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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2025)
E Coosh EEWA: The way it is Letters to the editor A thank-you for Pi-Ume- Sha Parade Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the Pi-Ume-Sha Celebration last month. I got good re- sponses from guests. First, I would like to thank the sponsors who helped our Parade in hon- oring our Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath Sr.; and the payout to our win- ners, although everyone was a winner in our eyes. Thank you War m Springs Tribal Council for the Pendleton blanket to Chief Delvis, and funds for the winners. Others spon- sors we are thankful for are: The Warm Springs Com- munity Action Team, Warm Springs Power and Water Enterprises. Also: Indian Head Casino, Native Aspirations, the War m Springs Timber Company, the Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Depart- ment, Human Bean Cof- fee, State Farm (Madras branch), and everyone who supported our Huckleberry Pancake sale and our on- line raffle. We also did can and bottle collection that we do- nated ourselves (we did not interfere with those that col- lect off the road). The months we did not have fundraising the com- mittee members donated funds. We accepted dona- tion and we appreciated the help from everyone as our parade was the biggest this year since before covid. If I have missed some, please let me know as I want to make sure every- one gets acknowledgement for your help with our yearly parade. To the participants, the spectators and to the Pow- wow Committee, we want to thank you all for making this such a success, as we did find out that someone was trying to sabotage our parade. They were rude and ugly to the par- ticipants who were lining up for the parade, and our fam- ily has always treated our par- ticipants with respect as our parents took care of this pa- rade every year until their passing. So, it was very dishearten- ing for us to hear about this incident. And that makes us think about what we could do better and to organize so this will never happen in the future. As usual I will take criti- cism to help us improve our parade not only from the par- ticipants but also from the spectators and community members, as you all make this a great success each year. See you all next year ~ Ramond Baez Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo July 23, 2025 Lost phone I accidentally lost my phone in the Greeley Heights area: From my driveway at 2680 Bear Drive, to Quail Trail to Chukkar (north) to East Tenino Road (east) to High- way 26, then I drove to the Pelton dam turnoff, when I realized I left my cellular phone on the top of my vehicle as I drove out of my from driveway at Greeley Heights. Please, if you or some- one you know found an Android cellular phone on the road from my home at 2680 Bear Drive to the ar- eas mentioned, please notify me. 541-668-2798 (mes- sage), or at the Bear Drive address. I appreciate the return and accept I failed to get my phone from the top of the vehicle. Thank you. Reward of $50 to the person who found, notified and returned my phone. Thank you! Laurel Wheeler, 541- 668-2798; or 2680 Bear Drive, Greeley Heights. Art Camp The Youth Summer Art Camp is coming up Mon- day through Wednesday, July 28-30, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The camp will be at the Community center Social, hosted by Papalaxsimisha, Warm Springs Recreation and Southern Oregon Uni- versity-All My Relations program. Activities include painting, tie-dye, clay, beading, jewelry making, spin art, wood boxes, watercolor and more. Lunch is provided. The art showcase will be at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, dinner provided. Huckleberry Feast on Sunday The Huckleber r y Feast at the Agency Longhouse is set for this Sunday, July 27, eating at 12 noon. From the Longhouse food gatherers. In Memory Norman A. Nathan In Memory of his thirteenth year in Heaven 08-08-1937 ~ 07-18-2025 Thirteen years have gone by and you have been missed each of every day. You ar e remember ed with love by many but most of all by me. Tribes and neighbors must work together to care for our water Howlak Tichum ~ Robert Lynn Armstrong ~ 1970-2025 Hello all, Regretfully our Friend and Founder of the Stew- ards of Indigenous Re- sources Endowment, SIRE, Roberta Lynn Armstrong lost her 3-year battle with cancer, pass- ing on to her journey July 11, 2025 at her home in Tucson, Arizona. This was her wish to be at home. She was attended too by family and friends, and of course her constant companion Bubbles. She was born June 20, 1970 in Seattle, Washing- ton, and moved to Yelm in 1974 on her family far m and lived many years there in the house her father built, very close to the Nisqually In- dian Reservation. She attended school in Yelm and