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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2011)
r i More News from Indian Country P^ge 9 Spilydy Tymoo December 28, 2011 Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s gaming gifts add up B O IS E , Idah o (AP) - When the C oeur d ’Alene Tribe first signed a gaming com pact with the state o f Idaho in 1992, tribal leaders insisted on donating 5 per cent o f net casino gaming proceeds to education on or near their reservation — a gesture that has added up to $16.8 million in donations since 1994, including $1.5 million this year and $1.8 million last year. “The tribe originated the idea,” said David High, the now-retired deputy Idaho attorney general who for years oversaw negotiations with the state’s Indian tribes over gaming. “ They didn't have to do it.” In fact, High said, the N a tional Indian Gaming Regu latory Act forbids states from taxing or assessing any kind o f fees on the proceeds o f tribal gaming. “ Congress in tended the tribes to get the financial benefit o f Indian gaming and did not want the states trying to take a piece o f that,” he said. B ut in the case o f the Coeur d’Alenes, “The tribe has agreed to it is the thing,” High said. Later, the tribe wrote the 5 percent contribution into a tribal gaming initiative that Idaho voters strongly ap proved in 2002, prompting two other Idaho tribes, the Kootenai and Nez Perce, to add it to their compacts as well. The biggest beneficiary o f the Coeur d ’Alenes’ dona tions has been the belea gu ered Plum m er-W orley School District, which has received $3.125 million, in cluding $110,000 this year and $110,000 last year. The second-biggest beneficiary was the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School in DeSmet, which got $2.8 million. “We’ve been very grate ful for it— it’s helped us out an awful lot, helped our stu dents,” said Ju d i Sharrett, Plummer-Worley superinten dent. This year, the tribe’s con tribution to Plummer-Worley m ade up 2.4 percent o f the school district’s budget. The district is one o f the state’s poorest; it’s the only one for which the state has had to force a property tax increase after local voters repeatedly re fused to approve a bond to re place a condemned elementary school. “They’re close and a lot o f our kids go there,” said Helo Hancock, the tribe’s legislative liaison, adding, “There’s certainly a need there.” Ernie Stensgar, the longtime Coeur d’Alene tribal chairman and current vice chairman who signed the original gaming com pact with the state, said, “ I think we wanted to really give people a good look at who we were. And giving is part o f our cul ture.” T h a t’s a trad itio n that stretches far back into the Coeur d ’Alene Tribe’s history, from helping out starving and freez ing white setders in pioneer times to the cultural tradition o f hand ing out blankets, shawls, drums and bandannas at tribal events. T h e N e z P erce and tiny Kootenai tribes also have taken pride in their donations since 2002, and note that like the Coeur d’Alenes, they’ve given more than the required 5 per cent and have supported many causes, including college schol arships, social programs, wildlife restoration and local kindergar ten classes. But the success o f the Coeur d ’Alene Casino Resort Hotel, which has made the tribe the se co n d -larg e st em ployer in N o rth Id ah o , beh in d only Kootenai Medical Center, has prom pted some grumbling in recent years over who got how much o f the education money. That’s prompted the tribe to stop holding formal ceremonies an nouncing the donations for the past two years, which led to speculation that the tribe no longer was making them. “ I know in the recent years they ju st h aven ’t w anted to make a big showing about it,” The tribe now employs nearly 2 ,0 0 0 people, including 1,300 at the casino said state Rep. Bob Nonini, R- Coeur d’Alene, who chairs the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs. In August, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported that schools in the region, including Plummer- Worley, hadn't gotten contribu tions from the tribe in two years, though the same newspaper had published an article in January noting that the district had in cluded grant funds from the casino in its budget. The Idaho Lottery issued a statement say ing the tribe had met its 5 per cent requirement and had been “good stewards o f their gaming activities and generous neighbors to the communities