Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Public input
needed on
ECE plan
The Confederated Tribes and
Early Childhood Education Center
will hold two public hearing sessions
this month regarding the 3-year
funding plan for the ECE-Head
Start and Early Head Start.
The public meetings sessions
provide the ECE stakeholders—
tribal members, tribal employees,
partnering tribal programs, elders
and other interested parties—an
opportunity to express their sup-
port, raise concerns, and offer ideas
regarding the three-plan; and any
changes that may be needed to best
meet the needs of the community
and families.
The first public hearing session
will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on
Wednesday, January 25 at the Edu-
cation-Culture and Heritage build-
ing. Snacks and childcare provided.
Session two will be January 25 from
5 to 8 p.m. at the ECE building,
dinner and child care provided.
Every three years the tribes and
ECE must submit their plan, or
application, in order to receive the
Child Care and Development
Fund—CCDF—funding. The plan
is submitted to the Administration
for Children and Families Office
of Child Care.
The public hearing, community
input and feedback are the essen-
tial parts of the application process.
Your participation is welcome and
greatly appreciated. As Deanie
Smith, ECE manager, explains in
her notice of the January 25 ses-
sions:
“The public hearing is held to
provide the community the oppor-
tunity to comment and provide in-
put and feedback of the proposed
provision of child care services, and
to list the many activities and ser-
vices they are providing to meet the
needs of low-income children and
families.” (More details on page 9.)
Two court
cases taking
aim at tribal
sovereignty
A case before the U.S. Supreme
Court, and a lawsuit in Washington
state are part of a coordinated cam-
paign that experts say is pushing
once-fringe legal theories to the
nation’s highest court, and represent-
ing the most serious challenge to
tribal sovereignty in over 50 years.
To begin with the Washington state
lawsuit:
Maverick Gaming, operator of
19 card rooms in Washington and
casinos in Nevada and Colorado,
is challenging a 2020 law that al-
lows sports betting only on tribal
lands.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court
in Washington state, claims the law
created a “discriminatory tribal gam-
ing monopoly.”
Court Cases continues on 6
January 11, 2023 - Vol. 48, No. 1
Wiyak’ik’ila – Winter - Anm
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
For love and care of the animals
Growing up in Warm Springs,
Coleicia Moses always liked be-
ing around animals. “We had pets
and I was always interested in
taking care of them,” Coleicia
says. At the time, of course, “I
never thought I could make a
career of it.”
During high school, Coleicia
went to Madras, then to the
boarding school in Riverside,
California, graduating in 2008.
Moving back to Central Oregon,
she went to Central Oregon
Community College in Bend.
For a while, Coleicia was
thinking of transferring to the
University of Oregon. “I’d al-
ways thought I would do some-
thing in journalism,” she says.
Her parents are Paula Miller
and the late Oliver Moses. The
journalism idea came from her
grandfather, Mr. Sidney Miller,
the first publisher and editor of
the Spilyay Tymoo.
So, in 2014, Coleicia was de-
ciding whether to transfer to the
Coleicia Moses on the job at the animal hospital.
University of Oregon for journal-
ism. By chance, though, this was
at the time when COCC opened
its new Veterinarian Technician
Program. Coleicia decided to stay,
finished her Associates Degree at
COCC, and in 2016 graduated
from the COCC Veterinarian Tech
program.
She now is a Certified Veteri-
narian Technician. “I found the
work I should be doing,” Coleicia
says.
She works at the Central Oregon
Animal Hospital in Bend. Her job
as the clinic lead Vet Technician re-
quires working closely and one-on-
one with the clinic veterinarian doc-
tors. She assists them during the
animal surgeries; she administers
anesthesia, draws blood samples,
gives the shots, and does other work
that goes into caring for animals
during their time at the hospital.
Her training and skills have now
even brought her back to the res-
ervation, where she helps with the
vaccine clinics hosted by Fences for
Fido and their partner the Compan-
ion Animal Medical Project, or
CAMP.
The next pet clinic is this Satur-
day, January 14 by the Agency Fire
Hall, where Coleicia will be among
the trained professionals helping the
pets and pet owners of the Warm
Springs community.
Dave McMechan
On the wild lands of the reservation
At more than 1,000 square
miles in size, the Warm Springs
Reservation is among the larg-
est. On the wild lands from
the Cascade Mountains to the
Deschutes River are diverse
wildlife habitats: forests and
rangeland, rivers, lakes,
streams, mountains and val-
leys.
And many kinds of animals,
birds and fish make the reser-
vation home. Big horn sheep,
mountain goats, a rare pack of
wolves, deer and elk, salmon,
birds of prey and others are
among the diversity.
There will be a chance to
learn more about the reserva-
tion wildlands and wildlife at
an upcoming presentation—a
part of the Nature Nights se-
ries of the Deschutes Land
Trust—at the Tower Theatre
in Bend.
Austin L. Smith Jr., general
manager of the tribes’ Branch
of Natural Resources, will give
the presentation, to be called
Wild Horses, Wolves and Other
Wildlife of the Warm Springs
Indian Reservation.
Mr. Smith will discuss the
dynamics of managing the
complex and at times compet-
ing populations of reservation
Photos CTWS/BNR
Big horn sheep (above),
wolves, and rocky mountain
goats are some of the wildlife
found on the reservation.
wildlife. The presentation will be
the evening of March 22 at the
theater. The Deschutes Land
Trust explains:
The discussion will be a chance
learn more about the animals,
trees, fish and other aspects of
the natural environment, “as they
adapt to climate change, wildfire
risk, and the shift of predators
within their habitats.” The pre-
sentation is free and ticket sales
open one month prior to the
event.
Meanwhile,
the
2023
Deschutes Land Trust winter
Nature Nights begins this month,
the evening of January 25, with
Fungi in the Forest. As the nar-
ration says, Central Oregon is
Deschutes Land Trust
Austin L. Smith Jr., Branch of Natural Resources general
manager, will lead the discussion on reservation wildlife.
home to a broad range of fungi.
Many of them play an important
role in forest health and are
adapted to our fire-dependent re-
gion. Then on the evening of Feb-
ruary 21 will be A Histor y of
Trees—Fire, Old-Growth, and For-
est Restoration in Central Oregon.
Infrastructure progress with water, landfill
The tribal infrastructure, as
maintained and operated by tribal
Utilities is large and varied. The
Utilities team is always busy, of-
ten working long hours as
needed, while the number of em-
ployees is small compared to the
responsibilities. As one example,
the Utilities general manager
Chico Holliday, usually in the field
working, often puts in six days
long a week.
The reservation domestic water
system is recently the most talked
about aspect of the tribal infrastruc-
ture; though challenges have also
been with the wastewater system,
and for a time with the landfill.
Lately, the news been good at
Utilities, Mr. Holliday says. The
landfill, for instance, is no longer out
of compliance, as a result of exten-
sive work with the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Utilities has also worked on the
domestic water lines serving the
residents, school and businesses of
the reservation. The single biggest
project coming up in the foresee-
able future is the water treatment
plant at the Deschutes River.
IHS and the EPA recently ap-
proved $24 million in funding for
a new water treatment plant, to be
built on the site of the existing one.
The timeline for the new plant
coming on-line is in the range of 4
or 5 years, as the project is large.
Meanwhile, separate funding,
part from the USDA and part
from the state, will be needed to
ensure that the existing plant func-
tions properly until the new one
comes on line.