Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Easter
giveaway
on Friday
The Warm Springs Easter Bas-
ket giveaway will be this Friday,
April 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The giveaway, sponsored by Health
and Human Services, will be a
drive-by event by the Family Re-
source Center. There will also be
an Easter Egg hunt, hotsed by the
Warm Springs Ranch Rodeo As-
sociation, at the Warm Springs
Rodeo Grounds starting at 10 a.m.
this Sunday, April 9.
Warm Springs Seniors Day is
coming up soon, on Friday, May
12. Stop by the Senior Center to
volunteer, or for more informa-
tion. The center is open weekdays
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Senior
lunches are on Tuesday, Wednes-
day and Friday from noon until 1
in the dining area. Fitness classes
are Mondays and Thursdays.
The community is invited to
the Family Summit at the Warm
Springs Academy, planned for
thios month. The Title I Family
Engagement Night will be from
5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April
27 at the Academy.
There will be family activities,
food and education resources. No
registration required.
The evening is hosted by the
Confederated Tribes, Community
Health programs, Reservation Im-
pact, Papalaxsimisha, Native
American Success, Warm Springs
Recreation, the Community Action
Team and others.
April 5, 2023 - Vol. 48, No. 7
March – Wiyalppt – Spring - Wawaxam
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Tribes roll out new youth skatepark
The new 8,000-square-foot
skatepark opened last week at
Elmer Quinn Park, with an ex-
citing afternoon of skateboard-
ing, a cookout, music, and a give-
away of more than 150 skate-
boards. The giveaway was spon-
sored by PacificSource Health
of Central Oregon.
The tribes and skatepark or-
ganizers hosted the grand open-
ing with a turnout of hundreds
of guests. During the opening
ceremonies, except during the
blessing, skaters from around the
Northwest were demonstrating
their skating skills across the
many ramps and half-pipes at the
new park. The weather was great
and the day was a fun and joy-
ous occasion.
People with the Skatepark
Project, one of the key partners
who helped with fundraising and
planning, were on hand. Mandy
Mendez with the Skatepark
Project, for instance, flew in
from Denver for the opening.
“I wanted to be here to see
this cross the finish line,” Ms.
Mendez said. “And it really
turned out beyond what I could
have imagined.”
Tribal Council Chair man
Jonathan Smith gave an opening
address. “We would like to thank
Tactics Skateboard Company,
and Collective Concrete for com-
ing to the tribes and meeting with
our wonderful staff in coordi-
nating this project,” Chairman
Dave McMechan photos/Spilyay
Some scenes from the Warm Springs Skatepark
Grand Opening, March 29.
As skaters from
around the
region
demonstrated
their skills,
Council
Chairman
Jonathan Smith
(above) opened
the event with a
thank-you to the
many who
helped make it
happen.
Smith said. “And thank you to the
Skatepark Project for all the hard
work you did with the many do-
nors.” He mentioned some who
deserve a special recognition:
Ginew Clothing, PacificSource,
Visit Central Oregon, the Marie
Lamfram Foundation, the Ford Fam-
ily Foundation, the Jefferson County
Commission who matched a tribal
donation of $10,000.
SKATEPARK continues on 2
Years of culture and history at the Museum
The Museum at Warm Springs
first opened its doors to the pub-
lic in early spring 30 years ago.
The original idea for a museum
of tribal history and culture had
been talked about for at least
three decades before that.
Since the 1960s, “We could see
that the old ways were disappear-
ing, the old languages were dis-
appearing, and pretty soon none
of our young people would know
where they came form or who
they were,” Warm Springs Chief
Delvis Heath said at the time of
the opening. “That’s when we
decided to build a museum.”
Tribal Council in 1974
adopted a charter establishing a
preliminary museum board, at the
time called the Middle Oregon
Indian Historical Society. Twenty
years of planning and fundraising
brought in more $3.2 million, at
the time the largest amount ever
committed by an Indian tribe to
a museum.
And when the Museum at
Warm Springs opened in the
spring of 1993, it was the first
tribal museum in the state of
Oregon.
The museum now contains the
most exquisite collection of Pla-
teau Native American artifacts.
As the museum is celebrating its
Thirty-Year Anniversary, there
are events through the year, such
as this week with the photo ex-
hibit by reservation photographer
Edward Heath (below). The first-
ever Clean-up Day last weekend
was also a big success (see page 4).
To this day and into the fu-
ture, the Museum At War m
Springs preserve the culture, his-
tory and traditions of the three
tribes.
‘An Eye for the Rez’ opening this week
Example of one of the exhibits on display in the museum (above);
and an image of the architecture as seen at sunset.
An Eye for the Rez: Edward
Heath Photography opens this
Thursday, April 6 at the Museum
at Warm Springs. The show fea-
tures photographs by renowned
Warms Springs photographer Ed-
ward Heath.
“I do not specialize in any spe-
cific form of photography,” Ed-
ward says. “I mainly try to capture
things I find interesting along road-
sides and trails.
“And I like to capture things that
have non-obvious beauty, or things
others take for granted.”
Mr. Heath was born in Madras
Edward Heath photography.
and grew up in the Simnasho area.
He is the nephew of Warm
Springs Chief Delvis Heath.
His upcoming exhibit is curated
by Warm Springs museum curator
and exhibition coordinator Angela
Anne Smith.
Mr. Heath also had a solo exhibi-
tion of his photography at the mu-
seum in 2016, and his work has been
featured in other exhibits around the
region. Since his first show seven
years ago, Heath has become known
for his portraits, nature and wildlife
photography. Support for An Eye
for the Rez is provided by a grant
from the Ford Family Foundation.
The show will be on display
through May.