June 2, 2010 edition

Dave McMechan/Spilyay

Working for the Warm Springs Tribe: returning S-T Jody Calica and new COO Urbana Ross.

Tribal Council appoints S-T and new COO

By Dave McMechan

Spilyay Tymoo

The Tribal Council this week named the secretary-treasurer and the chief operations officer of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

The secretary-treasurer is Charles Jody Calica, now beginning his third three-year term as the S-T.

The chief operations officer is Urbana "Toto" Ross.

She has been working since April 2006 as the tribal land services administrator in the Government Affairs and Planning Branch.

Ross also is the treasurer of the Oregon Indian Education Association.

She formerly worked as the tribal member recruitment and development manager at Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino.

With his third appointment from Council, Secretary-Treasurer Calica is one of the longer tenured S-T’s in recent years. Before him, Charles V. Jackson served two terms as S-T. Ken Smith served several terms as the S-T, until 1995.

The offices of the tribal secretary-treasurer and the chief operations officer often work closely together.

Calica and Ross worked together previously at the Natural Resources Branch, when Calica was serving as Branch general manager, and Ross worked as his fiscal officer.

Among Ross’s qualifications for the COO position is her background in budget accounting and financial analysis, not only with Natural Resources but Public Works, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and 638 federal contracting.

The tribal branches and departments reporting to the chief operations officer include Public Safety, Utilities, Social Services, Family Services, Legal Services, Housing, Education, and Natural Resources.

Branches and departments reporting to the secretary-treasurer include the Administrative Services Center, Compensation and Benefits, Eagle-Tech Systems, Finance, Internal Audit and Compliance, Government Affairs, and Personnel.

Tribal Council on Tuesday made the official appointments of the S-T and COO, with Resolution numbers 11253 and 11254.

Youth arrested in homicide

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

Tribal police were called early Sunday Morning, May 30 to 1796-A Tao Shuh, West Hills, where one suspect was arrested and the investigation began in the shooting death of tribal member Tim Red Dog.

"It was right around 3:30 in the morning," said a shaken neighbor. "We heard the shot and I looked out my window and saw someone lying in the street, near the bumper of a car."

Police were called to what was at first described as an assault, arriving at the scene at approximately 3:47. The neighbor watched as the victim was eventually covered with a red blanket and several young men were placed in handcuffs.

Public Safety Director Jim Soules said 19 year old tribal member Timothy Red Dog was found to have been shot. "A Juvenile male has been arrested in connection with the shooting death at this time," Soules said. "The juvenile is a Native American, but is not a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs." The FBI and Warm Springs Police Department continue to investigate the case, and more arrests are anticipated.

Dave McMechan/Spilyay

Madras HS Class of 2010 

Many of the more than 50 students from the Warm Springs community who are graduating from Madras High School. Their ceremony begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 5, at the White Buffalo stadium.

See more pictures of the graduates by clicking on this link to our Facebook page. It takes everyone straight to the graduation photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15460&id=111368498884718&l=1da9a0d5d4

This is the link for Facebook members: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=111368498884718#!/album.php?aid=15460&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Shooting suspects still at large

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

Two incidents on May 20 led to the search for tribal member Waylon McKie Weaselhead, 21, as a person of interest. Authorities want to interview Weaselhead regarding two police chases, during which suspects fired at officers with what they believe was a high-powered rifle.
In the first incident, a Madras officer and a sergeant attempted to stop a Ford Explorer at 12:38 a.m., according to Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins. Before the officer could make contact with the driver, the vehicle sped away.
"The pursuit originated with the Madras Police Department," Adkins said, "and our deputy was responding from the Juniper Butte area. We were way out of position."
With two police units pursuing the Explorer, shots were fired. Madras police did not return fire, and lost sight of the vehicle. "We’re not sure if [Weaselhead] was the driver or the passenger," Adkins said, "but he was in the vehicle."
The reason why Madras police attempted to stop the vehicle is unknown. The vehicle itself was not stolen, Jim Soules said. But the license plates on the vehicle had been reported as stolen. As far as Adkins knows, there were at least two suspects inside the Explorer.
Adkins said that this was not a Sheriff’s Office Case/Pursuit. However, his office did offer their assistance later with six Jefferson County policemen helping in the manhunt.
The second stop happened in Warm Springs at approximately 7:06 a.m. After a tribal police unit activated its lights, the Explorer failed to yield and several shots were fired.
One round struck the patrol unit’s windshield. No officers were harmed.
The chase continued into Charley Canyon where the Explorer could no longer continue on rugged roads. Two suspects fled, one carrying a rifle and another carrying a bag.
While running, suspects fired shots at tribal police officers. One officer returned fire. It is not known whether the suspects were injured.
At the height of the search, there were more than 100 officers scouring the rugged terrain in and around Charley Canyon. Residents of Charley Canyon were evacuated. Agencies involved in the manhunt included WSPD, Madras, Bend, Jefferson County, Wasco County aircraft, Deschutes County, Clackamas County K9 units, and the FBI.
Officers from Warm Springs began looking for evidence on Highway 3 near Lower Dry Creek Road by early afternoon. "That was one of the areas where shots were fired," Danny Martinez said.
According to Beth Anne Steele, FBI spokesman, the FBI has jurisdiction over this case, because it occurred on the reservation and is a federal crime.
Jim Soules and Carmen Smith updated tribal council on the situation and believe that Weaselhead has traveled north to hide with family, a source says. Soules said that Weaselhead has an extensive criminal history and is well-known to WSPD.
As of Monday, there was no warrant for Waylon McKie Weaselhead listed on Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office active warrants list. However, Sheriff Adkins said that Weaselhead should be considered dangerous to the public.
Anyone with information in this case is asked to call WSPD at 541-553-1171. Information may also be submitted anonymously to: wspdtips@wstribes.org.

Veterans service brings health care to rural vets

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

Diego Rose estimates there are 200-250 veterans living on the Warm Springs reservation.
And most of them don’t realize they might be eligible for specialized health care from the Veterans Administration, he said.
"For most rural vets it’s a long way to a hospital," Rose said.
Community-based outpatient clinics were established to help fill the void because there aren’t that many Veterans Administration hospitals within reasonable distance for most who need the care.
These clinics, however, still can’t provide adequate care to some of the rural veterans.
These veterans "might need a little more assistance, a little more monitoring," Rose said. "It’s more effective if we take the health care to the patient."
This specialized offering is called home-based primary care. Rose manages and coordinates this specific veterans program provided in the region.
Medical staff, social worker and psychologist all work together with a nurse who manages each case. Other specialists consult as needed, such as a pharmacist and dietician.
"We’d like to enroll more vets from Warm Springs," he said. "Our biggest challenge is finding those veterans and getting them enrolled."
All local veterans were required to travel all the way to Portland to deliver and fill out various forms. When a difficulty would arise, such as forgetting an important fact or document, the veteran would have return home to retrieve what they needed and make yet another trip to Portland.
"And it’s why most give up trying after a while, because of the bureaucracy," Rose said. "Our goal is to make sure there’s nothing getting in the way of vet getting the services they deserve."
A representative will come to the vet to make out forms and deliver them, if necessary.
If the veteran is homebound, health-care workers can usually come to the vet. Vital signs can be measured daily using a telemedicine machine if the person’s condition requires it.
There are some misconceptions people have about the program that Rose wants to clarify. For instance, veterans receiving care from Indian Health Service can also receive care from the Veterans Administration.
And veterans are eligible no matter where they served.
"We’ll all work together to take as good a care of our veterans as we can," Rose emphasized.
When determining what kind of help a veteran might need, Rose said the health professionals involved with the program "look at the whole person––their living environment, relationship issues, safety," Rose said.
The health care professionals involved are trained to work with veterans, to deal with physical and mental war-related injuries.
And the group of health care workers can focus on patients with multiple chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, stroke-related disabilities, prosthetics.
The social worker can assist with any financial problems a veteran might also be dealing with, he said.
Too many veterans in the United States are suffering and isolated because of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are homeless, abusing drugs and alcohol, even suicidal, Rose also noted.
PTSD can drive these men and women further away from society—and the help they desperately need—because they "bunker down and stay away from others."
"More veterans are living in rural settings than before," he said. "It’s why the program is necessary."
The need to live with family members to help the veteran with day-to-day living is another reason why they are often far away from services they require.
If you’re an area veteran but not a Warm Springs tribal member, this program can also help you, he added.
Call Rose at 360-905-1730 for details.

