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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2025)
Spilyay Tymoo Coyote News, est. 1976 Tribes, Deschutes County remain at odds over resort By a 2-1 vote the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners in late July approved the controver- sial 2022 Fish and Wildlife Man- agement Plan for the Thornburgh Resort land-use application. Tribal officials see this as the county’s con- tinued demonstration of lack of un- derstanding of the tribes’ treaty rights as sovereign and co-manager of Deschutes Basin resources. The county decision is similar to a previous 2-1 vote earlier this year that denied the tribes the right to submit additional testimony regard- ing impacts upon its treaty-protected rights to water and fish, despite a previous Oregon Court of Appeals decision that the tribes should have input during these proceedings. August 6, 2025 - Vol. 50, No. 15 Summer - Shatm PO Box 489 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECR WSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRT STD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Adoption election set for August 27 Absentee ballots are mailed out to all eligible Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs tribal member voters, on and off the Warm Springs Reservation, for the August 27 Adoption Elec- tion. Everyone was sent a ballot because the ballot could take some time to complete: There are 198 individuals listed who have applied to become tribal members through the adoption process. The envelope has a return ad- dress of Ryder Election Services. Inside, there are two pages, double-sided with the names of applicants hoping to become tribal members. Included as well are candidate blood quantums for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; and overall Indian quan- tum. Parent name and grandpar- ent names are listed. The mailing has a secrecy sleeve and a return envelope that includes postage. To be a valid election, there is a requirement for 50-percent of eligible tribal member voters to participate in voting. Previ- ous attempts to hold a valid adoption election have failed due to not meeting the minimum turnout. The tribes last con- ducted an Adoption Election in 2016. This attempt was invalid due to lack of voter participa- tion. Tribal Council by Resolution 13,237 on July 14 set the August 27 Adoption Election, following the earlier cancellation of June election due to faulty ballots. Continues on page 2 Governor may veto Willamette Falls Trust bill Gov. Tina Kotek is considering vetoing a recent $45 million state appropriation for the Willamette Falls Trust. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is among the advocates for the appropriation. Through the trust, the idea is to buy 60 acres of property at the wa- terfall between Oregon City and West Linn. The area has great cul- tural and historical significance for several tribes, and has been a source of disagreement for many years. The trust board includes mem- bers of the Warm Springs tribes, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confeder- ated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and its ally, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, strongly oppose the trust’s request for funding for its project at Willamette Falls. D.McMechan/Spilyay A Construction crew is working on the outside area of the Warm Springs Community Action Team small business incubator project. The work started just a few weeks after WSCAT learned they are receiving a $3.8 funding appropriation from the state of Oregon. YouthLine Native a line of support and help Rosanna Jackson is the YouthLine Native program su- pervisor. She has been with the program since the Confeder- ated Tribes and Lines for Life opened the Warm Springs of- fice three years ago. As part of her work, Rosanna trains young people in how to communicate with a person who may be sui- cidal, as a suicide prevention measure. This approach, with the focus on an open commu- nication, is proven effective in the field of suicide prevention. The person who reaches out may also be experiencing some other kind of distress, perhaps not suicide thoughts, when talking with someone would help. “Talking to someone can release some of those feelings,” Ms. Jack- son says. “If we continue to carry the burden of these things that are bothering us, it will affect our daily life and how we respond to oth- ers.” Rosanna currently has five youth enrolled in her helpline train- ing program. She asks for a one- year commitment from the youth. They meet once a week, and re- ceive a compensation. The YouthLine itself is confidential and anonymous, or as YouthLine says, “We listen. We support. We keep it to ourselves.” A recent project of the program has been for the youth to create in- formation displays of the YouthLine Native service (an example above). Helpline continues on 8 Continues on page 8 Language learning possible with Education, Culture and Heritage by Gina Ricketts Coordinator SB13 Curriculum Summer culture camps, teacher training and conferences, Summer Acceleration camps and the Language Bowl are just a few of the programs Culture and Heri- tage and Education support. Other summer acceleration programs, teacher salaries and ar- chival work are also supported by Education-Culture and Heritate. What many people may not know is that these programs and more are almost entirely supported by grants that Valerie Switzler, Education general manager, and her team write. Last year alone, Culture and Heritage received over $1.6 mil- lion in grants, providing sustenance for more than 25 teachers, support personnel, and various special projects coordinators. The tribes’ contribution to these vital programs and their staff accounts for another 12-percent of its total budget. The general manager’s role en- compasses more than just grant writing. Approximately 40-percent of a general manager’s time is dedicated to grant writing and man- aging the grants, and another 20- percent to fostering and maintain- ing relationships that attract fund- ing to the programs; and lastly, 40- percent of the time to other tribal initiatives. Culture and Heritage is deeply passionate about the lasting impact of language and culture on both the youth and adults in our com- munity. This belief is supported by or- ganizations such as the National Education Association, which rec- ognizes that Native American stu- dents who study their languages of- ten demonstrate improved atten- dance and higher graduation rates. The Diné people (Navajo) have shown through their immersion programs that language learning can lead to lower suicide rates, higher college retention and gradu- ation rates, and reduced issues with gangs, violence, and domes- tic abuse. Looking ahead, school district 509-J has dropped hints that it is interested in establishing a char- ter school with a strong focus on language. The department has also successfully redirected Title VI grants, previously used for activ- ity buses and partial salary com- mitments to their intended pur- pose of providing cultural edu- cation. Culture and Heritage continu- ously generates ideas to enhance our community through language, culture, and education. Valerie at- tributes much of her success and enthusiasm to Myra Johnson, whose encouragement to pursue her degrees instilled the confidence to seek grants and cultivate cru- cial partnerships. She has established such strong relationships and partnerships that often grantees reach out to her, asking if she needs an additional $25,000 to $40,000 in funding. Ultimately, the vision for the future is a better world for the people of Warm Springs, begin- ning with Early Childhood Edu- cation and extending to the col- lege-university level. Perhaps one day, the 3-year-olds in the Lan- guage program will become lan- guage teachers themselves.
