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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2024)
~ Student lessons for the classroom ~ from page 8 Numu ~ Paiute Wasco Chief from page 4 At Warm Springs Culture and Heritage there are pho- tographs of the reservation boarding schools in their dif- ferent phases. At first the U.S. government funded and church-run schools were small wood buildings that were re- placed by large wood build- ings and eventually the red brick buildings you know to- day as the Culture and Heri- tage and Education offices, or ‘the old boys dorm’ and the tribes’ Behavioral Health Cen- ter, or ‘the old girls dorm.’ And the direction of our people is derailed and put on a path it wouldn’t have gone if we had been left alone. Some of the children forced to attended these schools still live in our community, Willard Teewee, Myra Or- ange, Kirby Heath, Thea nee Smith and many others. The effects of this systemic re- education is not the ‘ancient past’. Those children are our elders and your grandparents now. Until the 1960s “hun- dreds of thousands of Na- tive American children were removed from their homes and families and placed in boarding schools operated by the federal government and the churches.” boarding schoolhealing.or/education/us- boarding-school-history Other significant events of the 1860s that would shape our culture and gov- ernment of today were the Snake River Wars. It is well documented that the regular U.S. Army called the period of their involvement in the Snake War, ‘the Campaign against Indians, Oregon, Idaho, and California (1865– 1868), clearing thousands of acres land of indigenous Paiutes for the settlers to oc- cupy by the 1870s. The Paiute people took up ar ms against the United States government, who em- ployed Wasco and War m Springs Indians to help in the fight, to protect and preserve their lands and culture. After the end of hostilities became prisoners of war who would find themselves occupying an Indian reservation with the people who fought against them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Snake_War} ‘Re-education’ – Educa- tion or training to change someone’s beliefs or behav- ior. ‘Gerrymander’ – Present participle ‘gerrymandering’: Manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class. Achieve a result by manipu- lating the boundaries of an electoral constituency. After the forced removal from our traditional home- lands and starting in the late 1800s we, starting in child- hood with all of the our tribes, were forced to be re- educated. The cultural re- education would prepare us for the forced governmental reform. What had been head people of villages, bands and clans, making decisions and who were chosen, the best way the Wasco People saw fit, was merged with how the U.S. government defined govern- ment, and that is how the Tribal Council we know to- day, came to be. Around the time the old girls and boys dorm were built our first Tribal Council, as well as the Chieftain body, were established how we see them today. Chief Daniel Katchia was the Wasco Chief prior to the modern times Council. He ser ved until 1933. In 1938 the Confeder- ated Tribes had the modern 11-person Tribal Council es- tablished. There are three Simnasho District, three Agency District and two Seeqseequa District represen- tatives, with the War m Springs, Wasco and Paiute Chiefs comprising the re- maining three members. The districts vote for putting the eight district representatives of the Tribal Council in place, and each has a three year term limit. The three Chiefs on the other hand are cho- sen as their people see fit in accordance with their ac- cepted customs and culture, and serve for life typically. Since the modern Council has been formed, gor the Wasco people, Chief George Meachem Sr. served as Chief until 1942, Chief Joe McCorkle served until 1958, Chief Nelson Wallulatum until 2012, and Chief Alfred Smith Jr. until 2023. It is im- portant to know that there were gaps in the continuity of Chief leadership, some- times lasting years. warmsprings-nsn.gov/gover n- ment/tribal-council/-past-leader- ship In an October 13, 1988 Wasco meeting, in excess of 70 tribal members talked on the subjects varied from (but not restricted to) the Museum at Warm Springs, drug and alcohol abuse, the Early Childhood Education Center, Wasco and tribal Identity, to the sub-Chieftainship. In that meeting there were questions and discussion of the Wasco Sub-chief. During the meeting Chief Wallulatum, was recorded as saying, ‘Whatever transpires here, you will take on things about it, make your speeches and tell what you think this person’s qualifica- tions should be, besides just being descendants. What are you look- ing for besides just a descendant?.’ Some of the comments and desires from the tribal members on leadership traits they would like to see in a Chief were: Someone who would walk with pride in be- ing Wasco, be a temperate per- son, have the courage to make hard decisions, who would feel free to visit with their people, check up with them to see how their people are doing. There was also a desire for someone who had the courage to learn and lis- ten, and understood that ‘the Chief ’s responsibility doesn’t end after 5 pm.’ (CTWS tribal members (1988) ‘Wasco Sub- Chief ’ Wasco ,eetomg October 13, 1988.) Now as then, the Wasco people have the right to choose their Chief in the best way they see fit. It seems that in the pre-modern times there was an understanding on who would be the leaders of the village and it was the chiefly class of people. Be- tween the mouth of the Deschutes and Cape Horn on the Columbia River there were over 25 villages with populations of 200 to 1,000 Kiksht speaking people on the north and south sides of that Great River. Those lead- ers had a position in the com- munity that had reverence and trust, and they likely trained their offspring, or other family member or members, to be ready to take over as ‘head person’ when the time called for it. The se- lection methods likely varied from family to family and from village to village and I am sure many of our people have been informed of that process and hold that knowl- edge today, seek them out and to learn it. Today we don’t know all the specifics of the selection process, we only know the results. The process for chieftain selection changed dramati- cally with the introduction of the modern Council as it ex- ists today. There is the mili- tary Roberts Rules of Order from 1876 that we use in most official meetings. The adoption of minutes and agendas, making motions, sec- onding those motions are all now part of how we record our events in history for our descendants to find guidance on important questions. There are now election sites, mail-in ballots, tallying of ballots, recounts and so much more. It is easy to lose sight of what is at the core of the process, selecting the best, most qualified person to serve as a voice of the Wasco people in our Council cham- bers. The people usually try to agree on who is the most morally upstanding leader to represent us because I am sure we all feel that their fail- ures and transgressions reflect on all of us. The people are responsible in deciding which nominee is the most asser- tive, to ensure they have a leader who will question bad ideas in Council chambers that may have long lasting negative effects. The Wasco people must also determine which leader that has the courage to put the people’s interests before their own in- terests. A good leader will be awake before their people are, to show them what path the day will take. That leader should always be available to listen to their people and know them well. That leader should be able to talk, with an open truthful heart, with and to each of us in a way we will understand. This leader should be the best cul- tural, spiritual, academic, and morally qualified person available. The correct per- son, if they are found to be lacking in those qualities, would make their best quick effort to fulfill and live up to those standards. Our leader should be a trusted advisor and confidant, like a mother or father or legal guardian might be, to all that need that guidance. The leader chosen should be in constant contact with the Wasco people and never leave them uniformed. The right choice will make the tribe their priority. We should be proud to say their name in any surroundings and the sound of that name should fill our hearts with pride. There is a burden of leader- ship to be an effective leader. To establish standards and then meet them is a basic re- quirement of leadership. You are not a leader if you do not establish or enforce standards. Your are a leader if you meet and enforce ba- sic standards. You are a good leader: If you meet and enforce high standards. You are a great leader: If you meet and exceed high standards, and then motivate others to do the same. The right leader will not shy away from a challenge. The right leader will challenge the status quo and strive for positive change that benefits the people. Leadership can be a thankless job but the right leader will learn to live with this and welcomes that life. That person would come to understand that ‘the highest distinction is service to oth- ers’ (Max Brooks). After the choice has been made and when every day from then on ends, our new Chief will un- derstand that these leadership traits should be the bare minimum expected of our Chief and that when we are taken care of, they are always the last to rest. That is the burden of leadership. Rain Circle, U.S. Army (ret.)
