E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Letters to the editor
From
Confluence
Dear Warm Springs,
We have two exciting new
resources to share with you
that elevate Indigenous
voices in our understanding
of the Columbia River sys-
tem:
Scholar Emily Washines
(Yakama) has written a new
article for the Confluence
Library about why it is so
important for students to
learn about salmon, not just
for environmental science
but also to connect with the
Native cultures of our re-
gion.
Grand Ronde cultural
educator Greg Archuleta has
delivered a new inventory of
native plant species at the
Sandy River Delta, in collabo-
ration with the Sandy River
Watershed Council. This will
guide land use managers in
the restoration of this storied
landscape that includes the
Confluence Bird Blind.
Meanwhile, our Indig-
enous artists and educators
continue to Zoom into class-
rooms to connect students
with traditional lessons and
stories. All of this is made
possible by the Friends of
Confluence. Thanks to every-
one who has supported our
Annual Appeal. If you
haven’t yet, make your tax-
deductible donation now or
support this important work
monthly. Thanks!
Stay safe, Colin Fogarty,
executive
director,
Confluence.
Emily Washines
Emily Washines, MPA, is
a scholar and enrolled
Yakama Nation tribal mem-
ber with Cree and Skokomish
lineage. Her blog, Native
Friends, focuses on history
and culture. Building under-
standing and support for
Native Americans is evident
in her films, writing, speak-
ing, and exhibits.
Her research topics in-
clude the Yakama War, Na-
tive women, traditional
knowledge, resource manage-
ment, fishing rights, and food
sovereignty. Emily speaks
Ichiskiin (Yakama language)
and other Native languages.
Yakima Herald-Republic
lists her as Top 39 under 39.
She received a Single Impact
Event Award for her 2018
presentation from the Asso-
ciation of King County His-
torical Organizations. She
is a board member of the
Museum of Culture and
Environment, Artist Trust,
and Columbia Riverkeeper.
She is adjunct faculty at
Yakima Valley College. You
can read her salmon story
on the website:
confluenceproject.org
Matter of
tribal health
Dear friends,
As we begin 2022, we
are filled with gratitude for
your support of the urban
American Indian commu-
nity, especially during a year
filled with unprecedented
challenges. Our community
continues to face an unpar-
alleled health crisis, as we
prepare to solve new chal-
lenges due to the devastat-
ing impacts of the Covid-
19 pandemic.
We understand there are
many issues demanding
your attention this year—
please accept my sincere
gratitude on behalf of the
National Council of Urban
Indian Health for your con-
tinued support of our work
and mission.
Did you know that
American Indians face some
of the starkest disparities in
health outcomes of any ra-
cial population in the U.S.?
Much of these health
disparities are the ongoing
outcomes of hundreds of
years of historical trauma
and genocide against our
communities.
Unfortunately, the Indian
Health Service is under-
funded, and currently only
funded at 12 percent of the
actual need; therefore,
American Indians are more
vulnerable to infectious dis-
ease outbreaks due to a lack
of access to critical public
health infrastructure and
other resources.
As you know, NCUIH is
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit orga-
nization devoted to the sup-
port and development of
quality, accessible, and cul-
turally-competent
healthcare ser vices for
American Indian and Alaska
Natives living in urban set-
tings.
What we do matters. Re-
sponding to the pandemic
has exposed how fragile the
healthcare system is and has
intensified existing health-
care inequities. We are in-
spired by the strength and
resiliency of the urban
Ameircan Indian population
for which we advocate, and
our work toward health eq-
uity is made possible by your
generosity.
This year, please consider
making a donation to
NCUIH’s fundraiser.
Fundraisers are important
to nonprofits, like NCUIH,
because they bring people to-
gether to raise more money
than we ever could alone.
Our work is made possible
by your generosity and every
dollar raised will get us closer
to our goal working for health
equity for urban American
Indian people.
Francys Crevier, CEO,
NCUIH.
Water system
The Department of the
Interior is beginning nation-
to-nation consultations with
tribes as it implements the
Infrastructure Law.
The law invests more
than $13 billion directly in
tribal communities across the
country—including poten-
tially millions of dollars to
the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs—to improve
drinking water systems, bol-
ster community resilience,
replace other aging infra-
structure, and help ensure
that everyone has access to
high-speed internet. The
consultations will take place
January 26-28.
Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo December 29, 2021
Museum winter drive brings 200 new members
T
he Museum at
War m Springs winter
membership drive is in
honor of Ancestor Ken
Smith. The drive so far
has resulted in more than
200 new members, and
the number goes up ev-
ery day.
We have expanded
our board of directors to
include representation of
more tribal members,
Central Oregon, and the
Portland Metropolitan
region.
The Potlatch Fund
just committed $10,000
support toward museum
operations. We are grate-
ful to The Potlatch Fund!
Visit Central Oregon is
providing the Museum at
War m Springs with
$25,000 for the design
and installation of two new
signs on Highway 26.
These signs will greatly
improve visibility to the hun-
dreds of people that travel
by every day. Thank you,
Visit Central Oregon! .
Thanks to Sue Matters,
station manager at KWSO
91.9 FM for the wonderful
short video that she pro-
duced to highlight the
museum’s Gift Shop. It’s
posted on our FaceBook
page. If you are not a fol-
lower, please consider fol-
lowing us.
We are looking forward
to 2022 with an expanded
program of outreach and
partnerships, and our opera-
tions continue despite con-
tinuing pandemic concerns.
The Tribal Youth Art
Exhibit opens in January
Veterans home loan increases in 2022
The Oregon Department
of Veterans Affairs is
pleased to announce an in-
crease to the maximum loan
amount available through
the Oregon Veteran Home
Loan Program, to $647,200
effective January 1.
The Oregon Veteran
Home Loan Program is one
of Veterans Affairs core
veteran benefits since the
agency’s inception in 1945.
The program offers eli-
gible veterans fixed-rate fi-
nancing for owner-occu-
pied, single-family resi-
dences up to the Federal
Housing Finance Agency
Limit.
The maximum will in-
crease on January 1 to
$647,200 from the previous
$548,250.
The Veteran Home Loan
Frankie Williams, W.S.
Veterans Representative
benefit is a non-expiring, life-
time benefit for any eligible
Oregon veteran and may be
used up to four times. The
program finances purchases
only, not refinancing.
This Oregon benefit is
separate and distinct from the
federal VA Home Loan
Guarantee, and has lent ap-
proximately $8.2 billion in
low-interest home loans to
more than 336,000 veterans
since 1945.
To be eligible, a veteran
must have served on active
duty with the U.S. Armed
Forces, as documented on his
or her DD-214, and must
meet one of the service cri-
teria outlined on ODVA’s
website at:
www.or eg on.g ov/odva/
Home-Loans/Pages/
Eligibility.aspx
For more information re-
garding both the VA and
ODVA home loan program,
contact the Tribal Veterans
Service Office at 541-460-
0605. Frankie Williams,
Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs Veterans Af-
fairs Officer.
Among the
Best of 2021
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus in Memorium: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our of-
fices are located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm
Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 489, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone: 541-553-2210 or 541-771-7521
E-Mail: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $20.00
Voted one of the Best
Books of 2021 is Native
Wo m e n C h a n g i n g T h e i r
Worlds by Patricia Cutright,
(Lakota, Cheyenne River
Sioux).
The 12 Indigenous
women featured in this
book overcame unimagin-
able hardships––racial and
gender discrimination,
abuse, and extreme pov-
erty––only to rise to great
heights in the fields of poli-
tics, science, education, and
community activism.
A Happy New Year wish from Travis Bobb.
2022. Please visit!
Thank you for consid-
ering your New Year
gift. And please don’t
forget about our faithful
supporter, the Oregon
Cultural Trust.
You can double the
impact of your gift to
the museum by making
a matching donation to
the trust: Your donation
to the Trust serves as a
tax credit and will be de-
ducted from any Oregon
taxes that you owe.
Most importantly,
stay safe and support one
another. We appreciate
you! See the website:
museumatwarmsprings.org
Elizabth Woody
and staff at the Mu-
seum
at
War m
Springs.
To student vets
Congress last week ex-
tended pandemic protections
for GI Bill users to ensure
student veterans will receive
full benefits in the spring. This
includes students studying on-
line due to the pandemic.
The move is expected to
affect about 57,000 students
currently enrolled in degree
programs. At issue is how
post-9/11 GI Bill benefits
are paid out to students who
attend college classes re-
motely, rather than in-person.
Students using the veterans
education benefit receive
money for tuition plus a
monthly housing stipend.
Individuals enrolled in tra-
ditional in-person classes re-
ceive the full financial ben-
efit, while students in online-
only classes get half of that
housing stipend, leaving some
worried they may not have
their rent payments covered.