pandemic, this
group represented a disproportion-
ate number of hospitalizations and
deaths.
“To achieve what we call ‘herd
immunity’ we need at least 70 per-
cent of our community to get vac-
cinated.”
Employment with the tribes
The following are posi-
tions posted by the Con-
federated Tribes Person-
nel Department. You can
reach the department at
541-553-3262.
Fish biologist II. Range-
land management spe-
cialist. Fuels monitor
technician. Corrections
officer trainee - limited
d u r a t i o n . Yo u t h b a r i s t a
opportunity.
Administrative/Intake/
Media - limited duration.
Handy technician trainee
(2 positions) - limited du-
ration. Education data
clerk and research - lim-
ited duration. Budget con-
tract and grant analyst -
part-time.
W i l d l i f e Te c h n i c i a n .
Fish Tech II - limited du-
ration (4 positions) - lim-
ited duration. Budget con-
tract and grant analyst -
f u l l t i m e . F i s h Te c h I .
TERO dispatch/compli-
ance officer.
Patrol officer. Food cart
trainee - limited duration.
Bookkeper - part time. Ar-
chaeologist II. Patrol ser-
geant. Administrative of-
ficer. Home visitor (2 po-
sitions).
Conservation enforce-
ment officer. Youth pro-
gram employment - lim-
ited duration. Wildlife
technician.
Covid-19 temporary
technician (6 positions) -
limited duration. Indian
Language teacher. Wild-
life biologist II. Soil scien-
tist/watershed planner.
Director of Finance.
D e v e l o p m e n t d i r e c t o r.
Corrections officer (5 po-
sitions). Wildlife biologist
II. Fisheries Department
manager.
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 appli-
cation and full job announcement: critfc.org
As of April 14, there was one tribal community member
hospitalized and on a ventilator. Since the pandemic be-
gan, 74 had been hospitalized. Total deaths due to Covid-
19 among the tribal community has been 22.