Work starts at Wyeth site on Columbia

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

Construction began last week on the Wyeth Columbia River treaty fishing access site, located between Hood River and Cascade Locks. The $8 million in-lieu project is expected to be finished in late summer of 2011.
The Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla and Nez Perce tribes attended the Wyeth ground-breaking ceremony on May 27, hosted by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"This means that there will be more fishing sites for our Indian people," said Chief Delvis Heath.
At the ceremony, tribal and federal representatives signed the construction labor agreement with Corps of Engineers.
The new fishing site is to mitigate the loss of tribal fishing sites decades ago.
"They originally promised us 400 acres of in-lieu fishing sites, but we only got 40 acres," Chief Heath said.
"So we went back to them in 1988 to remind them of the promises that were made to our people. They put the Army Corp of Engineers in charge, and now they’re finally fulfilling their promises."
Col. Steven Miles said that he looks forward to a future of cooperation with the Columbia River tribes. "This is one step toward making sure that we can maintain a healthy relationship with the tribes," he said.
The Columbia River treaty fishing access site (CRTFAS) is an authorized project for the mitigation of lost tribal treaty fishing access resulting from construction of the Bonneville Dam.
Project elements include roadway design, a bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, marine structures—including a boat dock, a boat ramp and breakwaters—vault toilets, and campground facilities.
After signing their treaties in the 1850s, the Columbia River tribes were guaranteed their right to fish at the usual and accustomed fishing grounds along the river and its tributaries.
In 1889, Indian agent George Gordon investigated claims that the treaty tribes were being excluded from their fishing grounds. As the result of actions that followed, the tribes’ treaty-protected rights were firmly established as a matter of law.
Construction of dams on the river resulted in more loss of tribal fishing grounds.
In 1940, the Army Corps of Engineers was directed to acquire 400 acres of lands along the Columbia River and construct facilities for use by the treaty tribes.
It took almost 20 years to acquire five sites.
In 1988, the tribes suggested several sites which were already being used by tribal fishermen. The Army Corp of Engineers was provided with authority to acquire at least six additional sites adjacent to Bonneville Pool from willing sellers.
"They say they’re almost done," Chief Heath says.
"They’re coming to the end of the 400 acres… They purchased a lot of land, but I think most of it is way above, and not in the Bonneville pool. But at these sites, we don’t share with outsiders."
Chief Heath said, "These are made just for our people, as compensation for what was lost when the dams were built. They need to let people know that this is an In-Lieu Fishing Site."

Couple lose nearly everything in fire

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

Merely by chance, Lucinda Tufti decided to stay downstairs in the apartment that she shared with her boyfriend, James Moran. On May 9, at the Tenino Apartments, luck was in her favor. In the early morning hours, all chaos broke loose.
Around 5 a.m., she said, sounds of violence erupted from the vacant apartment next door.
"I woke up and I heard glass breaking," Tufti said, "and it sounded like there was somebody fighting next door, almost like they were rolling around on the floor."
Tufti went back to sleep. And the next thing she knew, someone was pounding at her door.
"I usually don’t answer my door at night when I’m upstairs," Tufti said. "I just happened to be downstairs, and I just happened to answer the door that night."
The person pounding at the door was Sadie Sam, a quiet, almost shy young woman. She was out that morning with her sisters, Julia Sam and Neda Tias.
"We were getting ready to leave the Tenino Apartments," Sadie said, "and my sister is the one that saw the smoke. First, we thought it was the Admin building. When we saw that it was one of the apartments, my sister whipped her car in and we ran over to start banging on doors."
"I didn’t believe her when she told me that there was a fire," Tufti said. "So I walked outside. I was half asleep. When I saw, I woke right up. I turned around and went running back into the house and I screamed for him––James!"
Moran said that he came running, without shoes on. "I woke up and holy [cow]! I didn’t know that was the last time I was going to be in the house. The flames were already coming around the corner."
For what seemed to be an eternity, the couple watched as firefighters battled the blaze. Up to 85 thousand gallons of water were used to extinguish the fire. "They tell me that’s more water than they have in the Olympic-sized swimming pool at Kah-Nee-Ta," Tufti said in disbelief.
When it was over, everything had been destroyed.
"It was all gone," Moran said as he laced up a pair of new boots that had been donated to him. "All we had left was what we were wearing when we ran out of the apartment. I didn’t even have my shoes on. I just now got my new boots."
"We don’t have kids," Tufti said. "But we do have pets. We lost one of them, actually. For a while we thought we lost our cat, too… but she survived. She’s pretty shaken up."
For three days, the two lived in a room at Kah-Nee-Ta, paid for by the American Red Cross. They were also given an assistance card, which they used mostly for food.
"Danny Martinez told us that Fire and Safety had a little fund set up for victims of house fires," Moran said, "so that was a big help. Every little bit helped, because everything was gone."
After their three days at Kah-Nee-Ta were up, Moran moved into his mother’s house with his girlfriend. "People have brought by donations of clothes and dishes. We have some nice dishes now with snowmen on them," Moran said with a genuine grin.
"And when we were staying at Kah-Nee-Ta, I applied for a job. I’m going to be working at the gift shop!" Tufti said.
"We’ve heard that the fire was intentionally set," Moran said. "Victims of Crime will help us out if the crime committed was person-to-person. They’re waiting for the police and fire reports so they can take action."
Another family displaced by the fire, Alex "Pacman" Williams and Ina Kaleak, have started to settle into their new apartment, just across from where the fire took place.
Moran and Tufti will need to pay May’s rent before they can move into another apartment, they said.

Terri Harber/Spilyay

Children in Head Start waiting to participate in their graduation ceremony.

See more pictures from this ceremony. Use this link to get to our Facebook page and this specific electronic photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=111368498884718#!/album.php?aid=15428&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Warm Springs Head Start graduates 64 youngsters

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

Sixty-four preschoolers graduated last week from the Warm Springs Head Start program.
It’s been years since the program held a ceremony with students in all of the classes together, and hundreds of parents and other well-wishers came to the ceremony.
The theme of the graduation was from Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go. The concept is used frequently to inspire young people as they move to different stages of their life:

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as brainy

and footsy as you.

And when things start to
happen,

don’t worry. Don’t Stew.

Just go right along.

You’ll start happening too.

Head Start Administrator Shirley Allen wanted to thank guest speakers Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham and Dallas Winishut, Eagle Thunder for providing the music, and the Lincoln Powwow Committee for the meal.
She also highlighted Pasha Smith for the elaborate balloon decorations, and teachers and parent volunteers who did the rest of the decorating.
School colors are gold and purple, but parents were allowed to choose any color for their little graduate’s commencement robes and mortarboards.
A presentation shown of the children in their classrooms is being sold for $1 each to help pay for next year’s ceremony, Allen added. Call Early Childhood Education for details, 553-3240.

NEWS UPDATE

May 21, 2010:

Suspects, person of interest still sought

Spilyay Tymoo

The investigation continues on the reservation for suspects who took aim and shot at officers in Warm Springs and Madras on Thursday.

People living in Charley Canyon have been allowed to return after being evacuated.

And reservation law enforcement, Oregon State Police and the FBI continue investigating the two incidents that occurred early that day.

The FBI has specifically noted a person of interest they would like to find: Waylin McKie Weaselhead, 21, a Native American man and Warm Springs tribal member. He is 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, with short or shaved black hair, brown eyes, and multiple tattoos on his body -- including one on his chest that reads "5150."

The number, pronounced "fifty-one, fifty," is used by law enforcement officials in California and refers to someone being held involuntarily because they are unstable and a danger to themself and others.

People with information that might help lead to apprehending suspects in this case are asked to contact Warm Springs Police at 541-553-1171 or wspdtips@wstribes.org  

See the story below for details about the shootings.

BREAKING NEWS

May 20, 2010:

Duran Bobb/Spilyay -- Emergency vehicle parked near Charley Canyon on Thursday, May 20. Law enforcement officers were searching for suspects who shot at police in Warm Springs and Madras during traffic stops.

Manhunt continues in Warm Springs

Spilyay Tymoo

A Warm Springs police officer attempted to make a traffic stop on Highway 3 at around 7 a.m. Thursday, but the occupants of the vehicle fled after shooting a rifle at the officer and are still being pursued.

Residents of Charley Canyon were evacuated by law enforcement because searchers were focusing on that part of the reservation.

It is believed the suspects are connected to a similar event that occurred in Madras just past 12:30 a.m. near the intersection of Jefferson and 6th streets. An officer there also was shot at.

Officers weren’t hurt in either location, though a bullet went through the windshield of a Warm Springs officer’s patrol car and that officer returned fire, said Jim Soules, general manager of the reservation’s public safety branch.

“At this time the two suspects remain at large,” Soules said Thursday afternoon. “A perimeter has been formed around the area, which is very rugged and full of deep ravines.”

The suspects were last seen driving a White Ford Explorer near Charley Canyon Road, a dirt road off of Highway 8. The vehicle could no longer travel through the rough terrain so the occupants started fleeing on foot.

Officers from Warm Springs, Madras, Jefferson, Wasco and Clackamas counties, the state and FBI all are involved in the ground and air search.

