A Year in Review ~ 2023 ~
January
February
For people who love to cook
great and healthy meals there is
nothing like a brand-new kitchen.
“All of cooking is based on what
you can do with the kitchen,”
Berlyn Yazzie Jr., Seniors food
product manager and lead cook,
was saying the other day.
“Now, everything here is exactly
where I want it, so there’s not so
much running around.” And that,
Mr. Yazzie says, is one of the
keys—along with preparation—to
making great meals for a number
of people at any one time.
The new kitchen is the center
feature of the renovated Seniors
Center, which reopened in Febru-
ary following a long closure due
to water damage.
T he War Pony Express
Training Center holds the key
to many possibilities. The Auto-
December 13
Tactics Skateboard Company, the
Skatepark Project, Collective Con-
crete and volunteers on making this
project a reality for the health of
young people and families of the
community. A thank-you also to
Ginew Clothing, PacificSource,
Visit Central Oregon, the Marie
Lamfram Foundation, the Ford
Family Foundation, the Jefferson
County Commission who matched
a Tribal Council donation of
$10,000.
By tradition, as we approach
the conclusion of another calendar
year, the Spilyay recalls here some
of the notable and newsworthy
events that happened among the
tribal community during 2023.
In January the High Desert
Museum in Bend opens the exhibit
Creations of Spirit . Four art-
ists of the Confederated Tribes are
joined by other Plateau Native art-
ists for the exhibit. Natalie Kirk,
H’Klumaiyat Roberta Joy Kirk,
Jefferson Greene and Kelli Palmer
are representing the Confederated
Tribes. In other news:
The Lincoln’s Birthday Pow-
wow committee announced the
powwow will return to Simnasho,
after being on hold because of
covid in 2021 and 2022.
Spilyay
April
Berlyn Yazzie Jr. and Andrea Cook at the new Seniors
kitchen in February of this year.
motive Center is a classroom
ready to teach and then award
the participating students ASE
Certification—the essential cer-
tificate of Automotive Service
Excellence. This key element
alone opens employment doors
for young people, both on the
reservation and off.
And looking beyond, the Au-
tomotive Center presents an op-
portunity for business growth
and economic development on
the reservation; plus a way for
the tribes to save money on main-
tenance and repair of the orga-
nization vehicle fleet. War Pony
Express, located at the industrial
park Vehicle Pool, opened in Feb-
ruary. Elsewhere:
Both of the Madras Elite
Cheer teams took home state
titles over the weekend. Juliet
Warner and Coraline White, both
tribal members attending the
Warm Springs Academy, are on
the teams. One of the teams is
the team Rec Youth - Smalls. These
girls tied for first place out of
seven teams. Juliet Warner is a
member of this team. The other
team is Rec Juniors - Small. These
girls took fourth out of 12 teams,
and Caroline White is on the Jun-
ior team. Both girls hold state and
national titles.
March
Great spring weather greeted the
Root Feast Rodeo at the end of
March 2023, hosted by the Ranch
Rodeo Association at the Warm
Springs Rodeo Grounds. Else-
where:
Chico Holliday is the general
manager of tribal Public Utilities.
He has been the front-line person
managing the water situations on
the reservation for the past several
years, during some of the worst
drinking water events in recent his-
tory on the reservation. In April
of this year, the Oregon Associa-
tion of Water Utilities hosted their
annual awards ceremony. And the
top award this year—Water Man-
a g e r o f t h e Ye a r —went to
Warm Springs Public Utilities Gen-
eral Manager Chico Holliday, by
unanimous OAWU vote.
May
Skater during skate park
grand opening in March.
The new 8,000-square-foot
skatepark opened in March at
Elmer Quinn Park. The Grand
Opening day was an exciting after-
noon of skateboarding, a cookout,
music, and a giveaway of more
than 150 skateboards. The tribes
and skatepark organizers hosted the
grand opening 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 joyous occa-
sion.
Michael Collins of Managed
Care was one of the coordinators
of the project. He worked with the
An eventful and historic life it
has been and continues to be after
these 93 years: Veteran, author and
tribal historian, George Aguilar Sr.
is the 2023 Elder of the Year
of the Confederated Tribes. Mr.
Aguilar received the honor at the
Seniors Day celebration this past
May at the Agency Longhouse.
And this in May 2023:
The Warm Springs Missing
and Murdered Indigenous Na-
tives Awareness Marathon saw
great support from 17 teams and
118 participants, plus the many
spectators along the 20-plus mile
course. “We had a great turnout
and great day,” said Reina Estimo,
one of the event organizers.
Reina noted that among the
marathon runners was Mona
Cochran, who is in her 70s and ran
nearly all of the course, before
handing off to her teammate. An-
thony Caldera ran the whole race
on his own.
The Confederated Tribes,
through the Wa r m S p r i n g s
Housing Authority, are moving
forward with a new affordable
housing project on Kuckup Loop.
This is made possible by a $2 mil-
lion grant that will in time fund the
construction of eight single-family
homes.
The Warm Springs Community
Action Team now offers an inno-
vative training and career ex-
ploration service featuring vir-
tual reality technology. The virtual
reality, or VR, training facility can
be accessed at one of two loca-
tions: at the Painted Pony
Espresso and gift shop at the Plaza
by Indian Head Casino; and at the
Community Action Team office.
Looking toward June: the full
Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days 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 Committee.
Michael T. Photography
Spring Root Feast Rodeo, hosted by the Ranch Rodeo Association.
Employment with the CTWS
The following are positions re-
cently advertised with the Con-
federated Tribes of Warm
Springs.
For information, contact the
Human Resources office, lo-
cated in the tribal administration
building, 1233 Veterans Street,
Warm Springs.
Page 2
Staff are available to answer
questions related to the appli-
cation process and can be
reached at 541-553-3262 or
hr@wstribes.org
Tribal Member preference is
exercised in hiring processes
as defined in Tribal Personnel
Policy PER 202.
Pro-Tem Judge. Compensa-
tion and benefits manager. Sur-
veillance observer (part-time).
Janitor (limited duration). IT da-
tabase specialist.
Custodian. Fisheries techni-
cian II. Fisheries technician III.
Native plant nursery. Commu-
nity Health program manager.
Cash management specialist/
Court accounts receivable.
Corrections officer. Travel ac-
countant. Early Childhood Edu-
cation program manager. Tribal
Council recorder/support techni-
cian.
Timber sales forester. Proba-
tion secretary/service coordina-
tor. Juvenile/young adult proba-
tion officer.
Director of Information Sys-
tems. Fish biologist III. Wellness
coordinator. Compensation and
benefits coordinator. Public ad-
ministrator.
Protective care provider. Prop-
erty management specialist.
Treasury controller. Conservation
properties program supervisor.
Project archaeologist/principal
investigator.
Maternal child health nurse.
Soil scientist/watershed planner.
Community Health nurse.
Jobs with Indian Head, Plateau
The following is a recent list
of job openings with Indian
Head Casion. For details see
the website:
indianheadcasino.com
Food and beverage man-
ager. Cage cashier. Cotton-
wood Restaurant server. Tule
Grill line cook. Table games
dealer.
Count team member. Facili-
t i e s m a n a g e r. C l a s s I I I
keyperson. Food and bever-
age purchasing clerk. Cage
supervisor.
Controller. Security officer.
Cottonwood Sous Chef. Custo-
dian. Kitchen steward. Player’s
Club smbassador. Network en-
gineer.
The following are jobs adver-
tised recently with the Plateau
Travel Plaza (see the casino
website for details on apply-
ing):
Three Teepees Cafe Host/
Server. Custodian. Mainte-
nance Custodian.