Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Recreation
hosting new
bowling
tourney
Warm Springs Recreation an-
nounced a new bowling tourna-
ment—the First Annual Pacific
Northwest Native Classics Bowling
Tournament—coming up Friday
through Sunday, March 31-April 2.
After some long-term planning
and negotiating, Austin Greene, Rec-
reation director and tournament co-
ordinator, announced the new tour-
ney will be at the Wildhorse Resort
& Casino Quaking Aspens Bowling
lanes in Pendleton.
The tournament will be Doubles
and Singles, Mixed Team, Masters,
Mixed Doubles, and 9-Pin No Tap
Mixed Doubles. The host hotel for
the weekend will be the Wildhorse
Resort & Casino, featuring special
room rates for the event. If you
would like more information, con-
tact one of the following individuals:
Austin at Recreation, 541-553-
3243. Email:
austin.greenee@wstribes
Birney Greene-Boise at 541-
553-5667. Email:
Birney1953@gmail.com
Margie Tuckta, 541-419-2558.
Email:
margie.tuckta@gmail.com
Community
notes...
The Warm Springs Easter Bas-
ket giveaway will be on April 7,
the Friday before Easter Sunday,
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The give-
away, sponsored by Health and Hu-
man Services, will be a drive-by
event by the Family Resource Cen-
ter. Meanwhile:
A planning session for the Warm
Springs Seniors Day is coming
from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Monday,
April 3 at the Seniors building.
Warm Springs Seniors Day will
be all day on Friday, May 12. For
more information, to contribute or
volunteer, stop by the April 3 meet-
ing, or speak with Tribal Council-
man Wilson Wewa Jr., Senior pro-
gram director.
The Chehalis Tribe’s Third An-
nual Elders Luncheon gathering is
coming up Thursday, April 20,
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Lun-
cheon will be at the Lucky Eagle
Casino in Rochester, Washington.
Any questions, call Sam Boyd at
360-529-7839 or email:
sboyd@chehalistribe.org
The community is invited to
the Family Summit at the Warm
Springs Academy, planned for
next month. The Title I Family
Engagement Night will be from
5 to 6:30 p.m. on April 27 at the
Academy.
There will be family activities,
food and education resources. No
registration required. Hosted by
the Confederated Tribes, Commu-
nity Health programs, Reservation
Impact, Papalaxsimisha, Native
American Success, Warm Springs
Recreation, the Community Action
Team and others.
March 22, 2023 - Vol. 48, No. 6
March – Wiyalppt – Spring - Wawaxam
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Getting ready for skatepark opening
Workers are putting the fin-
ishing touches on the new
Warm Springs Skatepark at
Elmer Quinn Park. The con-
crete structure is impressive
with a large skating deck area,
quarter and half pipes, mini
ramps, vertical ramps, spines
and extensions, to use the
skatepark terminology.
The project has been a vol-
unteer and non-profit effort,
bringing a new activity for the
youth of the reservation, said
Michael Collins, manager of
tribal Managed Care. Mr.
Collins has been the local lead
person in coordinating the con-
struction, working with Tactics
skateboards and The Skatepark
Project.
The new park replaces the
previous wooden ramps that
had been in place for almost 20
years. Some other added new
features at the park will lights
for nighttime skating, and a
frisbee golf course.
The grand opening for the
skatepark will be next Wednes-
day, March 29 at 11 a.m. There
will be a blessing ceremony,
guest speakers, the ribbon cut-
ting, skateboard demonstra-
tions, a DJ, food, giveaways and
more.
Portland-based Tactics, a
leader in the field, is a retail shop
specializing in skateboards and
snowboards, with a team dedi-
cated to promoting these sports.
The Skatepark Project,
D.McMechan/Spilyay
The construction team is putting
some final touches on the new
Elmer Quinn skatepark, ready
for action next week.
founded by professional skater Tony
Hawk and based in California, helps
underserved communities create
safe and inclusive public skateparks
for youth.
There are many sponsors who
have made the skatepark happen,
including the Confederated Tribes
and Jefferson County, and the gen-
erous groups mentioned on the
Grand Opening flyer (page 2).