From May 19, 2010

Composite Products looking to expand

By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo

Warm Springs Composite Products is considering how to expand its production facilities.
The tribal enterprise is at a point where a new building is the preferred alternative, said Robert Macy Sr., Composite Products board chairman.
The idea is to build a new manufacturing plant at the Warm Springs Industrial Park, near the new Fire Management building.
The size of the structure could be between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet. A preliminary cost estimate is about $2.9 million.
The building would house most of the operations of Composite Products, with room for another business, said Duane Darnell, general manager of the enterprise. The second business may be associated with Composite Products, or a separate business, said Darnell.
Darnell, Macy and Jake Coochise, Composite Products director of global business, met with Tribal Council last week to discuss the situation.
They briefed the Council on the steady progress of Composite Products, and why the new building is necessary.
The enterprise has experienced some difficult months but weathered the bad economic times, said Macy.
Composite Products experienced only minimal employee layoffs during the height of recession, he said.
The enterprise has diversified its products over the years, which helped during the slow months, said Darnell.
In the early and mid-1990s, during the first years of the Composite Products, the enterprise offered three or four products using the patented and unique substance Tectonite.
Since that time, the number of Tectonite products has increased to almost 20, he said. Meanwhile, Composite Products has also added a secondary wood-products component, selling "squiggle" to Home Depot and other stores. Squiggle is used to install corrugated roofing.
Composite Products also is working on marketing a bullet-proofing material.
While adding diverse products, Composite Products has expanded its marketing overseas. Coochise spends most of his working time developing these markets.
The enterprise initially focused almost exclusively on the U.S. market, and then Britain.
Composite Products now sells its products to companies in other parts of Europe, the Middle East and the Asia.
Taiwan and Korea, for instance, are customers of Composite Products, said Coochise.
So far, he said, the signature project for which Composite Products has supplied fireproof doors is the Burj Khalifa, in United Arab Emirates. Known initially the Burj Dubai, the building is the tallest in the world.
That was a landmark project, Coochise said, that has helped establish Warm Springs Composite Products in the world market.
The enterprise now does about one-third of its business with overseas companies, said Coochise. "Which was good for us when the U.S. economy was weak," he said.
Composite Products employs about 50 people, with tribal members making up 80 percent of the total, said board chairman Macy.
As the operation expanded, Composite Products moved into to a building by the Forest Products Industries mill. And as growth continued, the enterprise expanded into three large, separate rooms in the building. "Now we’re running out of room," said Macy.
Composite Products already has a preliminary design of the new building, as well as an old Tribal Council resolution from a few years ago supporting the project.
The circumstances have changed since the original Council resolution, which is why Composite Products met again with Council last week.
About three years ago, the Forest Products Industries was expecting to take up more space at the mill for its biomass project, and Composite Products was expecting at that time to move to a new building.
The enterprise approached Council with the proposal, and received the resolution in support. Then the biomass plan changed, the mill didn’t need the extra space, and Composite Products continued in its present location.
The enterprise now is in need of more space due to its growth of operation.
The Council members were supportive of the idea. Councilman Scott Moses emphasized the need for jobs for tribal members. Paiute Chief Joe Moses said the plan for the new building looks like a reasonable one.
Councilman Raymond Tsumpti suggested that the way to proceed may be to put the issue to a referendum of the membership.
Composite Products started 17 years ago with great promise, he said. The enterprise has grown steadily, although at times gaming issues have tended to overshadow this success, Tsumpti said.
The tribes have to support successful enterprises, he said, because there is some financial urgency for the tribes as a whole. The plan to expand Composite Products, he said, looks good based on the past performance of the enterprise.
Composite Products was founded in 1993 by Phil Rhodda and Alan Earnest. During its first years, the enterprise was housed in the old apparel building, producing just the fireproof door components.

Terri Harber/Spilyay -- Gladys Thompson (front and center) is surrounded by family members during an event honoring her at the Agency Longhouse on May 14. She was named Elder of the Year.

On Facebook, see more photos from the dinner held in Thompson's honor and of Seniors Day:

Thompson's award:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14756&id=111368498884718&saved#!/album.php?aid=14752&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Seniors Day:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14756&id=111368498884718&saved#!/album.php?aid=14751&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Gladys Thompson named as Elder of the Year

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

Hundreds of seniors and volunteers capped off a day of activities by paying tribute to tribal elder Gladys Miller Thompson.
Thompson, who turned 95 this year, was honored at the end of Honor Seniors Day on May 14, held at the Agency Longhouse on the Warm Springs Reservation.
"It’s the presence you are honoring," said her son Roscoe Thompson.
And Thompson’s presence looms large for such a small woman. She has worked long and tirelessly to preserve tribal languages. Kiksht, also known as Wasco language, was her father’s language, and Ichishkiin, or Sahaptin, was her mother’s.
Thompson is fluent in both but has primarily focused on teaching Kiksht because there are fewer speakers left.
She is considered the last fully fluent speaker of the language and has been ensuring instructors on the reservation are teaching the language correctly.
Many of the languages once used by Oregon’s first residents have passed away along with the last elders who used them. Up until the early- and mid-20th century many Indian children were taken away from their families and forced into boarding schools. There were harsh punishments for Native children heard speaking in their primary languages, Thompson has said.
This is partly why she spent time helping to get Senate Bill 690 passed. The legislation is nearly a decade old now and has aided in Native language preservation. It allows Oregon tribes to certify their own native language teachers so the small number of people who are fluent speakers can teach without obtaining state certification.
And she and granddaughter Radine Johnson have been working together to get the difficult Kiksht language documented.
Thompson also believed in keeping another aspect of local Native American culture alive: its foods.
"She has felt strongly about preserving areas where our food was grown" and didn’t want builders and others infringing on the areas, said Eliza Brown Jim, one of the event’s organizers.
Family members from four generations were on hand for the tribute to Gladys Thompson. "Reach out to your elders—now. Today is the day," said Joanne Smith.

Duran Bobb/Spilyay

A fire completely destroyed one apartment and damaged the entire complex on Eagle Way.

Fire displaces four families

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

An early morning blaze consumed a two-bedroom apartment Sunday, May 9 on Eagle Way in the Tenino Apartments. Luckily, said Juanita Majel, public information officer for Fire and Safety, there were no injuries.
Fifteen emergency personnel from Warm Springs battled the fire for two and a half hours, with Jefferson County assisting.
"We also had to call in some of our off-duty personnel," Majel says. "It was amazing to see how quickly the public responded to the emergency. There were even some Tribal Council members that came to assist."
The fire started inside a vacant apartment around 5:30 a.m., May 9, and moved quickly.
According to Fire Chief Danny Martinez, up to 80,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the flames. "It might not look like it, but the entire complex was water-damaged," Martinez said.
Four families are without homes now, Majel says. They are currently being assisted by the Red Cross at Kah-Nee-Ta.
"We’d like to see some contributions to help these folks out," Martinez said.
Donations for the displaced families are being accepted at the Presbyterian Church in Warm Springs, through Pastor Rick.
Or please deliver donations for Alex Williams and Ina Kaleak family to 1739 Bray Ave. in West Hills. And donations for James Moran family to 6333 Sunnyside Dr.
"One of the families lost everything," Majel said. "So they need clothes, furniture, typical household items. Of course, monetary donations would also be appreciated."
Fire and Safety is investigating the cause of the blaze. If you have information, please call 541-553-1634.

Gaming expansion still in waiting mode

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

The Cascade Locks casino project is one of nearly two dozen pending tribal gaming applications involving fee-to-trust land transfers that are being temporarily delayed by the Interior Department, while the department seeks to resolve political concerns arising from California-specific gaming issues.
The delay is in effect a complete moratorium on the processing of all gaming projects involving taking land into trust, including projects for land settlements, newly recognized tribes, restored tribes, and tribes seeking projects away from their established reservations.
Interior personnel are working to resolve the matter, and hope the moratorium will abate in the next few months.
The Interior Department denies there is any moratorium, informal or otherwise, but its delay in processing extends even to routine environmental review documents for gaming projets required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The Cascade Locks casino project is being held up while its Final Environmental Impact Statement awaits publication in the Federal Register by the Interior Department.
In the first part of November last year, tribal officials began to notice that the publication of the EIS in the Federal Register was taking longer than usual.
"There is no set time that they have," tribal attorney Howie Arnett said, "but this is a process that usually takes six weeks or so…. This is taking longer than it should."
Once published in the Federal Register, there will be a 30-day period during which the public will be allowed to comment. At the end of that period, the BIA will produce a record of decision, which would address any substantive comments on the FEIS. The environmental revierw would then be complete, and the Interior Department could then move on to the final decision whether to approve the project.
"This is just the EIS," Arnett said. "It is not a final decision. It doesn’t even say what the final decision should be, it just says, ‘Here are all of the environmental effects of this project, and here’s what the tribes will do to mitigate any that are adverse.’ But we and the other tribes in our same situation haven’t been able to budge [the secretary’s office]."
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) is the chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which annually funds the entire Department of the Interior. She has expressed her opposition, in letters to Secretary Salazaar, to certain tribal gaming projects in California.
Officials from Warm Springs met with Feinstein’s staff and were informed that Feinstein isn’t concerned with the Cascade Locks casino. However, she is concerned about Indian gaming projects in the San Francisco Bay Area proposed by the Guidiville and Scotts Valley Bands of Pomo.
The Interior Department’s budget goes through Feinstein’s committee.
The Secretary of the Interior’s office will not admit that there is a de facto moratorium. Instead, they say they want to develop an overall policy on Indian gaming before approving anything for publication in the Federal Register.
But most of the work is done.
"The EIS is done," Arnett said, "and once it’s published in the Federal Register, then that clears the way for the department to make the final decision. There is no reason to just say we quit at this point. We’re just innocent by-standers in Senator Feinstein’s concerns about certain California projects."
Incorporated into the final EIS are environmental effects on alternative sites. Those include Warm Springs, along Highway 26, and tribal trust land near Hood River. At the tribes’ expense, the BIA conducted studies on traffic, air quality and water.
The EIS is a federal process. "The Interior Department is required by the NEPA statute to go through this process," Arnett said.
"The tribes are required to pay for this process, so the only fair thing is for Interior to finish the process as soon as possible."
Contrary to what many believe, the Cascade Locks Casino would not be Oregon’s first off-reservation casino.
The Grand Ronde reservation, originally established in 1855, was terminated in 1954. The tribe was partially reinstated in 1983.
In a letter to Zane Jackson (then chairman of the Warm Springs Tribal Council), the Grand Ronde chairman Mark Mercier thanked Delbert Frank and Mike Clements for their help in restoring their reservation. That letter, dated August 19, 1987, also stated, "We will keep you posted on our progress with hope that our dream will soon become a reality."
Spirit Mountain, Three Rivers, The Old Mill Casino and Lincoln City all required Congressional acts or federal laws to acquire the specific new land parcels for their casinos.
According to Cascade Locks’ website, Warm Springs’ Bridge of the Gods would be the seventh "off-reservation" resort and casino in Oregon.
"Another site that was considered before the Gorge casino referendum was the trust land in Madras," Arnett said, "but that was voted down by the membership."

