Page 4
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Year in Review ~ 2021 ~
December 1, 2021
(from page 1)
The following are some of the
memorable news events during 2021
on the reser vation, as reported in the
Spilyay Tymoo.
January
Regarding the water infrastruc-
ture improvements: Toward this
goal Tribal Council approved con-
tracts to assist in the funding of the
improvements. The work will be
on the Agency drinking water sys-
tems. In other news:
Loggers were in the forest in
January, working on the Lionshead
timber salvage operation. This is
part of the work that will happen
through the year and beyond in the
burn area of the September 2020
Lionshead fire.
The Lionshead impact area is
large: 96,266 acres burned on the
reservation; 108,203 acres burned
off-reservation immediately to the
west; for a total acreage of 204,469.
February
As February 2021 begins there
are a lot of safety and sanitizing
practices going on at the Warm
Springs Academy, though the
school really is closer to normal than
it has been in nearly a year.
“The staff are so excited, and
the kids are happy to be back,”
Academy Counselor Anna Keifer
said in February, as she was help-
ing at the school bus drop-off area
on the first day of the return to
class.
The whole learning day is now
guided by safety, from the bus or
car ride to the Academy, until late
afternoon when the students return
safely home.
Throughout the day the masks
are strictly required for teachers and
staff and students; as is the social
distancing—outside, in the hallways
and in the classrooms.
The hand sanitizer is plentiful and
used profusely. There is special
safety protocol in case any student
reports feeling unwell.
The entire building is thor-
oughly sanitized when the school
day is done, with additional clean-
ing and sanitizing during school
hours. All teachers and staff at
the Academy who chose to, have
now received their first Covid-19
vaccination.
Even with all of these many pre-
cautions, the feeling is that of some
welcome return to normalcy. In
other February 2021 education
news of the tribes:
Pay incentive
for school bus
drivers, other hires
The Jefferson County School
District 509-J continues to face a
hardship in finding applicants for
select classified positions. In re-
sponse to better serve our students
and their families, the district is in-
creasing pay for some transporta-
tion positions. Those positions in-
clude bus driver, bus mechanic,
driver trainer, type 10/20 driver,
transportation coordinator, and
bus aide.
In addition, the district is offer-
ing for the first time a $500 reten-
tion bonus to any bus driver, bus
mechanic, type 10/20 driver, trans-
portation coordinator, bus aide, or
SPED educational assistant that
was hired between August 1 and
December 1 following 90 days of
employment with the district.
For information and to apply
see the website: jcsd.k12.or.us
KWSO 91.9 FM in February is
working with tribal member Dr.
Shilo Tippett on a new initiative pro-
moting awareness and preven-
tion of Covid-19.
The public awareness campaign
is designed to empower community
members during this phase of the
pandemic with: Education, Under-
standing and Perspective, and
Hope.
Dr. Tippett is a licensed Clinical
Psychologist who works at St.
Charles Health System—Madras.
March
Spilyay photo
March of 2021 saw the start of the Warm Springs Highway Safety Corridor project.
There currently are very few—
apparently only two—members of
the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs who are attorneys at law.
In the near future Karlen Yallup
will join this elite community of
professionals.
“I’ve known Karlen since she
was a little girl,” says Carol Dick,
coordinator of tribal Higher Edu-
cation. “She’s about the same age
as my daughter. It is awesome to
see her move forward, overcom-
ing any obstacles, and accomplish-
ing her educational goals and
dreams.”
Karlen is in her second year at
the Lewis & Clark Law School, a
top law school in the Northwest,
and the only law school in Port-
land.
Karlen serves as president of
the Native American Law Students
Association at Lewis & Clark. She
also serves on the National Na-
tive American Law School Asso-
ciation board of directors.
Karlen Yallup
A Ten Year Anniversary: When
Salmon King Fisheries first
opened in February of 2011, the
business offered their renowned
smoked salmon, harvested, pro-
cessed and marketed by the owner-
operators Brigette and Sean
McConville. Ten years to the
month later, Salmon King now sells
28 different Columbia fishery
products: Smoked, fresh canned,
smoke canned—they have eights
kinds of canned fish—the popu-
lar wind-dried, the salmon candy,
and more. In other February news:
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for
the District of Oregon, directed by
U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams, re-
leased its first Missing and Mur-
dered Indigenous People annual
report.
The overall goal of the initia-
tive is to create a more coordi-
nated effort among law enforce-
ment in dealing with cases of
MMIP.
As identified through the re-
search, a key problem is that of
jurisdiction: As reservations are
sovereign, jurisdictional complica-
tions can arise that exist nowhere
else in the U.S. This in turn can
cause delays, and an inadvertent
lack of coordination among law
enforcement jurisdictions. Resolv-
ing this situation is a key element
to the MMIP Initiative.
The purpose of the first annual
MMIP report for the District of
Oregon “is to provide tribal com-
munities, law enforcement and the
public an overview of the currently
available data regarding MMIP
cases connected to the district,” and
to introduce the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the District of Oregon
2021 MMIP Action Plan. In wild-
life news of the Confederated
Tribes:
It is no surprise when a young
male wolf leaves the home terri-
tory where it grew up. They often
leave in search of a mate to start
their own pack, said Austin Smith
Jr., wildlife biologist with the Con-
federated Tribes Branch of Natu-
ral Resources.
This is what happened with wolf
OR-93, who traveled last year from
the reservation, where he grew up,
to California. OR-93 is three years
old: In the wild the North Ameri-
can Gray Wolf can live up to 13
years; so OR-93 is a young adult.
He has been wearing a tracking col-
lar since 2019: “So we have all of
the data for this wolf,” Mr. Smith
said.
As March begins, contractors
with the Oregon Department of
Transportation began work on the
Warm Springs Highway 26 Safety
Corridor project.
As the work begins, expect the
20-minute traffic delays through
October on the highway, as crews
are working on the $6.5 million
Safety Corridor project. Tribal
Council and the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation planned
this project to address highway haz-
ards for pedestrians and vehicle
traffic. In March covid news:
“Our Longhouse is a place of
worship, and we haven’t been able
to use it during covid,” said Karen
Whitford, tribal elder who lives 12
miles east of The Dalles in Celilo
Village.
Year in Review 2021 continues on 5