Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon October 20, 2021 Page 7 Museum kicks off year-end programs T he Museum at War m Springs—designed and built in 1993 to Smithsonian Institution standards—is a special place to the Warm Springs people. This year the museum’s successes include: Two exhibitions: Sacred Reflec- tions: The Art of Umatilla Artist Ellen Taylor, in April and May; and Into the Fray: Native American Wild-Land Firefighters of Warm Springs and Beyond, June through September. The museum in 2021 also partnered with AdPro, a Native American woman-owned graphic design and advertising firm in Huntington Beach, California to rebrand the museum with a new logo. The museum in June this year held a membership campaign in honor of ancestor Kenneth Smith, quadrupling the museum’s mem- bership, and met a $25,000 match from The Roundhouse Founda- tion. The museum also launched a a Corporate Membership program. The museum built stronger re- lationships with special individuals, including Ronni Lacroute, and with several new partner organizations throughout the state. The museum held important dis- cussions and collaborated with the Native Arts and Cultures Founda- tion, Oregon Historical Society, the High Desert Museum, and the Warm Springs Culture and Heri- tage Program. In 2021, the museum received $633,760 in foundation and other grants. On November 2 the museum will open a new exhibition, the Twenty-Eighth Annual Tribal About the museum Courtesy CTWS MAWS The iconic Museum at Warm Springs lobby. Member Art Exhibit. “We feel great pride in what we do at the museum, and are hon- ored to make our home here at Warm Springs with our strong family and community ties,” said museum director Elizabeth A. Woody (Warm Springs, Yakama and Navajo). “The Museum at War m Springs is an important Oregon cultural treasure. We humbly ask you to support us with a year-end contribution so we can continue organizing high-caliber exhibitions, workshops and an array of public programs and events for all to en- joy.” Give to the Year-End Cam- paign: Visit the site: museumatwarmsprings.org Or mail your contribution post- marked by December 31 to The Museum at Warm Springs, P.O. Box 909, Warm Springs OR 97761. Consider a matching gift to one of the museum’s partners, the Or- egon Cultural Trust. A gift to the trust—up to $500 for individuals, $1,000 for couples filing jointly, and $2,500 for class-C corporations— is a tax credit, a dollar-for-dollar reduction for any Oregon taxes owed. Double the impact on Or- egon culture; tax dollars that are re-directed to the Trust support Oregon culture. The Oregon Cultural Trust is a generous supporter of the Mu- seum at Warm Springs. The Museum at Warm Springs opened its doors to the public on March 14, 1993. Built to Smithsonian Institution profes- sional standards, the museum’s mission is to preserve, advance and share the traditions, cultural and artistic heritage of the Con- federated Tribes of War m Springs. Regular museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission: Mu- seum members, free. Adults, $7. Senior citizens over 60, $6. Stu- dents 13-18 with student body card, $4.50. Children 5-12, $3.50. And children 4 and younger, free. For more information, visit: museumatwarmsprings.org Phone, 541-553-3331. Museum health and safety pro- tocols during the continuing Covid- 19 pandemic: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council requires all visitors and staff to wear masks while in the museum. Other health and safety pro- cedures are in place, which in- clude allowing only a certain num- ber of visitors in the museum at a time and temperature checks at the entrance. All protocols are designed to keep the public and staff safe during the ongoing pandemic. Recreation November Fitness Challenge The Warm Springs Recreation Department is sponsoring the No- vember Fitness Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to encour- age people to be active and enjoy a variety of exercises during the month of November, and con- tinue to be active throughout the year. Contact Joseph Arthur at Warm Springs Recreation, 541-553-3243. Pick up an application packet and drop off at 2200 Hollywood Bou- levard ,Warm Springs, the Commu- nity Center. Registration is open now through November 5. November 1 will be the Kickoff Poker Walk starting at the Community Center walkway. The entry fee for the chal- lenge is $5. Additional $10 for t- shirts. Some requirements: Must be 18 years or age or older. Five members to a team, one being the captain. The captain will be responsible for the fees, con- tact information, and collection of registration forms, timesheets and weekly fitness sheets. Any person affiliated with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs by enterprise, employment and departments and committees may participate. Each team will be responsible for keeping time of exercise done. The weekly exercise forms will be pro- vided. All form sheets will be due on December 3. Please note: The Community Center building is closed and not available for use due to building maintenance until fur- ther notice. Vaccine, covid cases across Indian Country The Indian Health Service up- dated its coronavirus data, show- ing Covid-19 vaccination distribu- tion as of October 11 across In- dian Country. IHS has administered 2,126,975 covid vaccine doses across 11 ar- eas of Indian Country. The Oklahoma City Area, where Covid-19 cases have increased con- siderably since the availability of the vaccine, continues to account for the most vaccines at 541,460. The Navajo Area, where the Warm Springs: Then and Now pandemic has exacted a dispropor- tionate toll since the spring of 2020, comes in second at 305,025 doses; while the California Area comes in third at 254,605. These three regions account for the largest number of IHS users, with the Phoenix Area also account- ing for a large number. The virus in Indian Country IHS also updated its coronavirus data, showing results through mid October. According to the data acros Indian Country, 260,314 tests have returned positive for Covid- 19 Altogether, IHS has administered 3,111,256 coronavirus tests. Based on the cumulative percent positive, the highest rates have been seen in five areas. Two of them in- clude the state of Arizona, indicat- ing a disproportionate toll of Covid- 19 in the state: Navajo Area, 13.6 percent posi- tivity. Phoenix Area, 12.7 percent. Oklahoma City Area, 12.5 percent. The Oregon Cultural Trust is helping fund a project— Wa r m S p r i n g s : T h e n a n d Now—to tell the stories of tribal members of the reser- vation, through a series of photographic portraits and essays. The more recent por- traits will be paired with his- torical photographs taken some decades ago. The Cultural Tr ust awarded $21,210 to Oregon ArtsWatch for Warm Springs: Then and Now. The award is part of more than $3.25 mil- lion that the Cultural Trust granted this year, during its Twentieth Anniversary. The $3.25 million is a record- breaking total for the Trust, funded by an also record $5.2 million in 2020 dona- tions by Oregon taxpayers in return for cultural tax cred- its. The Trust has awarded more than $36 million in cul- tural grants since it was founded by the Legislature in 2001. The awards break down in several ways. The Trust’s five large partner organizations— the Oregon Arts Commis- sion, Oregon Heritage Com- mission, Oregon Humanities, Oregon Historical Society and the State Historic Pres- er vation Office—split $813,610 among them. Another $813,610 is di- vided among the state’s 45 tribal and county cultural coa- litions, which in turn make grants of their own. Ninety individual cultural groups from across the state share in another $1,627,220, in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $33,728, and aver- aging $18,087. In addition, grants are awarded across nine geo- graphical areas that cover the entire state. The allotment in- cludes $455,411 for admin- istrative costs, making a total disbursement of $3,709,952. “In its first 20 years the Cultural Trust has proven it- self as a stable source of funding for Oregon’s arts, heritage and humanities com- munity,” said Niki Price, chair of the Cultural Trust board. California Area, 10.5 percent. Al- buquerque Area, 9-.6 percent. Across Oregon Earlier this month Oregon paused to remember the more than 4,000 lives lost to Covid-19 This painful milestone happend just two months after the state marked 3,000 Covid-19 related deaths. Courtesy Example of historic Warm Springs portrait.