Oregon Public Broadcasting

About a dozen members of the Warm Springs tribe visited the campus of Oregon State University Monday.

The tribal leaders traveled over the mountains in order to reinforce the long ties between their government and the college.

Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

The connection runs surprisingly deep – in fact, in the special collections library, Warm Springs tribal member Ron Suppah looked up at an archival photo and gazed into of familiar set of eyes.

It was a picture of him as a young boy.

And as he looked wistfully at the photo, a librarian made him an offer.

Ron Suppah: “Do you want a copy of this picture? Yes, I do.”

Pictures weren’t the only things being exchanged here.

Ron Suppah is now the chairman of the tribe, and in front of an audience, he handed the school a treaty blanket.

At times, it felt like a formal treaty ceremony.

Ron Suppah: "I have two treaties to honor and respect. The first treaty is with our creator. The second one is the written one we have with the federal government."

At other times, it felt like a field trip, with staff explaining how the tribe could use the library and other resources.

One of the tribal members expressed outright jealousy at the wireless Internet on OSU's campus. He pointed out many people on the reservation still connect using dial-up.

The connection between the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Oregon State University is now more than 50 years old.

Ron Suppah: “Where this journey began was when the federal government built The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River. Celilo Falls was a major fishing area, and when they closed the gates on The Dalles, we lost that fishing site, and the tribes demanded compensation for that.”

The Warm Springs tribes took more than a million-dollars and commissioned OSU to conduct a study of tribal resources.

Ron Suppah: “The Oregon State study set the course for us as a tribal government.”

Other tribes divvied up the money they received for Celillo  and gave it to members, says Warm Springs chief executive Jody Calica.

Jody Calica: “Our people said we need to look forward into the future. The settlement shouldn’t just be, ‘pay em off and that’ll be it.’ Part of the plan was talking about timber harvest, led to our buying what is now Warm Springs Forest Products, buying back what is now Kah-Nee-Ta resort, and a number of other opportunities.”

The study was so key, it was treated as a comprehensive plan, a legal framework, and almost like a constitution.

Ed Ray is the president of Oregon State University.

Ed Ray: “I’m very proud that, historically, Oregon State University played such a critical role as the Warm Springs tribal council was trying to define a path to the future.”

But many tribal officials point out, that in some places, the shared history runs skin deep.

There is only one tribal member currently attending the school in Corvallis.

The study certainly didn’t solve the tribe’s economic problems – the unemployment rate on the reservation is above 60 percent.

Again, OSU President Ed Ray.

Ed Ray: “We’ve done a lot better job talking in recent years, perhaps about our partnership, and maybe haven’t done as much action as we could’ve. It’s great to talk and commune but, it is about actions, and jobs, and economic opportunities going forward.”

An agreement between the school and the tribe is renewed every year. It just never gets the attention it did this day.

Future benchmarks, such as job creation or better Internet connectivity, may end up as the ways to judge whether the renewed pact is working in the future.