Spílya Táimu, Warm Springs, Oregon
September 21, 2022
Summaries of Tribal Council
The following are summaries of
Tribal Council from mid September :
September 12
The meeting was called to or-
der by Vice Chairman Raymond
‘Captain’ Moody. Roll call: Chief
Delvis Heath, James ‘Jim’ Manion,
Alvis Smith III, Wilson Wewa Jr.,
Chief Joseph Moses, Rosa
Graybael. Minnie Yahtin, Re-
corder.
· Budget overview with Robert
Brunoe, Secretary-Treasurer, and
Isaac George, Finance.
· 2023 Budget Presentations:
Secretary-Treasurer.
Health and Human Services.
Call back for discussion on Capi-
tal.
Public Safety-
Call back for discussion on Pa-
role and Probation.
Warm Springs Economic Devel-
opment and business units.
· Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Equality consultation
with Richard Whitman.
With no further discussion the
meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
September 13
The meeting was called to or-
der at by Vice Chairman Raymond
‘Captain’ Moody. Roll call: Alvis
Smith III, James ‘Jim’ Manion,
Chief Joseph Moses, Wilson Wewa
Jr., Carlos Calica, Rosa Graybael.
Minnie Yahtin, Recorder.
· 2023 budget presentations:
Natural Resources.
Education.
Human Resources.
Governmental Affairs.
· Call back for updated budget
sheets.
Finance.
Call back for Administrative Ser-
vices packets.
Motion by Carlos to adjourn at
3:10 p.m.
Education Committee conducting priorities survey
The tribal Education Commit-
tee is conducting a survey to set
priorities for the recently appointed
committee members. The mem-
bers are Reina Estimo, Chair,
Jaylyn Suppah, vice-chair, and
Ardis Smith.
Results of this survey will be
reported to the tribal membership,
in this publication and at KWSO;
and will be used at an upcoming
community meeting to help with
the Education priorities for this
term. A link to the survey has been
e-mailed to tribal employees, and
is available on a website listed be-
low. Or contact one of the com-
mittee members.
The upcoming meeting will be
held the last week of September,
date and place to be determined.
Your participation in the survey
is greatly appreciated.
The questions include opening
background questions such as your
age and gender.
Another question is ‘Which op-
tion best describes you’:
509-J student. South Wasco stu-
dent. Higher education student. Par-
ent of student. Guardian (non-bio-
logical parent) of student. Grand-
parent of student. Community mem-
ber. School employee. Tribal educa-
tion department employee.
If you are a parent, please in-
dicate which school(s) your stu-
dent attends: Warm Springs Acad-
emy. Madras Elementary. Buff El-
ementary, middle school, high
school, college, vocational school,
etc.
Another question: ‘Which best
describes your place of residence?’
Covid-19 incidence update
As provided by the Covid-19
Response Team, these graphs
show the known incidence of
Covid-19 in the community, as
of September 14. The first
graph, below, shows the
incidence of covid in the
community since the pandamic
Next are the substantive questions:
What do you feel are the
strengths around Education for you
or your child?
What do you feel are the areas
of concern around Education for
you or your child?
What resources would help you
or your student complete educa-
tional goals? And the final question
asks for additional comments.
Use this address to access the
survey, or talk with a committee
member.
You can also find a link on the
kwso.org website. The sur vey
website name is long:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/
e/1FAIpQLSfZUXE_8JYNtp
ElBFNAHZfMO2pWotLGNJ76wr
1 8 s E z B T U r i X Q /
viewform?usp=sf_link
started in March 2020.
According to testing of the
wastewater, the virus is still
present in the community. A
positive note is that last week,
testing showed six people had
the virus.
Page 3
Funding to help protect
against, prevent sex crimes
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will receive close
to $211,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent, and
protect the community against sex crimes. The funding is through
the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Oregon’s U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley made the announcement
last week.
The funding will provide services and training for the Warm
Springs Police Department, Tribal Prosecution, Victims of Crimes
Services, Tribal Court, Children’s Protective Services, the Warm
Springs Community Counseling Center, and the tribal commu-
nity. Another focus will be on how to contact and continue reg-
istration for the known convicted sex offenders residing in or
working within the boundaries of the reservation.
The grant also funds a dedicated, full-time staff member to
serve as Sex Offender Administrator.
“The U.S. government can do more to protect children from
predators on and off tribal land, and it is long past time for that
to happen,” Sen. Wyden said. “This funding provides a dedicated
administrator and crucial training that the Warm Springs tribal
justice system needs to improve kids’ safety.”
Sen. Merkley added, “We must do everything in our power to
prevent sexual assault and abuse, and protect vulnerable commu-
nities in Oregon facing disproportionate rates of sexual violence,
including tribal communities. This funding will provide crucial
services and resources for the Warm Springs community.”
Federal ‘major crimes’
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism published a
report last year looking at the incidence of sexual crimes in In-
dian Country. The report states in part: “Child sexual abuse is
among the worst scourges on Indigenous communities in North
America, yet little real data exists on the extent of the problem.
Some researchers estimate it could be very an unacceptably high
number.
Dr. Rene´e Ornelas is a veteran child abuse pediatric specialist
working in the Navajo Nation, the largest and most populous
tribe in the United States. She said practically every family she
sees has a history of child sexual abuse. “There are just little
victims everywhere,” she said.
The federal government has been responsible for investigat-
ing and prosecuting ‘major crimes’ in Indian Country since 1885.
A century later, child sexual abuse was added to the crimes list.
But not until the last decade has the Justice Department been
required to publicly disclose what happens to those investiga-
tions—disclosures that suggest many cases of child sexual abuse
are falling through the cracks.
The recent grant to the tribes is intended to help fix this prob-
lem. The source of the funding, the Adam Walsh Child Protec-
tion and Safety Act, is a 2006 federal law seeking “to protect the
public, especially children, from violent sex offenders, by imple-
menting a more comprehensive, nationalized system for registra-
tion of sex offenders.”
Indigenous Peoples Day October 10
This year Monday, October 10
will be Indigenous Peoples Day in
Oregon. This will be the second
year when the second Monday of
October—which formerly would
have been Columbus Day—is
designated by the state of Oregon
as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Oregon has many different
Indigenous communities across
urban and rural areas, including
nine federally recognized tribes:
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs; the Burns Paiute of
Harney County; Confederated
Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua
and Siuslaw Indians; Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde; Confed-
erated Tribes of Siletz Indians;
Confederated Tribes of the
Warm Springs Emergency
Management’s drinking water
distribution at the old school
building is open weekdays
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Emergency Management
want folks to be aware that
5-gallon jugs of water are
no longer available for pick-
up or exchange.
Umatilla Indian Reservation; Cow
Creek Band of Umpqua Indians;
Coquille Indian Tribe; and Klamath
Tribes.
According to the most recent
census, conducted in 2020, there
are a little more than 130,000 Or-
egonians who identify as full or part
American Indian and Alaska Na-
tive. That is 3.1 percent of the state
population.
On Indigenous Peoples Day all
non-essential federal offices in the
state will be closed.
Oregon last year became the
thirteenth state to recognize the sec-
ond Monday of October as
Indigeous Peoples Day, after the
Oregon legislature overwhelmingly
approved measure.