went on to at- tend the South Puget Sound Community Col- lege, earning two Engi- neering degrees and Patent Law, and worked at the Kimberly-Clark Paper Mill for several years before deciding to pursue a Juris Doctorate Degree. She started her stud- ies at Arizona State Uni- versity and eventually transfered and completed her studies to the Univer- sity of Washington, graduating June 20, 2006 on her birthday, the same day APRA (the American Indian Probate and Re- form Act) became law. She took this as a sign. During the summer of 2004 she partici- pated in the Indian Es- tate Intern Program on the Warm Springs In- dian Reser vation and fell in love with Indian Law, this becaming her life's work. She went on to estab- lish the Stewards of In- digenous Resources En- dowment (SIRE) and this became her mission to protect Indian Lands and keep them in Indian hands by providing es- tate planning services to protect families and in- dividual Indian rights. She was licensed to practice law on 22 In- dian reser vations na- tionwide. She was well known to many, as far south as the Tohono O'odem Reservation and as far east as the Fort Bertold Reser vation and the Makah Reservation in the Pacific Northwest, and of course her be- loved War m Springs Reservation, she always considered her home- base. She even had be- gun to visit the indig- enous peoples south of the border in Mexico. Well respected in all Four Directions. She is truly a great loss to all her friends and family and the fight to preserve Indian Rights. Her worked helped many families. She is survived by her three brothers Percie, Larry and Walter, and one sister Regina; and was proceeded in death by her sister Gloria. She has many many loving nieces and nephews in Seattle, Hugo, Okla- homa. and Pixley, Cali- fornia., where her mother is buried. When we visited Pixley we stayed at a motel in Wasco, Califor- nia. I am a Wasco tribal member. As she said “amazing.” It was her wish that she be buried next to her father in Hugo. I was with her the one time she got to visit her father’s g rave in Hugo. We prayed to- gether. Her father is on the Freeman Rolls of the Choctaw Nation there in Hugo. Remembrances can be made to the Ameri- can Cancer Society. Keep her loving memory in our hearts forever. In Je s u s name (NahMePiUp) - Amen. by Robert ‘Bobbie’ Brunoe for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Water—or ‘chuush,’ in one of our languages—is vital to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. Our his- toric territory is largely de- fined by watersheds, where our people have been nour- ished by its fish since time immemorial. The Deschutes River Boundary forms the eastern boundary of our reserva- tion, and we rely on it for our drinking water. In our religious practice, water is the first gift of the Creator and is consumed to unify all of our First Foods: salmon, deer and elk; root vegetables and berries. It is our sovereign duty to manage the land and watershed for their health, as well as for the health of our people. We face serious chal- lenges in the Deschutes River Basin—including prolonged drought, challenging water- quality dynamics and in- creased demand. In order to meet our and our neighbors’ current and future needs, we dedicate significant time and resources to collaboratively improving water use in the Deschutes Basin. Striking that balance is a growing challenge, yet we see signs of progress when tribal, state, federal and local gov- ernments as well as land and business owners can work together. Where collaboration is working: Hydroelectric power, fishery restoration We are 49.99-percent owners of the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project, comprising three dams in the Deschutes River Canyon. We work with Portland General Electric to improve fish mi- gration and passage. The fact that we now serve as an equal partner and voice in this project is criti- cal because we ensure re- sponsible management of our sacred water resources and fish populations. It is long-term work, and we are making progress. Our efforts with Portland General Electric include at- tracting migrating juvenile fish above the dam and mov- ing them downstream, col- lecting returning adult fish and transporting them up- stream, while also controlling Robert ‘Bobby’ Brunoe the temperature of water released into the Deschutes River to optimize conditions for fish. In 2022 we reintro- duced more than 700 chinook into the upper basin. They have been observed spawning naturally, and their offspring are now on their way to the ocean. This pro- gram has also helped to im- prove water quality by re- storing natural seasonal pat- terns and preserving cold water for when fish need it most. In 2024, 500 steelhead were released above the dams, all of whom passed downstream as juveniles, now upstream and