CUJ News Mission Longhouse tests negative for methamphetamine By The CUJ
MISSION – A positive meth test on the Warm Springs reservation prompted testing of the Mission Longhouse in February. The test came back negative but the fear factor that cause an outcry for the test was an eye-opener according to community members. On Jan. 31, 2018 the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs released a memo online confirming that the Agency Longhouse had tested positive for methamphetamine. Response on the Umatilla Indian Reservation was swift. Shock and disgust were evident in the posts made by residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The news resulted in a call to action from residents to test the Nixyaawii Longhouse in Mission. The Warms Springs and Umatilla Indian Reservations are closely related by members as well as the shared religion and belief of Washat; the longhouses have common congregants. On Feb. 9 the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) released a notice that the Mission Nixyaawii Longhouse was tested for meth and the results came back negative. The testing was conducted by the Housing Department and was administered using Occupational Safety and Health Administration Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Standards for the State of Oregon. Among the areas tested were the bathroom stalls, kitchen, storage areas, entrance, showers, vents, refrigerator, doors and back rooms. Housing Director Marcus Luke was immediately aware of the Warm Springs longhouse issue because of the spread of information on Facebook. He said, “I was tagged on the Warm Springs letter. We have been asked for the last few years about testing our own longhouse but there hasn’t been probable cause.”
Housing Director Marcus Luke provided a photo showing the testing tools and process. First a surface is swabbed with a solution then put in a black container which reads the toxicity levels.
He said he wanted everyone to feel safe in a place they come to congregate and pray each week. The CTUIR Board of Trustees directed Luke and his staff to test every room of the longhouse. Luke said he was both thankful and glad that every room came back negative. Housing Maintenance Manager Tanner Michael said in the CTUIR Press release, “The longhouse is very clean and I’m glad to know it’s been maintained. Now it’s meth free, no worries.” Among the Mission residents who were most vocal online about the need for testing was Abby Farrow-Stapleman. Farrow-Stapleman said of the Warm Springs memo, “It made me think about our longhouse, it’s been broken into several times. It made me think we need to test ours. We use it for so many different reasons; ceremonial, funerals, feasts and family gatherings, all at different times of the year. I was very happy that I could question if it has been tested. A negative test coming back gave me hope that it is still a respected place by all our people.”
BOT seeks opioid stats for possible litigation By the CUJ
MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Board of Trustees (BOT) approved a resolution directing staff to collect information on local opioid use for possible inclusion in a lawsuit against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of common narcotic painkillers. During their regularly scheduled Monday morning meeting Feb. 26, the BOT heard a resolution that stated “… the use and abuse of opioids has dramatically increased in the past 20 years so that drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States, with opioids responsible for two-thirds of drug overdose deaths, which has created a national epidemic…” It also references the assertion that there is currently a crisis surrounding pain pills in Indian Country. The National Congress of American Indians, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board have all adopted resolutions calling for action to address the problem. The BOT had questions for lead attorney Naomi Stacy regarding the resolution. Stacy said generally in these claims other tribes have depended on information gathered by the Center for Disease Control rather than gathering it independently. BOT member Rosenda Shippentower questioned the gravity of the current issue on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR) and remarked that she sees methamphetamine as a more serious drug issue. Chair Gary Burke asked what would be the next step if there were grounds for a lawsuit. Stacy said the first step is to gather data and then make a plan of action. The resolution was presented to Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center (YTHC) executive management team and the Health Commission, which both recommended CTUIR’s participation in the lawsuit. The BOT passed the resolution by way of motion with seven voting in favor and Shippentower voting against. The Department of Children and Family Services, YTHC and Umatilla Tribal Police Department were all named as sources for information regarding opioid use on the UIR.
Climate change grant adds 60K to DNR budget By The CUJ
MISSION – A $60,000 federal grant will help continue work to better understand current conditions of the environment and natural resources on the Umatilla Indian Reservation and how they may be changing as a result of climate change. Part of the money will assist a new Climate Adaption Planner who is being hired in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). The CTUIR through DNR received the grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Rights Protection Implementation – Climate Change Program. It is a competitive grant program for use in assessing and addressing various existing and potential climate change impacts to all natural resources within tribal communities of certain treaty tribes. Total funding available for BIA’s Northwest region is about $1.3 million. The CTUIR’s project – “Documenta-
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tion of Existing Environmental Conditions Vulnerable to Climate Change Impacts; Enhancing CTUIR Capacity to Adapt to Mitigate for Climate Change Impacts” has a goal of assessing and addressing current and potential future climate change impacts to First Foods – water, fish, big game, plants, roots and berries. According to a letter outlining the Tribes’ request for funds, the information gathered will assist the CTUIR in “better understanding and managing resources as they face new threats from altered environmental circumstances.” The money will be used for three things, according to the funding request. First, it will provide additional money for a Climate Adaption Planner that is being hired within DNR. The planner will serve as the central “clearinghouse”/ coordinator/point of contact among various programs within DNR and other departments within CTUIR itself that may be working on climate change programs, and will “strive to integrate them
in a more cohesive, accessible manner.” Funding primarily for the position’s salary is allocated, but more funds are needed to support additional functions such as more extensive coordination within the tribal organization and with external agencies and organizations (meetings, workshops, conferences, seminars, trainings). Estimated budget for enhancing the Climate Change Planner position and its functions is $10,000. In addition, the funding request sets aside $15,000 for enhanced climate change assessment and adaption planning. The CTUIR anticipates other opportunities for other DNR staff to engage with other tribes, state and federal agencies, and interested organizations on climate change assessment and adaption planning. For example, the CTUIR has expressed support for a Forest Service project that will examine how climate change will affect food-producing native shrub species of the Northwest, and in turn the agency will be seeking the active involvement
Confederated Umatilla Journal
and participation of CTUIR staff in aspects of the study and meetings addressing its results. The biggest chunk of the grant $35,000 – is earmarked to expand and increase tribal capacity to sample and monitor water resources likely to be impacted by climate change. The DNR includes the Water Resources Program that exercises tribal sovereign authority over on-reservation groundand surface-water resources. Among the program’s duties is ongoing monitoring of the resources, including obtaining information on quantity, parameters such as temperature and contaminants, and trends or changes over time. According to the letter justifying the grant, “The current sampling regime is limited by financial constraints; some testing is quite expensive and also time and labor intensive. Proper characterization of tribal water resources, to plan for effective responses to mitigate for climate change impact requires more sampling and analysis than we currently conduct.”
March 2018