Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
June 14, 2023 - Vol. 48, No. 12
June – Atixan – Summer - Shatm
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
A welcome return to Pi-Ume-Sha
This year the full Pi-Ume-Sha
Treaty Days—Friday through Sun-
day, June 23-25—is again possible.
“This will be great because we’ve
all been waiting for something more
to do here in the community,” said
Robinson ‘Gorky’ Mitchell, Chair
of the 2023 Pi-Ume-Sha Commit-
tee.
As the community knows, the
tribes had to cancel the powwow in
2020 and 2021, because of the
health risks. Then last June, as the
pandemic was fading, we saw just
the Traditional Dress Parade, and
a small community gathering at
the powwow grounds, both wel-
come returns to a more normal
summer. And now finally we have
the full pageantry, excitement, out-
door competition and fun of the
full tradition.
“After the pandemic, with ev-
erything shut down, this will bring
back some happiness to the com-
munity,” said Cyrille Mitchell, pow-
wow committee member, and di-
rector of Children’s Protective
Services. “As Native people, we’ve
always relied on gatherings.”
During covid, when even funeral
services were restricted, “We saw
more depression,” Ms. Mitchell was
saying.
“Now we have hope again that
Car show
at casino
Indian Head Casino will present
the Seventh Annual Car Show this
Saturday, June 17 from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. All ages are welcome. There
will be a DJ, raffle prizes, and a
covered food court, plus all of the
classic cars and trucks.
For anyone showing a vehicle,
there is a $20 pre-registration, and
$25 day-of registration. This in-
cludes $20 bonus slot play. The Best
in Show prize is $500. All proceeds
from the Car Show go to the Boys
& Girls Club. With the casino, the
show is sponsored in part by the
Route 26 Cruisers of Sandy.
June Fishery
A zone 6 commercial gillnet fish-
ery is planned to start at 6 a.m. on
Monday, June 19 and run through
6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21; and
a second fishery is from June 26
through June 28. The four Colum-
bia River treaty tribes agreed on a
plan, having taken a cautious ap-
proach to the initial summer fish-
ery season to address uncertainties
in run sizes and catch rates.
The June 19-21 fishery will al-
low set and drift nets with a 7-inch
minimum mesh size restriction. Al-
lowed sales are salmon, steelhead,
shad, yellow perch, bass, walleye,
catfish and carp. They may be sold
or retained for subsistence purposes.
we can go on. We can go back to
our traditions and celebrations.”
The pandemic took a toll on the
community, with several elders pass-
ing away from the virus. In all
among the local community, 37
people died from covid, elders as
well as younger people. In recogni-
tion, the theme of the 2023 Pi-
Ume-Sha Traditional Dress Parade
is Honoring Those W ho Walked
Before Us.
“This is to remember all those
who passed away during covid,”
Cyrille says. “And to show we’re still
here, carrying on our traditions,
celebrating and honoring the treaty.”
The events
As mentioned, community gath-
erings are a large part of Native
life, and starting in the spring of
2020 this was greatly restricted. As
a result, and as Cyrill points out,
the incidence of depression in-
creased.
Recognizing this, the Pi-Ume-
Sha week begins Wednesday, June
21 with the Community Health
Fair, the theme this year being
Mental Health Warriors.
The Health Fair will be outside
of the Community Wellness Cen-
ter, featuring an afternon barbecue,
raffles, the information booths, t-
shirts and many other healthy incen-
tives.
The powwow begins Friday
evening, June 23 with the opening
Grand Entry. And from there the
powwow traditions continue
through the weekend:
The Saturday Traditional Dress
Parade, and the Grand Entries
honoring all veterans; dance com-
petitions, Specials, drums and so-
cials. And also during the week-
end: the Treaty Days Rodeo, Stick
Game Tournament, the Softball
and Baseball Memorial Tourna-
ment, the Endurance Horse Race,
vendors, tributes and more. Pow-
wow Specials this year include:
The Wilbur Johnson Men’s Tra-
ditional. Melissa Johnson Iron
Woman Fancy. Scott Family Spe-
cial. Three Man Hand Drum.
Queen’s Special. Team Dance, and
Round Bustle.
Pi-Ume-Sha weekend will feature
the Wild Horse Race Buck Smith
Memorial, the Knockout Wildfire
Basketball Tournament, and the
Sunday Superman and Wonder
Woman Challenge. All of this is to
remember the Treaty of 1855
that—more than eight generations
later—still guides the direction and
organization of the Confederated
Tribes.
The Treaty
By chance the final day of Pi-
Ume-Sha 2023 lands on the anni-
versary date of the signing of the
Treaty of 1855, on June 25. This
year is the One-Hundred and Sixty-
Eighth Anniversary of the signing
of the Treaty between the Tribes
of Middle Oregon and the United
States government.
Over the course of the three-day
meeting in 1855—concluding at the
Treaty Oak on June 25—tribal lead-
ers agreed to relinquish legal title
claim 10 million acres of land, now
called the Ceded Lands. Impor-
tantly, the tribes specifically main-
tained the right of traditional use—
fishing, hunting, root digging, berry
harvesting, etc.—across the Ceded
Lands. These rights have existed
since time immemorial, and are still
exercised today to the extent possible.
At the same time, the tribes re-
ser ved the land between Mt.
Jefferson and the Deschutes
River—1,019 square miles, or
644,000 acres—for the exclusive
use of the sovereign tribes of the
Confederation.
On June 25, 1855, one hundred
and fifty Indian leaders signed the
Treaty, and within a few years the
Wasco and Warm Springs people
relocated to Central Oregon. The
Wascos settled primarily in the
Agency area and the Warm Springs
in the Simnasho area. Leaving the
Columbia River, the place of cul-
ture and spiritual ties for thousands
of years, was among the most diffi-
cult times in the known history of
the people.
PI-UME-Sha continues on 2
Paddle to Muckleshoot in July
The N’Chi Wanapum Canoe
Family of the Confederated
Tribes is getting ready for the
Paddle to Muckleshoot jour-
ney coming up in mid July. The
journey to the landing site—at
Muckleshoot, Washington on
Puget Sound—will be in mid
and late July with celebrations
to follow.
Earlier this month, the N’Chi
Wanapum Family were in train-
ing, paddling from Pelton Park
to Indian Park during the two-
day practice session. The family
is still looking for more team
members to help with the 2023
journey, and any donations also
greatly appreciated.
You can reach out to
Jefferson Greene, Canoe Fam-
ily coordinator, or Misty Greene.
Both Jefferson and Misty work
for the Columbia River Institute
for Indigenous Development
Foundation. Their emails are:
jefferson@criid.org
misty@criid.org
Or you can reach Jefferson by
phone at 541-460-3004; or Misty
at 541-306-9994.
The Canoe Landing this year is
hosted by the Muckleshoot Indian
Tribe. Tribal Canoe Journeys,
founded in 1989, celebrates the
Native canoe tradition of the
Northwest Coast.
The events bring together tribes
from Oregon, Washington, British
Columbia and Alaska.
The Canoe Journeys have helped
to revive the canoe tradition of
tribes, including the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs. For a
couple of years the tradition had to
be postponed because of the pan-
demic, and is now back and bigger
than ever. The Canoe Families travel
by waterways to the destination, ac-
companied by family and friends
who drive and help with the logistics.
Bonita Leonard and BraveBear during recent canoe
outing (above); and the N'chi Wanapum Canoe Family
and Portland All Nations at Indian Park (below).
Misty L. Greene photos