able to spawn naturally and produce the next generation. Where collaboration is working: Managing the Deschutes Basin In 2018 we convened a water summit with the State of Oregon, which resulted in the Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative, the DBWC. This group includes: The Oregon Governor’s Office, the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture, the Or- egon Department of Envi- ronmental Quality, the Or- egon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Wa- ter Resources Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice; also, The Oregon Environ- mental Council, the Arnold Irrigation District, Central Oregon Irrigation District, Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District, Lone Pine Irrigation District, North Unit Irrigation Dis- trict, Ochoco Irrigation Dis- trict, Water for Life, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; also, Crook, Jefferson and Deschutes counties, the Cen- tral Oregon Cities Organiza- tion, the cities of Bend, LaPine, Prineville, Redmond; Yancy Lind (citizen), the Crooked River Watershed Council; also, The Deschutes River Conser vancy, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Sunriver Anglers Trout Un- limited (Deschutes Redband Chapter), Trout Unlimited (State office), Upper Deschutes Watershed Coun- cil, Coalition for the Deschutes, High Desert Food and Farm Alliance, the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, Wild River Home Owner’s Asso- ciation, Central Oregon Land Watch, Oregon Natu- ral Desert Association, Wa- ter Watch of Oregon, Port- land General Electric; also, The Avion Water Com- pany and the League of Women Voters (Deschutes County). The Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative The DBWC is a mecha- nism for stakeholders to col- laborate on critical water-al- location and management is- sues in the Deschutes Ba- sin, and to develop strate- gies to meet stream flow, ecological, agricultural and community need for water. A key part of the collaborative’s mission is to develop a plan to manage the Basin’s water in align- ment with the needs of the Basin and working with the tribe and State of Oregon co-managers of water. We are also founding members of the Deschutes River Conser vancy, the DRC. Through cooperation with local irrigators as well as local, state and federal agencies, the DRC has been successful in increasing the amount of water that flows during summer in the Middle Deschutes River downstream of Bend, and many other water projects in partnership with stake- holders in the basin. Where collaboration is needed: Forest health and water The western half of the Warm Springs Reservation is forested. It provides us with traditional foods and medicines, carbon storage, and timber and forest prod- ucts. We are proud of our forest-management plan and the balance it achieves, including helping to provide clean air and water. However, we cannot have enough clean, cold water without more tribal partici- pation in forest management beyond our reservation on our borders with the Mt. Hood, Deschutes and Willamette national forests. We are and will be working in collaboration with these forests to address forest- health concerns. They have seen increas- ingly large, catastrophic fires, accumulating dead trees that create a future fire hazard. Loss of forest canopy, par- ticularly alongside rivers, af- fects stream temperature and aquatic health. Recent scientific studies also show that snow melts faster on fire-affected slopes, meaning less water when it is needed the most in warm months. We urge Congress to cre- ate new authorities and fund- ing mechanisms for tribal co- management of federal for- ests. One local example is leg- islation that Senator Wyden and Congressman Blumen- auer introduced, to direct the Forest Service to enter into a stewardship agree- ment with Warm Springs for improved management of our sacred resources and habitat—including wa- ter—in the Mt. Hood Na- tional Forest. We can all agree that tak- ing care of our water is a pri- ority. Congress is even pay- ing attention: I recently joined a discussion with the U.S. House Committee on Natu- ral Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife & Fisher- ies about this very topic. The Warm Springs people have been here since time immemorial. We, and our neighbors, are not going any- where. We are determined to continue working together. To keep making progress, and to overcome current ob- stacles, we urge our fellow government leaders at the state and federal level to con- tinue and to grow support for collaboration throughout the Basin. Robert ‘Bobby’ Brunoe, out-going secre- tary-treasurer/CEO of the Confederated Tribes o f t h e Wa r m S p r i n g s. Note: This article first ap- peared in Oregon Busi- ness, and is reprinted here with permission.