Education Language
Conference starts Sunday
The Healing Through Our
Languages conference opens this
Sunday, March 26 at the OSU
Cascades Campus in Bend. The
Confederated Tribes, Education
and Culture and Heritage are
hosting the event, with tribal lan-
guage teachers and guests arriv-
ing from around the Northwest
and California. The conference
opens Sunday morning at 10
a.m. with Washut led by Dallas
Winishut of Culture and Heri-
tage, and friends.
On Sunday the conference
will also host a field trip to the
High Desert Museum, where a
Northwest Native Art show—
Creations of Spirit—is on display.
The Language conference
opening prayer ceremony is at 4
p.m. Sunday, followed by post-
ing of the colors, honor song,
welcome dance, and opening
speech by Valerie Switzler, the
tribes’ Education general man-
ager. The Tribal Council chair-
man and other are also opening
speakers before for the dinner
at 6 p.m. in the OSU-Cascades
cafeteria.
The conference language
teaching and sharing sessions
begin Monday morning, March
27. The morning keynote
speaker will be Jeri Brunoe,
youth leadership trainer, preven-
tion specialist and consultant
among many accomplishments.
The conference participants then
meet in groups by conference topic
category: Teacher to teacher; Lin-
guistics Computer Technology;
Youth Leadership; and Native
Lifeways in Education. The group
sessions are throughout the day,
followed by dinner and an evening
keynote speaker.
Brent Florendo, Academic Pro-
grams coordinator of Native
American Studies at Southern Or-
egon University in Ashland, is the
scheduled Tuesday morning key-
note speaker of the conference.
Following the day sessions on
Tuesday there will be a salmon
bake at the campus, and social
dance with the Wasco Dancers and
Swan Dancers.
JoDe Goudy, of Redthought.org
and former Yakama Nation Coun-
cil chairman, will give the morning
keynote address on the final day of
the conference. Wednesday morn-
ing will also feature the silent auc-
tion winners, closing ceremony, re-
tirement of the flags and Farewell
Dance.
If you would like to attend the
Healing Through Our Languages
conference, please contact Lori
Switzler at 541-553-3290. Or email:
lori.switzler@wstribes.org
Or contact Gina Ricketts at:
gricketts53@gmail.com
Or email Valerie at:
valerie.wwitzler@wstribes.org
Warm Springs case shows complex
legal question in Indian Country
Legal jurisdiction in criminal
cases that arise on tribal lands is
a confusing subject, at times
even for the experts in the field.
This is because a number of
unique legal factors come into
play when a crime happens on
tribal land. Some of these fac-
tors include whether the defen-
dant is an Indian or non-Indian;
whether the crime is major or
minor; whether or not there is
a victim of the crime, and
whether the victim is Indian or
non-Indian, for instance.
Some of the questions re-
main in dispute to this day, as
shown by a case—still making
its way through the court sys-
tem—that happened in 2016 on
the Warm Springs Reservation.
Jurisdiction refers to the
power of a court over a par-
ticular person or matter. Crimi-
nal jurisdiction can be tribal, fed-
eral or state. Usually, for major
crimes in Indian Country the
jurisdiction is with the federal
government, except in some
cases when the suspect is non-
Indian and the victim is non-
Indian. Then the jurisdiction
can be with the state court.
The case of Johnny Eller y
Smith v. the United States pre-
sents another scenario that may
end up at the U.S. Supreme
Court, as the case has already
been ruled on by U.S. Ninth Cir-
cuit Court of Appeals, and then
appealed by the defendant to the
U.S. Supreme Court. The ques-
tion involves criminal jurisdiction
in Indian Country.
What happened was the de-
fendant apparently attempted to
elude police while on the reser-
vation. Tribal police arrested the
person, who was charged in fed-
eral court. He was charged with
violating Oregon state laws. The
point of contention is summa-
rized as follows:
“The defendant filed a motion
to dismiss the indictment on the
ground that the federal govern-
ment lacked jurisdiction to charge
him in federal court for a state
law violation alleged to have been
committed by an Indian in Indian
country.”
The case involves legal inter-
pretations of the federal Assimi-
lative Crimes Act; the federal
General Crimes Act; and the fed-
eral Indian Country Crimes Act;
plus the state law regarding flee-
ing or attempting to elude a po-
lice officer. After much litigation
so far, the case is on appeale to
the U.S. Supreme Court, a clear
indication of the complexity of
criminal jurisdiction in Indian
Country.