(Mark Phillips, the tribes’ Washington, D.C. representative, assisted with this article.)

Fishing dispute leads to agreement

By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo

A little over a year ago, four Warm Springs tribal members were charged with the crime of unlawful fishing. At the time, they were hook-and-line fishing for spring chinook at the Columbia River on the Washington side just below the Bonneville dam.
Yakama Nation fishermen who were there that day were not cited, because the Yakama Nation had an agreement with the state of Washington recognizing the treaty right to fish at that location, subject to agreed upon regulation.
The four Warm Springs fishermen, with support from the Off-Reservation Fish and Wildlife Committee, went to Warm Springs Tribal Council and explained what had happened.
In a rare instance, the Tribal Council appointed the tribal attorneys to represent the four fishermen in their criminal cases.
This was rare because the tribal attorneys usually represent the tribes as a whole rather than individuals. The Tribal Council, though, recognized the importance of the issue at hand, namely the treaty right to fish at the location.
Tribal attorney John Ogan proved to the district attorney in Skamania County, where the case was being heard, that the fishermen would win if the case went to trial.
They would win because of the fishing rights guaranteed by the Treaty of 1855. The district attorney agreed and dropped the charges.
Tribal Council then adopted regulations for tribal fishing of spring chinook at the site below the Bonneville dam. And the tribes negotiated agreements with the states of Oregon and Washington, recognizing the tribal fishing rights at the location, which is popular with fishermen.
Warm Springs Natural Resources general manager Bobby Brunoe and attorney Ogan updated Tribal Council last week on the amenable outcome of this case.

Terri Harber/Spilyay

Emergency vehicles were parked outside the administration building after an alarm sounded in response to a computer system malfunction.

Gas leak causes alarms, evacuation

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

A system malfunction in a computer room of the Administration building caused alarms to wail and everyone there to evacuate on the afternoon of May 11.
No one was injured, according to the Fire and Safety Department.
A halon gas leak caused the alarms to go off, which is why people near the leak were complaining about a smell that might be as described as "burnt wires," said Dan Martinez, Fire and Safety chief.
"It stinks," Martinez said.
Not everyone in the building could hear the alarms that warn people to get out of because of a fire, however. The alarm sound will be boosted so people throughout the building should be able to hear it, he emphasized.
The building remained closed for the rest of the day, and reopened the next day while a contractor was working in the computer room to fix the immediate problem.
The long-term solution will be to purchase a new fire extinguishing system that uses more modern chemicals, said Don Courtney, acting chief operations officer of the tribes. Bids are coming in for the job.
Halon is no longer produced because it’s a chlorofluorocarbon. These chemicals were banned in an effort to slow depletion of the earth’s ozone layer. It’s still in use to stop fires because it’s considered an excellent compound for that purpose and a large amount of it was available before the rule took effect in the 1990s, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Recycled halon gases also are available to use in appropriate fire extinguishing systems. The U.S. government asks that the compound be donated for large-scale firefighting efforts and that people upgrade their systems.
It’s only used to protect the computer system in the Administration building, not to protect the entire building.
The last fire drill in Administration building occurred in January and everything "went smoothly," Martinez said.

From May 5, 2010 edition

Dave McMechan/Spilyay

Councilmen Ron Suppah, J.P. Patt (from right) and other members of the 25th Tribal Council greet well-wishers at the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, May 3.

To see more pictures from this event, go to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=111368498884718#!/album.php?aid=14075&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

New Warm Springs tribal council takes office

Spilyay Tymoo

The Twenty-Fifth Tribal Council took office on Monday, May 4. Hundreds of people attended the swearing-in ceremony at the administration building.
The Council named Stanley "Buck" Smith as the new chairman of the Tribal Council. Ron Suppah was named the vice-chair.
The Tribal Council decided to advertise the positions of secretary-treasurer and chief operations officer. A decision on these positions can be expected in coming weeks.
After the swearing-in, the Council worked on the May agenda: Some of the initial items are updates from the secretary-treasurer, chief operations officer, BIA superintendent, Office of the Special Trustee representative, Vital Statistics, and state and federal legislative updates.
Tribal Council agenda items later in the month include the Pelton project, Bonneville agreement, hospital expansion, Composite Products update, among other items.

Council hosts transition, economic workshop

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

Tribal Council held a two-day workshop at Kah-Nee-Ta last week to help transition the newly elected members of tribal council into office. The workshop was also an effort to further develop shared leadership addressing economic vitality for the tribes.
The two significant points focused on throughout the workshop were the critical economic decline impacting the vitality of the tribes, and the transition from the Twenty-Fourth to Twenty-Fifth tribal council.
"We have cash," secretary-treasurer Jody Calica said at the workshop, "but we have no revenue. We need to think, is there some way to take the cash and provide some revenue opportunities?"
Calica suggested focusing on several areas, including preserving the revenue stream and preserving jobs.
"We have witnessed a drastic loss of tribal revenue and jobs over the last ten years," according to written material provided at the workshop. "And it is cutting into the very fabric of our families and culture. We must make intelligent decisions about how we deploy and invest our resources. Our economic prosperity will be achieved by coming together as a community and embracing our economic stewardship responsibilities."
The tribes’ economic direction, strategies and actions are built on five policy resources: The tribal declaration of sovereignty, the People’s Plan, Ventures economic report, economic well-being proclamation, and economic vitality interviews.
"We’ve all heard about the lack of jobs," said Ken Smith. "I don’t know what the magic number is. We probably need about 800 jobs today."
"In another decade," he said, "we’re going to need another thousand. How are we going to get there? How are we going to create jobs on the reservation? The next Council is going to have to make some decisions… this is the state of your finances. I’m worried."
"We need to have some good communication going on," Councilman Buck Smith said. "We need to follow through with our priorities. We need to explain the benefits and why we need what we need. We’re at the point where it needs to happen. We need to work together."
Workshop participants were hopeful that the sessions would help to reach a shared understanding and agreement of the current economic situation and gain a strong support for the Economic Stewardship Plan.

Final rules published for Graves Act

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

The Department of the Interior published a final rule for the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in March.
The department also announced a 60-day request for comments, with the rule going into effect on May 14.
This rule requires museums and federal agencies that list Native American human remains in their collections as "unidentifiable" to consult with tribes that have historically lived in the area where the remains were exhumed.
Civil penalties are proposed for museums and learning institutions that do not follow the law.
Rather than requiring each disposition to receive individual approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the new rule would allow the disposition agreements of tribes and museums or federal agencies to be published in the Federal Register as a notice of action 30 days prior to disposition. This process is much less cumbersome, according to the National Park Service.
The rule is drawing criticism from scientists, who are saying it would severely limit scientific research on human remains. Some scientists are considering a lawsuit.
"The new law allows virtually any group to claim unaffiliated remains with essentially no proof that they are closely related," said Fred H. Smith, Anthropology Department chair at Illinois State University.
"I and my colleagues believe the new additions to the law go far beyond the spirit of compromise that defined the original NAGPRA law… it severely limits scientific research on human remains."
Roberta Kirk, NAGPRA Coordinator for Warm Springs, has a different view.
"They see them as bones and scientific objects, whereas our people see the ancestral remains as our relatives," said Kirk.
The Department of the Interior published a final rule for the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in March.
The department also announced a 60-day request for comments, with the rule going into effect on May 14.
This rule requires museums and federal agencies that list Native American human remains in their collections as "unidentifiable" to consult with tribes that have historically lived in the area where the remains were exhumed.
Civil penalties are proposed for museums and learning institutions that do not follow the law.
Rather than requiring each disposition to receive individual approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the new rule would allow the disposition agreements of tribes and museums or federal agencies to be published in the Federal Register as a notice of action 30 days prior to disposition. This process is much less cumbersome, according to the National Park Service.
The rule is drawing criticism from scientists, who are saying it would severely limit scientific research on human remains. Some scientists are considering a lawsuit.
"The new law allows virtually any group to claim unaffiliated remains with essentially no proof that they are closely related," said Fred H. Smith, Anthropology Department chair at Illinois State University.
"I and my colleagues believe the new additions to the law go far beyond the spirit of compromise that defined the original NAGPRA law… it severely limits scientific research on human remains."
Roberta Kirk, NAGPRA Coordinator for Warm Springs, has a different view.
"They see them as bones and scientific objects, whereas our people see the ancestral remains as our relatives," said Kirk.