on or near the reservation as well as to other good causes.” Said Hancock, “We challenge anybody to find another orga nization who gives more to the com m unity than the C oeur d’Alene Tribe.” He called sug gestions that the tribe wasn’t keeping its 5 percent promise “ ridiculous and offensive.” The hubbub prompted a se ries o f public records requests to the Idaho Lottery Commis sion, the agency designated to oversee tribal gam ing in the state. M ost sought a breakdown o f who got how much money from the Coeur d’Alenes’ 5 per cent donations, but the lottery doesn’t have that information. Both the tribe’s compact with the state and the 2002 initiative say the donations are handed out “ at the sole discretion o f the tribe.” The only inform ation the tribes hand over to the Lottery Commission is their audited fi nancial statement, which shows the 5 percent figure, along with other proprietary information about their gaming operations, such as, in some cases, back ground checks on employees and information about security p ro ce d u re s. T h e C o eu r d’Alene Tribe’s compact with the state exempts from pub lic disclosure information it submits to the state under the trade secrets clause o f Idaho Public Records Law. C om pacts betw een the state and the other tribes con tain similar trade-secrets con fidentiality provisions. High noted that the Coeur d ’Alenes’ donations to the comm unities around them stood them in good stead when then-Gov. Phil Batt con vened a task force in 1997 to hold hearings around the state to determine whether Idahoans still wanted to al low gambling on Indian res ervations. Despite a member ship that included a host o f gambling opponents, the task force voted narrowly in fa vor o f allowing limited res ervation casinos to continue operating. “At the hearings, we had local government people com ing in, saying how gaming had benefited their communities,” High said. “ So it was obvi ously really a wise move on their part.” In 2002, when he was a candidate for Congress, Gov. Butch O tter endorsed the tribal gaming initiative. Idaho’s once-destitute In dian tribes have thrived since they added gambling opera tions. Unemployment among Coeur d’Alene tribal mem bers before the casino was as high as 70 percent, while now there are m ore jo b s than tribal members on the reser vation. Among all residents o f the reservation, including non-Indians, unemployment has dropped by h alf from 11.3 percent in 1990 to 5.2 percent, on average, between 2005 and 2009, according to the Idaho D epartm ent o f Labor. H ancock said the tribe now em ploys nearly 2,000 people, including 1,300 at the casino; nearly 70 percent are non-Indians. N ative Am erican wom an approved for sainthood SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A N ativ e A m erican w om an is am ong seven new saints ap proved by Pope Benedict XVI. That puts the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha on track to be can onized next year. . Tekakw itha w as a N ative American baptized in 1676 in the Mohawk Valley. She fled to a m issio n in Canada after being scorned and threatened in her home village near what is now the village o f Fonda. Benedict signed decrees last week approving miracles attrib uted to the intercession o f the womon and six others, the last obstacle to their canonizations. Mich, woman brings Indian remains home from Canada MOUNT PLEA SA N T, M ich. (AP) — A M ichigan w om an attending college in C an ad a retu rn ed hom e for Christmas with the remains o f American Indian that were kept at a museum for more than 100 years. The remains, along with other item s, were then repatriated M onday by the Saginaw C h ippew a T rib e in cen tral Michigan’s Isabella County. It’s not known how the remains ended up at the M useum o f Vancouver in British Columbia, although officials say there was much “ random collecting” in the early 20th century. T h e rem ain s w ere tra n s p o r te d by E m ily B irk y o f Glenn, Mich., who is pursuing a doctorate at the University o f British Colum bia. She be lieves the rem ains w ere re m oved from a m ound near the Cass River, south o f Saginaw, around 1905. Jury dings Calif, tribe for $31 million in casino dispute PLA CER V ILLE, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California jury has returned a $30.4 million judg ment against an Indian tribe for breaking its contracts with a company that was supposed to help build and furnish slot ma ch ines fo r a casin o in E l