Terri Harber/Spilyay --Neda Wesley and Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham wish Myra Johnson-Orange well at her retirement party. To see more pictures from this event, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=111368498884718#!/album.php?aid=14079&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Director leaves Culture and Heritage

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

It was a fun party—but a sad occasion for many—because Myra Johnson-Orange has decided to retire from her position as director of the tribes’ Culture and Heritage Department.
Approximately 175 people turned out for the event at the Agency Longhouse on April 25. There was a traditional salmon meal with fry bread and side dishes. And there were two cakes.
Gift-giving and tributes came from people of all ages. Myra, in turn, complimented a large number of people and offered them gifts.
There was dancing—long, round, hoop and honor—and plenty of hugging.
Johnson-Orange’s efforts to help preserve tribal culture are fondly remembered by those interested in the effort.
When someone wants to know about one of the Native languages, foods or practices of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, she’s the person to contact, said people who know her.
She enjoys sharing her knowledge, especially with children, and even more so at camp-outs, said Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham.
"And Myra made the children feel real special," Stwyer-Pinkham said.
Johnson-Orange also enjoys engaging in tribal traditions and made sure there were abundant opportunities for tribal members to learn and do things that help them recognize and celebrate their background. And she always seemed to enjoy herself and was able to spread that joy to others around her, said those who work with her and for her.
"She was there, right with us," said Adeline Miller, tribal elder and coworker in the language program, of Johnson-Orange’s enthusiasm for her work and the work of others in her department.
"Someone said, ‘This is where I should come. I’m so quiet and lonesome at home,’" Miller said of Culture and Heritage.
Arlita Rhoan noted that Johnson-Orange is the person who started offering crafts in the basement of the culture building.
"And now some people are flourishing with what they were taught," Rhoan said.
Then some of the people who learned how to do some things in the old ways spoke about how much they have gained from the experiences.
"We can all enrich ourselves and grow stronger again," said one of the participants in native dancing. "It brings up a lot of happiness."
Her knowledge of the tribe is deep and wide partly because she has held various people-oriented jobs within it since the late 1970s: Alcohol control officer, alcohol and drug counselor, bus driver for seniors on the reservation, driving tribal youth are just some of the jobs she worked at before joining Culture and Heritage as a language program coordinator.
She was named director in 1999, said Dallas Winishut, who also works in the language program.
And her supervisor, Wendell Jim, the tribes’ education manager, talked about how he was able to recruit Johnson-Orange and others like her to work for the tribe to help preserve native languages.
He cites the passage of SB690 as the important event that allowed these knowledgeable people to take on jobs that could help keep tribal culture alive through instruction. The new employees underwent fast, intensive training to teach.
The state legislation allows tribal members across Oregon to serve as native language instructors without a four-year teaching degree or certificate and gives each tribal organization local control of their native instruction criteria.
"We did have disputes, but that was healthy. It all worked out," he said of their working relationship.
"Thank you to all of the people in the education branch who got me where I am today," Johnson-Orange said.
While she expects her life will be quieter not working at Culture and Heritage she has no plans to stay "too quiet," she joked.

Honor Seniors Day is May 14

The Twentieth Annual Honor Seniors Day is next Friday, May 14 at the Agency Longhouse.
The day begins at 8 a.m. at the Longhouse, with registration beginning at 8:30.
Post of the colors and recognition of veterans follows. Then at 10 a.m. there will be a children’s powwow, sponsored by the Early Childhood Education Center.
Snacks and lunch will be served at noon. Fun and games start at 1 p.m. An evening longhouse-style salmon bake dinner with all the fixings is served at 5 p.m.

Work continues on IRMP

By Terri Harber
Spilyay Tymoo

The Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with its update of the Integrated Resource Management Plan, IRMP. Here is a sampling of the findings.
Most often cited by tribal members as a major concern was a need to beef-up law enforcement of wildlife rules on tribal land, said Jamie Hurd, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources.
"There’s a high level of poaching," she said. "About 90 percent of the pertinent comments were about that."
The tribe has had no luck during the past two years in obtaining grant money to pay for more enforcement personnel. Finding a way to budget for more expert eyes to watch the forests, waterways and other natural areas of the reservation remains a high priority, however.
While there are plans to continue seeking funding, residents are being asked to carefully observe and report any rule breaking they witness.
"We have only one officer right now," she said.
If people see others doing wrong and not abiding the rules, they are asked to contact law enforcement: fish and wildlife or tribal police.
More staff people are able to write up violators than in the recent past, but their efforts are only warnings.
Officials want documentation of the incidents. It will help with future efforts to stop poachers and others who are doing harm to the wildlife, she emphasized.
People not following the hunting and other outdoor rules affects the number of deer and elk that call the reservation home, too. A recent count found there were only 1,200 deer around the reservation. The number should be 3,000.
Other issues cited include the increased timber harvesting into habitat areas, the growing presence of hungry horses, and a growing interest in the elk and deer by a growing number of predators. The number of loose horses is on an upswing and they are eating vegetation once grazed by deer and elk exclusively, Hurd explained.
Minimizing use of roads during times when deer and elk are sensitive, specifically during the spring and fall, and following the hunting season regulations, also would help keep the habitat from further dwindling, she said.
The term "integrated" comes from including as many perspectives as is reasonably possible in the plan.
The document is revised once every five years. It is heavily overhauled once every 10 years. It focuses on the management of the tribe’s forest, range and community areas.
The last major revision was completed in 2001.
The plan highlights management, emergency, environmental, cultural, economic and other tribal needs and goals and serves as a guide for tribal leaders when they make decisions that concern land use.
The draft of the planning document will be ready for public inspection later in the year, Hurd added.
If work continues as scheduled, the final draft of the IRMP should go before the Tribal Council in June 2011.
Call 541-553-2001 for details.

Tribal police may be deputized 

By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo

A memo of understanding has been submitted for consideration to the Warm Springs Police Department by Wasco County Sheriff Rick Eiesland, which could lead to the deputization of tribal police officers in Wasco County.
"This is a positive move for the tribal police," said Jim Soules, director of Warm Springs Public Safety. "With Kah-Nee-Ta and Highway 26, many non-Indians come through or visit the reservation and require police assistance. Being deputized in Wasco County, the tribal police will have clear jurisdiction to assist non-Indians or take enforcement action when necessary."
"I have heard positive feedback," Sheriff Eiesland said, "and I think it is the wave of the future, considering the amount of deputies I have and the ability for departments to help share the work load."
In order to be deputized in Wasco County, tribal officers must be certified by the Oregon State Board on Police Safety Standards and Training. This program ensures criminal justice professionals meet basic training requirements and ongoing perishable skills. Those skills include physical, emotional, intellectual and moral fitness standards.
According to Soules, tribal officers have one year from their date of hire to obtain certification.
Since the early 1980s, tribal police have not been deputized in Wasco County. "When I was a young tribal officer in the early 1970s," Soules said, "officers on the reservation were deputized in both Jefferson and Wasco Counties."
Officials in The Dalles agree that this could be a positive move in the right direction.
Wasco County Sheriff Rick Eiesland said that this is a good thing for both agencies, considering the loss of positions over the past several years and Wasco County’s ability to handle some of the calls in South County.
"I would have our insurance carrier review the MOU," Eiesland said, "and also our district attorney and our commissioners. And if all was okay, then I would proceed."
"I had to send two detectives down there to investigate [last year]. Two hours down and two hours back. They could have handled it down there," Eiesland said.
Without the memo of understanding in place, tribal police either go ahead and take tribal action, which allows them to cite the non-Indians into tribal court on a civil action, non-criminal, or make a physical arrest and transport to the county of jurisdiction.
"If a custody arrest is made," Soules said, "there is no guarantee that the county district attorney will prosecute the case, although they generally do. The other option is to call the neighboring county sheriff’s office to respond, or the Oregon State Police."
When the memo of understanding is in place, tribal police would make the arrest on non-Indians that commit state crimes on the reservation and either cite them into state court in Wasco County or make the physical arrest and transport the offender to jail in Wasco County.
"The days of turf wars need to come to an end," Sheriff Eiesland said. "We are here to serve the public, and the best way to do that is with agencies working together."
"This is a positive step by both parties," Soules said, "and hopefully this will be a good thing for all concerned."
Sheriff Eiesland says that he looks forward to coming to the reservation to swear in tribal police officers, once the MOU is in place. Wasco County currently has mutual aid agreements with other jurisdictions in both Washington and Oregon. 