Dorado County. The Shingle Springs Band o f Miwok tribe said it would ap peal the verdict returned late last week. The jury aw arded Chatsworth-based Sharp Image G am ing o f Chatsworth in its long-running dispute with the Miwok over the tribe’s aborted plans for a casino in the late 1990s. The tribe instead con tracted with a Minnesota com pany to build the Red Hawk casin o in P lacerville, which opened in 2008. The tribe claim ed that its contract was invalid because the slo t m achines the com pany planned to supply violated gam bling regulations that existed at the time. Long-time Navajo judge to retire C H IN L E , Ariz. (AP) _ N a v ajo N atio n D istric t C o u rt Judge Leroy S. Bedonie is retir ing at year's end. The tribe's Judicial Branch announced that B edon ie will retire D ec. 31. Bedonie has served the Navajo Nation court system since 1989 when he was confirm ed as a probationary judge. Woman Hopis lose suit over sentenced for effluent for snowmaking embezzling FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A St. Michael wom an convicted o f embezzling from the Spirit Lake Tribe has been sentenced to three years o f probation and restitution. Patricia Robertson, 53, will spend six months o f her time on home confinement. U.S. At torney Timothy Purdon says the woman who also is known as Patricia Cavanaugh was ordered to pay back the tribe nearly $5,500. Robertson was coordi nator o f a tribal program that helped people with low incomes pay their heating bills. She was among five tribal officers and employees indicted on theft and em b ezzlem en t ch arges last spring. FLAG STAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Hopi Tribe has lost a round in court in its bid to stop F lagstaff from selling treated sewage water to Ari zona Snowbowl. Coconino County Superior Court Judge Jo e Lodge ruled in favor o f the city last week. It’s not clear if the Hopis will appeal the decision. “We’re going to seriously take a look at what we have,” said Hopi Chairman Le Roy Shingoitewa. The judge said the substan tial components o f the case had already been decided in federal court, and the tribe was legally required to raise its objections earlier. “The plaintiff was clearly on notice in March 2002 that the city o f Flagstaff intended to contract with Snowbowl to purchase reclaimed wastewa ter to be u sed for snowmaking at the Snowbowl ski area,” Lodge wrote in his ruling. The ruling sidesteps some o f the new legal questions raised by the tribe, such as whether reclaimed wastewa ter can legally be used to m ake snow if the m elted snow then flows into other w ater b asin s o u tsid e o f Snowbowl, which is prohib ited by state regulations. F la g sta ff officials were pleased with the ruling. The “Let’s Talk Diversity” Coalition is in need of a logo for our: website, flyers, press releases and all other Coali tion work. We need something that represents our Motto: “BUILDING COMMUNITY STRENGTH THROUGH DIVERSITY” JuiV Com U n i t y H°pe ^ o ic ç p Delay sought in Crow triple killing trial B IL L IN G S, Mont. (AP) - The defense attorney for a man accused o f killing three family members on southeast Montana's Crow Indian Res ervation has asked a federal judge to delay a trial that was scheduled to begin this week. Public defen der D avid M erchant said the request was made because the ballistics report has not been completed on a weapon recovered from the car o f suspect Sheldon Ber nard Chase when he was ar rested in Spokane, Wash- Chase is charged with first degree murder in the deaths o f his 80-year-old grandmother, his cousin and his cousin's boy- friend. He is being held at the Yellowstone County jail. The U.S. Attorney's Office has not objected to the re quest for a continuance. Merchant says that if the court grants the request the trial likely would be delayed several months. ) ! 11 Inc! sion . _ vw Please keep the above words in mind while creating our logo. *The Let’s Talk Diversity Coalition is a community coalition which came together to promote equality and fairness in Jefferson County and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs* To enter into the contest please send your name, contact information, design and design ex planation to Erin Tofte at erint@bestcaretreatment.org or 715 SW 4th St., Suite C, Madras, OR 97741 please email or call with questions 541-325-5001 ext. 4221. Contest is Open until February 29th. Thank you for your interest! We look forward to seeing your design! J L V t »