From May 19, 2010

Composite Products looking to expand

By Dave McMechan

Spilyay Tymoo

Warm Springs Composite Products is considering how to expand its production facilities.
The tribal enterprise is at a point where a new building is the preferred alternative, said Robert Macy Sr., Composite Products board chairman.
The idea is to build a new manufacturing plant at the Warm Springs Industrial Park, near the new Fire Management building.
The size of the structure could be between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet. A preliminary cost estimate is about $2.9 million.
The building would house most of the operations of Composite Products, with room for another business, said Duane Darnell, general manager of the enterprise. The second business may be associated with Composite Products, or a separate business, said Darnell.
Darnell, Macy and Jake Coochise, Composite Products director of global business, met with Tribal Council last week to discuss the situation.
They briefed the Council on the steady progress of Composite Products, and why the new building is necessary.
The enterprise has experienced some difficult months but weathered the bad economic times, said Macy.
Composite Products experienced only minimal employee layoffs during the height of recession, he said.
The enterprise has diversified its products over the years, which helped during the slow months, said Darnell.
In the early and mid-1990s, during the first years of the Composite Products, the enterprise offered three or four products using the patented and unique substance Tectonite.
Since that time, the number of Tectonite products has increased to almost 20, he said. Meanwhile, Composite Products has also added a secondary wood-products component, selling "squiggle" to Home Depot and other stores. Squiggle is used to install corrugated roofing.
Composite Products also is working on marketing a bullet-proofing material.
While adding diverse products, Composite Products has expanded its marketing overseas. Coochise spends most of his working time developing these markets.
The enterprise initially focused almost exclusively on the U.S. market, and then Britain.
Composite Products now sells its products to companies in other parts of Europe, the Middle East and the Asia.
Taiwan and Korea, for instance, are customers of Composite Products, said Coochise.
So far, he said, the signature project for which Composite Products has supplied fireproof doors is the Burj Khalifa, in United Arab Emirates. Known initially the Burj Dubai, the building is the tallest in the world.
That was a landmark project, Coochise said, that has helped establish Warm Springs Composite Products in the world market.
The enterprise now does about one-third of its business with overseas companies, said Coochise. "Which was good for us when the U.S. economy was weak," he said.
Composite Products employs about 50 people, with tribal members making up 80 percent of the total, said board chairman Macy.
As the operation expanded, Composite Products moved into to a building by the Forest Products Industries mill. And as growth continued, the enterprise expanded into three large, separate rooms in the building. "Now we’re running out of room," said Macy.
Composite Products already has a preliminary design of the new building, as well as an old Tribal Council resolution from a few years ago supporting the project.
The circumstances have changed since the original Council resolution, which is why Composite Products met again with Council last week.
About three years ago, the Forest Products Industries was expecting to take up more space at the mill for its biomass project, and Composite Products was expecting at that time to move to a new building.
The enterprise approached Council with the proposal, and received the resolution in support. Then the biomass plan changed, the mill didn’t need the extra space, and Composite Products continued in its present location.
The enterprise now is in need of more space due to its growth of operation.
The Council members were supportive of the idea. Councilman Scott Moses emphasized the need for jobs for tribal members. Paiute Chief Joe Moses said the plan for the new building looks like a reasonable one.
Councilman Raymond Tsumpti suggested that the way to proceed may be to put the issue to a referendum of the membership.
Composite Products started 17 years ago with great promise, he said. The enterprise has grown steadily, although at times gaming issues have tended to overshadow this success, Tsumpti said.
The tribes have to support successful enterprises, he said, because there is some financial urgency for the tribes as a whole. The plan to expand Composite Products, he said, looks good based on the past performance of the enterprise.
Composite Products was founded in 1993 by Phil Rhodda and Alan Earnest. During its first years, the enterprise was housed in the old apparel building, producing just the fireproof door components.

Council hosts transition, economic workshop

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

Tribal Council held a two-day workshop at Kah-Nee-Ta last week to help transition the newly elected members of tribal council into office. The workshop was also an effort to further develop shared leadership addressing economic vitality for the tribes.

The two significant points focused on throughout the workshop were the critical economic decline impacting the vitality of the tribes, and the transition from the Twenty-Fourth to Twenty-Fifth tribal council.

"We have cash," secretary-treasurer Jody Calica said at the workshop, "but we have no revenue. We need to think, is there some way to take the cash and provide some revenue opportunities?"

Calica suggested focusing on several areas, including preserving the revenue stream and preserving jobs.

"We have witnessed a drastic loss of tribal revenue and jobs over the last ten years," according to written material provided at the workshop. "And it is cutting into the very fabric of our families and culture. We must make intelligent decisions about how we deploy and invest our resources. Our economic prosperity will be achieved by coming together as a community and embracing our economic stewardship responsibilities."

The tribes’ economic direction, strategies and actions are built on five policy resources: The tribal declaration of sovereignty, the People’s Plan, Ventures economic report, economic well-being proclamation, and economic vitality interviews.

"We’ve all heard about the lack of jobs," said Ken Smith. "I don’t know what the magic number is. We probably need about 800 jobs today."

"In another decade," he said, "we’re going to need another thousand. How are we going to get there? How are we going to create jobs on the reservation? The next Council is going to have to make some decisions… this is the state of your finances. I’m worried."

"We need to have some good communication going on," Councilman Buck Smith said. "We need to follow through with our priorities. We need to explain the benefits and why we need what we need. We’re at the point where it needs to happen. We need to work together."

Workshop participants were hopeful that the sessions would help to reach a shared understanding and agreement of the current economic situation and gain a strong support for the Economic Stewardship Plan.

From April 21, 2010 edition

Duran Bobb/Spilyay

Nathan Williams and Kanim Smith of Housing pour the concrete foundation of a new home under construction at Sunnyside.

Recovery act brings housing

Federal economic recovery act money is helping build much-needed new homes on the reservation. Five homes are being built in the Sunnyside area, said Tom Strong, project manager.

Funding is in the amount of $626,000. Along with the new homes, the project has created four jobs, and opportunities for members to bid on aspects of the project, said Strong.

The Housing crew is doing the construction work and the infrastructure such as water, sewer and electrical. There will be three 4-bedroom homes, one 3-bedroom and one 5-bedroom. Construction started in late March, and the anticipated completion date is in October.

Seniors day to mark 20th anniversary

This year marks the Twentieth Anniversary for Honor Seniors Day.

The popular event happens May 14 at the Agency Longhouse in Warm Springs, with the theme being the two-decade milestone.

"They’re the ones who’ve gone before us, they teach us," Lawrence Squiemphen, of the Senior Program, said of those started Honor Seniors Day.

The event brings hundreds of visitors to the reservation. Many arrive the day before and stay at Kah-Nee-Ta.

The guests come from the Central Oregon region, and from tribes throughout the Northwest.

Guests and participants begin arriving at the Longhouse at 8 a.m. on Honor Seniors Day. Registration begins at 8:30.

Then it will be time to post colors and recognize veterans. At 10 a.m. there will be a children’s powwow, sponsored by the Early Childhood Education Center.

Snacks and lunch will be served at noon. Fun and games start at 1 p.m. An evening longhouse-style salmon bake dinner with all the fixings is served at 5 p.m.

Other tips for those who plan on attending: seating is limited and on wooden benches so bring a cushion to sit on. Also bring dancing shoes.

Contact the senior citizen program to register participants, to volunteer or to inform of any disabled attendees who might need special assistance, 541-553-3313. Fax the information to 541-553-2240, or e-mail to:

lewuxen02@yahoo.com; or  lschuster@wstribes.org.

There are several places for out-of-town visitors to stay, including Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino, 1-800-554-4786, and a variety of sites in Madras, such as the Chateau Inn and Inn at Cross Keys Station.

By Dave McMechan/Spilyay

The cultural importance of the condor can be seen in the basketry of weaver Pat Courtney Gold. These baskets were on display at the recent condor summit. To see more photographs, especially of condors, visit this location:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=111368498884718#!/album.php?aid=13428&id=111368498884718&ref=mf

Condor summit reports progress of recovery   

By Dave McMechan

Spilyay Tymoo

There are now 350 California condors. Of the total, 181 are in the wild, and 169 are in captive breeding programs at zoo facilities.

The numbers show progress from the 1980s, when fewer than 30 of the birds were alive, and all had to be taken into captivity.

There has been progress in their recovery, but the condors still face many deadly threats. Lead poisoning is a serious threat: The condors ingest lead from spent ammunition in animal carcasses, and sometimes pass the toxic metal to their chicks.

Condor advocates suggest hunters use copper bullets as an alternative. "I think our ceremonial hunters should switch to the non-lead bullets," said Fred Wallulatum.

Hunters who use the all-copper bullets say they are at least and maybe more effective than conventional bullets containing lead.

Wallulatum was among the speakers at the Pacific Northwest Condor Summit, held April 13 at the Oregon Zoo.

Topics of discussion at the summit included lead reduction, the current status of the condor recovery program, and the cultural legacy of the condors.

Culturally to Wascos the condor, or Thunderbird is sacred, said Wallulatum.

The bird, with its nearly 10-foot wingspan, is associated with storms, lightning and thunder. Journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition describe young condors being kept in Wasco villages, perhaps for protection from storms. A Wasco story says the condor is the only bird that can overcome the eagle in a contest of strength and flying.Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum is a longtime advocate of the condor recovery program, including any effort that may return the bird to the wild in Oregon.

Condors once lived in many areas of Oregon, but as non-Indian settlers arrived the birds began to disappear. The last official sighting of a condor in Oregon was in 1904.

The Condor Recovery Program began in California in the 1980s, and the first birds were released back into the wild in the 1990s. The Oregon Zoo joined the condor recovery program a few years later.

In May of 2004 the Oregon condor program saw its first milestone: the hatching of a condor chick. It was the first such event on record.

Recognizing the significance of the bird to the tribes, the zoo asked Chief Wallulatum to name the chick.

Chief Wallulatum named the young bird Kun-wak-shun. In the Kiksht language this means "Thunder and Lightening," referring to the sacred Thunderbird of the Columbia River.

At age 15 months Kun-wak-shun was released into the wild in central California. He wore a tracking device so biologists could map his movements. Kun-wak-shun holds the record for the farthest recorded flight of any released condor in California.

The recent condor summit was hosted by the Yurok Tribe and the Oregon Zoo.

Several tribal representatives were on hand for the summit, including Fred and Olivia Wallulatum of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Tiana Williams and Chris West of the Yurok; and elder Agnes Pilgrim of the Siletz.

David Moen, research associate at the Oregon Zoo, was among the speakers at the summit. Moen has visited Warm Springs on a few occasions. His research includes examining sites in Oregon where condors may have nested years ago.

Designation will help fight drug problem

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have announced the designation of the Warm Springs Reservation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

"Police Chief Carmen Smith asked for the designation because of the high amount of drug activity on and around the reservation," said Jim Soules, director of Warm Springs Public Safety.

"The request for the designation was part of an effort to form a Northwest Indian Country Drug Task Force to deal with marijuana growers, meth and other issues," said Soules

In 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act granted the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy the authority to designate any area in the U.S. as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).

The rationale was to create a mechanism for directing additional assistance to the worst drug trafficking areas in the country.

In a letter to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, dated March 30, 2010, twenty-five senators requested $239 million in funding for HIDTAs program in fiscal year 2011.

"Since 2005," the letter states, "HIDTA has dismantled or disrupted 13,830 drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, of which 8,747 were either multi-state or international in scope. In the process, HIDTA initiatives seized more than 13,144 tons of marijuana, 418 tons of cocaine, 34 tons of methamphetamine and 123 tons of heroin."

In August of last year, Warm Springs tribal police seized a crop of marijuana in Jefferson Creek canyon with an estimated street value of $5 million. In July of 2007, tribal police seized over 30,000 marijuana plants, estimated street value of $33.5 million.

HIDTA designation means that the reservation is now eligible for federal funding that will help tribal authorities to fight the growing problem of illegal drugs on the reservation.

"If we want to prevent drugs from devastating our families and our communities," Senator Merkley said, "we need to crack down on the criminals peddling them. This designation will give local and tribal law enforcement the tools to do exactly that."

Tribal law enforcement authorities from the Northwest have reported that 55 percent of gangs active on tribal lands are involved with drug trafficking on the reservation or transporting to another reservation.

Growers, who are often non-tribal members, seem to be attracted to the reservation because it provides plenty of hiding spaces and inhospitable terrain, among other reasons.

"One is the remoteness of reservations and the vast spaces," Soules said.

"Many times, Mexican Nationals choose reservations as a place where they can promote their enterprise and hide from the state and other local officials. As a rule, reservations have somewhat less law enforcement presence than outside areas. For example, the only police on the reservation are tribal. Off reservation, you have city, county and state law enforcement and all of their resources."

The senators in the letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee noted the value of the return on investment of the HIDTA designation. That is, the ratio between the value of illegal drugs, cash and other drug-related assets seized from drug traffickers and the HIDTA grant dollars expended.

In addition to the $112 billion worth of drugs removed from the marketplace, HIDTA initiatives seized $2.6 billion in cash, and $1.2 billion in other assets. During the past five years, the HIDTA program produced a remarkable ROI of $135 for each grant dollar spent on a HIDTA law enforcement and information sharing initiative.

Lane County, which was also designated a HIDTA, typically receives between $20,000 and $100,000 a year through the federal program.

In Warm Springs, "the funds will be used to enhance the resources of the Tribal Police Department in the fight against drug trafficking," Soules said. "The actual plan will be developed once we know the amount of the award. The money can be used for a variety of things such as over-time, purchase of equipment and to fund undercover types of operations."

To be eligible for HIDTA designation, area authorities must show that they have a significant drug production, manufacturing, importation or distribution.

Officials must also prove that they have law enforcement agencies that have committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problems. They must also show a need for significant increase in federal resources to respond adequately to drug-related activities.

Since the beginning of the HIDTA program, several Oregon counties have repeatedly attempted to obtain this designation

"Keeping the reservation free of drugs is important because the way of life on the reservation and the health of the people is at stake," Soules said. "Drugs rob the vitality and productivity of people as well as physical health. The people of Warm Springs are a proud people with a rich heritage and drugs need to be stopped to protect that. Illegal drugs bring violence, crime and death. Nothing good comes from drugs. The most precious resource of the reservation are the tribal members and illegal drugs and criminals would like to hurt that resource."

The reservation joins eight Oregon counties that have been approved by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as HIDTAs. They are Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Marion, Deschutes, Jackson, Lane, and Douglas Counties.

Terri Harber/Spilyay

Marchers pay tribute to early learning and literacy.

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Mini marchers salute joy of reading

By Terri Harber

Spilyay Tymoo

"Don’t forget to say ‘Read to me!’" Shirley Allen told a group of children before they started their walking tribute to reading.

Some of the children were dressed as their favorite book characters. Others held up re-creations of book covers.

They marched (though some were pushed in strollers) up and down Kot-Nam Road on Friday morning.

A crowd formed to watch the youngsters. And drivers waited patiently for the mini marchers to complete their short trek from the Early Childhood Education Center to the Agency Longhouse.

More than 150 local children ages 5 and younger commemorated the Week of the Young Child, which began locally on April 12.

This year’s focus was early learning literacy.

The week commenced with a balloon release, which also was a way to commemorate child abuse prevention month.

Staff performed a skit from the book "The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree."

Adults were invited to come to the center and read to the children during the "Pop in and Read" event.

Popcorn was served, too, hence the name.

Celebrating the Week of the Young Child "is an annual event for us," said Allen, the administrator of the tribes’ Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Staff also was honored with a breakfast of fruit, doughnuts and other morning treats the morning of the march.

The Jefferson County Library also donated more than 200 books and 100 T-shirts for the weeklong celebration.

From the April 7, 2010 edition

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Tribes elect 25th Tribal Council

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

Tribal members voted for their district representatives for tribal council on Wednesday, March 31.

Representing the Simnasho District for the Twenty-Fifth Tribal Council will be: Ron Suppah, Raymond Tsumpti, and Olney Patt Jr.

Representing the Agency District will be: Stanley "Buck" Smith, Eugene Greene Jr., and Lola Sohappy.

Representing the Seekseequa District will be: Scott Moses and Reuben Henry.

A total of 1,554 tribal members cast their ballots at the polls. There were 366 absentee ballots submitted. And 25 ballots were ruined.

"This is a record for absentee ballots," Olivia Wallulatum, director of Vital Statistics, said.

In the election three years ago, she said, there were 245 absentee ballots cast. "And the population has increased since then," said Wallulatum.

"The reason some ballots are ruined," said Louis Pitt, director of tribal Government Affairs, "is that some people mark too many names."

The Election and Counting boards finished tallying the votes Wednesday at 10:15 p.m., assisted by Vital Statistics when necessary.

"We had a lot of voters," said Arlita Rhoan, counting chairwoman. "That’s a good thing to see today."

At times, the lines stretched out onto the sidewalk at the Community Center.

"There were many young people out voting," said Rhoan.

"It’s good that they’re becoming interested in voting and learning about it," said Rhoan. "Everybody has rights, and the younger people are beginning to use their rights by voting."

Government Affairs director Pitt agreed: "If the young people on the reservation want someone closer to their own age on Tribal Council," he said, "they could do it. If you look at a breakdown [of the reservation’s population] of age, you’ll see that their vote could really count."

This time around, Rhoan said, there were very few complaints from the voters.

Certificates of results show that Ron Suppah, current Council Chairman, had 216 votes for his seat as Simnasho District representative, followed by Olney Patt, Jr. (206), and Raymond Tsumpti (164).

Close calls included Rafael Queahpama for the Simnasho District, who got 163 votes, or just one fewer than Raymond Tsumpti.

In total, 545 ballots were counted for the Simnasho District, with 10 ruined. There were 30 write-ins for the Simnasho District.

For the Agency District, Eugene "Austin" Green Jr. had 205 votes, followed by Lola Sohappy (203), and Stanley "Buck" Smith, Jr. (194).

Eighty-hundred and fifty ballots were counted for the Agency District, with 13 ruined. There were about 30 write-ins for the Agency District.

For the Seekseequa District, Scott Moses had 50 votes for his seat, followed by Reuben Henry, who had 49.

One-hundred fifty-nine ballots were counted for the Seekseequa District, with two ruined. Seekseequa had 4 write-ins.

The newly elected district representatives for the
25th Tribal Council will be sworn in on May 3, 2010.

Duran Bobb/Spilyay Tymoo

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N’Chi Wana returns tribes to Canoe Family

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

After being land-locked for more than 150 years, the canoe came home and touched land at a special dedication and naming ceremony held at Indian Park on Saturday, March 27.

Tribes from across the Northwest came to welcome Warm Springs back into the "Canoe Family" by sharing their songs, dances, stories and wisdom.

Tribal members were present from the Puyallup, Wanapum, Nisqually, Cowlitz, and Tulalip Canoe Families.

"It was heart-warming to know that people are so willing to help us get a good start back into an old, old mode of travel," Evaline Patt said.

Before the canoes came into sight at the dedication, onlookers were treated to a spectacular show. "Our young dancers were practicing our tradition of the Welcome Song and Dance," Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham said, "and two eagles started swooping across the lake. They stayed there for at least 10 minutes. It was a sight to behold!"

With 20 pullers, the Warm Springs canoe—named N’Chi Wana (Ichishkiin Sahaptin meaning "Big River")—was greeted by a horizon of people.

Merlin Moonchild and his niece, Iwalani McCloud traveled to the event from Nisqually. "We wanted to be here so that we could say we were a part of it," McCloud said. "We wanted to be witnesses to this part of history, to welcome the tribes into the Canoe Family."

"It was truly an honor to be a part of such a project with volunteers and youth of the Warm Springs Reservation," said Jefferson Greene, development director at the museum and volunteer with the canoe project. "Our young people are truly an inspiration."

The N’Chi Wanapam canoe team will continue to have practice every Saturday morning at Lake Simtustus. Practice is open to those 13 and older.

"It struck me," Garland Brunoe said at the dedication ceremonies, "how this has taken our young kids and put the traditions back into their hearts. When they first started to pull, the kids were every which way. They didn’t know each other.

"Now, after practicing every week over the last few months," Brunoe said, "they really are a team. When they raise their paddles together, it’s one movement, and you can see the effort and discipline there. If our kids can come together, no matter what tribe they are, and work as a team, then so can we."

Health care topic of Council workshop

By Dave McMechan

Spilyay Tymoo

Tribal Council met for the first time recently with the Joint Health Commission, the health care oversight commission for the reservation and the tribes.

The tribes and Indian Health Service formed the commission last year in order to resolve a lawsuit and restore cooperation.

"This is a trust building process," Tribal Council Chairman Ron Suppah said of the Council’s meeting with the commission, "because we don’t know each other very well yet."

In working with the commission, Suppah said, "We want to stay true to the Warm Springs style, which is cooperation, rather than a breakdown in the relationship."

Suppah expressed his hope that IHS would make an effort to recruit tribal members into the health care field.

The lack of recruitment and retention of tribal members, Chairman Suppah said, "is a glaring weakness."

Tribal secretary-treasurer Charles Jody Calica said the tribes and IHS need to move beyond addressing just the "priority one" or emergency health care cases.

There are health issues facing tribal members, such as the quality of drinking water, that require infrastructure work on the reservation, he said.

The wastewater treatment plant was built to last 25 years, "and it’s been 25 years," Calica said.

 The commission has existed for less than a year. Commission member Heather Crow-Martinez said the recent meeting with Council was valuable, as the commission prepares for a retreat later this month.

"We need hear specific comments from the Council members," she said, "so we know what to focus on."

Joint Health Commission members for the tribes are secretary-treasurer Calica; Crow-Martinez, who is director of Best Care Mental Health and Addiction Services; and Caroline Cruz, general manager of the tribal Human Services Branch.

Other commissioners are Dr. Leland Bud Beamer, emergency room physician at Mountain View Hospital; James Diegel, president and chief executive officer of Cascade Healthcare Community; Carol Prevost, chief executive officer of the Warm Springs IHS service unit; and Dr. Stephen "Miles" Rudd, clinical director, Warm Springs IHS service unit.

New Tribal Council members will be sworn in on May 3, 2010. How the Joint Health Commission and Council will work toward health care goals will become clearer as the relationship evolves, the parties agreed.

Many suggestions at jobs creation forum

By Duran Bobb

Spilyay Tymoo

Forty-five individuals, ages 12 to 80, took part in the Job Creation and Economic Development Forum held at Kah-Nee-Ta on March 23.

"It’s amazing to see this many people come together, from the youth to the elders," Jolene Estimo, tribal grants coordinator, said at the forum. "It shows that this is a great concern to our people today."

Each individual was asked for input and ideas on how the tribes could create more jobs and successful businesses in Warm Springs.

According to data presented at the forum, as of August of last year 31 percent of jobs in the tribal organization were held by non-tribal members, and 69 percent by tribal members.

Forty percent of jobs in the organization were held by tribal member females, and 29 percent were held by tribal member males. A total of 444 tribal members were employed within the organization, including enterprises.

Also as of last August, there were a total of 2,459 resident tribal members who were of working age.

Of that number, 2,233 resident tribal members were available for work, while 226 were not available for various reasons (higher education, military service, etc.).

Eight hundred thirty-seven resident tribal members were working.

According to the data, 1,622 resident tribal members were unemployed.

Those figures mean that 37 percent of resident tribal members have jobs, while 63 percent were unemployed.

Of that 63 percent (or 1,622 resident tribal members), 135 individuals had applied for work in the tribal organization.

In February 2009, the tribal master report showed 4,760 tribal members.

The highest concentrations for any age group were those 30 to 59 years old. They made up 1,604 tribal members, or 34 percent.

Here are some of the ideas presented

•Developing businesses along Highway 26, and constructing a mini water park at Kah-Nee-Ta

•Making improvements at existing enterprises, improving customer service, and recreation to address the alcohol and drug issues;

•Promoting agriculture on the reservation, making use of artwork, and installing toll-bridges;

•Building a truck stop, turning Kah-Nee-Ta into an Indian university, and utilizing abandoned vehicles for a you-pull salvage yard.

Youth at the forum were especially encouraged to give input.

Suggestions and ideas presented by participants will be given to Tribal Council in a special report, said Aurolyn Stwyer-Pinkham, facilitator.

Some of the suggestions made at the forum included:

Immunization is strongly encouraged

Native Americans in Oregon haven’t been hit as hard by the flu as indigenous people in other states, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services. Healthcare workers from Warm Springs have been among those who have helped keep the virus at bay.

A study of 12 states, including Oregon, showed Native Americans died from flu at a much higher rate than the general population during the 2009 H1N1 season.

Only one Native American has died from pandemic H1N1 flu in Oregon since Sept. 1, 2009: a woman who had multiple underlying health problems.

Richard Leman, M.D., epidemiologist for Oregon Public Health, credits tribes and local health departments for their work to make vaccine available to Oregon’s native populations.

On the Warm Springs Reservation, for example, tribal health staff went to the homes of people at increased risk of severe complications from flu to encourage them to get vaccinated. Through this "Knock and Talk" program, they helped many people protect themselves from the infection.

The immunization is encouraged prior to the third wave of the disease, which will likely occur some time this winter.

Flu shots are being given in Pod A at the clinic on Mondays and Fridays from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m., and Wednesdays from 1-3 p.m.

Patients older than 6 months can also be vaccinated in the Medical Clinic, and adults older than 18 can also get flu vaccines from the Pharmacy on a walk-in basis.

Protect yourself and your loved ones from this virus that has infected 47 million Americans.

Call the clinic for details, 553-1196.

Outreach clinic planned for Simnasho community

By Terri Harber

Spilyay Tymoo

Health care professionals in Warm Springs have planned an outreach event to focus on people who live in Simnasho.

For example, "we’ve had several calls from people in Simnasho having trouble getting down to fill prescriptions," said Elizabeth Johnson, community health supervisor at the tribes’ Health and Wellness Clinic.

The satellite clinic will be at the Simnasho Longhouse on May 14.

Dr. Thomas Creelman is scheduled to be there to meet residents and answer questions. He is a family practice physician at the clinic.

People who also need help with diabetes and podiatry can visit professionals. A worker from pharmacy services will help people better deal with their medications. People in emergency medical services, community health resources and community health nurses also will be on hand.

This is an effort to reach outlying tribal members who have difficulties traveling to the main campus for care and prescriptions.

Staffing levels are again on the rise, which will allow clinic personnel more flexibility.

"We’re trying to do more outreach services to make our services more accessible," Johnson added.

Once organizers determine which services were most needed, they’ll be able to better tailor future satellite events to best suit the wide spectrum of community needs.

Other satellite clinics are in the works to serve patients who have trouble obtaining help at the main building. Groups to be targeted with future outreach events still is being determined, however, she added.

A partial list of services available at the clinic: nutrition, Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, diabetes prevention and care, maternal child health care, medical social workers, and Living Well with Chronic Conditions.

They also work with other entities on the reservation: Child Protective Services, Early Childhood Education Center and the Jefferson County School District.

The clinic also is exploring a return to providing women’s health services.

Call 553-1196, ext. 4100, for details.