Siletz news /, November 01, 1998, Page 17, Image 17

enables the tribe to continue to operate as a
credible sovereign.
First, the council adopted an organic
document, a constitution, that defined the tribe’s
vision of itself. Then they conducted several
baseline surveys in the areas of health, education
and economic development that were used to
plan and shape various programs that were
responsive to the needs of the Siletz people.
Moreover, the data provided in these surveys
helped the council to identify and obtain funding
from a broad array of other federal departments
and agencies to frame and implement constructive
programs to attack the social ills borne from the
termination era.
Earlier, I mentioned the problem of
displacement of Siletz tribal members. Perhaps
we should note at this juncture that termination
had forced the geographic dispersion of the Siletz
population from the coastal areas to other
locations throughout Western Oregon. The
Restoration Act’s manner of addressing this
problem was by providing several county service
areas to reach the scattered members. This
element of distance placed additional planning
and program management challenges on the
council to establish a network of health,
education and welfare services to serve all of
the tribal members fairly.
A vignette from the health area will
demonstrate just how effectively the council
overcame the public policy obstacles that stood
in the way of constructing a health facility to serve
the members located in the Siletz area:
The Indian Health Service establishes its
facilities construction budget under a facilities
construction priority system based on several
factors such as need, population, alternate
resources, etc.
As a practical matter, the Siletz Tribe
would have been faced with a delay - well
into the next century - before a facility could
have been justified under the IHS priority
system. But rather than merely wringing its
hands and bemoaning the system, the council
set about to identify alternative sources of
federal funding - including HUD and the BIA
- that led to the construction of a “state of
the art" health clinic at Siletz which was
completed in 1991. We should also note that
the tribe contributed approximately 5% of the
cost of this facility out of its own funds.
The council wisely opened this clinic to
the broader population, beyond the tribal
members and - for the time being - became
the largest provide ofMedicare services in the
entire area. This broad demand for services,
and the third party payments which were
generated, justified an expansion of the clinic
in 1994 which doubled its original size. Once
again, it is important to note that this decision to aggressively exercise its sovereign '
expansion was fullyfunded by the third party right to engage in gaming operations.
payments which were generated through
Initially, the council pursued acquisition of
internal operations.
land in Salem under the national Indian gaming
Significantly, this clinic has brought policy s fee-to-trust concept for gaming
preventive and curative health services into purposes. While there was widespread support
a semi-isolated rural area that, at best, as for the council’s effort, the political dynamics
underserved in the past.
within Salem eventually prevailed and this
This same “can-do” spirit has been equally alternative was abandoned. The council then
evident in the tribe’s handling of funding for other moved its geographic focus to Lincoln City -
programs which currently totals about $7 million. within the exterior boundaries of the tribe’s
Housing, in particular, is a tribal program that former executive order reservation - where
is indicative of the tribe’s successful journey from public policy considerations were more favorable
its pre-restoration days. Since its establishment to the council’s gaming objective. But even here,
in 1985, the Siletz Indian Housing Authority has certain factions within Lincoln City posed
made a significant impact on meeting the housing obstacles to the council’s gaming plans.
needs of a growing and far-flung tribal
This time the council prevailed and the result
membership. Specifically, this program has:
was the grand opening of the Chinook Winds
♦developed 105 living units for tribal Casino in May of 1996. This modem, state-of-
members,
the-art entertainment facility offers a broad range
♦established a rent subsidy program for of gaming and entertainment attractions to its
members who live throughout the service area clientele - and a promise of brighter social and
and beyond, and
economic future for the Siletz tribe and its
♦implemented a comprehensive housing members.
program that has the flexibility to meet the
We should take this a little further to point
changing and special needs of the tribal out that the Chinook Winds Casino provides a
population.
broad range of employment opportunities for
In addition to bringing needed social welfare tribal members, and non-Indians as well. In fact,
services to the Siletz people, a collateral attribute between the Siletz Tribe and the Chinook Winds
of self-determination exercised bv the council Casino, a total of 899jobs have been created.
was “jobs creation, ’ with many such jobs being Of these jobs, 656 or 73%, have been filled by
filled by tribal members.
non-Indians
The council has followed the philosophy of
Among the largest employers in the entire
“growing our own,” and has assisted tribal region, the tribe and the casino are major
employees in upward mobility through academic economic assets, particularly in Lincoln City. In
pursuits and professional training. As a result, addition to the salaries they pay, the broad range
tribal members now occupy many key program of goods and services purchased by the tribe
and management positions within tribal and casino purchases make them major
government.
components of the city’s economic base.
The creation ofjobs tied to the Siletz tribe,
As the financial performance of the Casino
particularly in public service employment, has steadily improves, it is the council’s intent to
brought an infusion of economic benefits into the commit funds to support economic diversity so
economy surrounding the Siletz area. Salaries
realized from these jobs are spent on a variety
of purposes: food, shelter, clothing, durable
goods, health & medical care, recreation, etc.
Therefore, a compelling case can be made that
restoration of the Siletz tribe has brought
economic benefits not only to the Indian people
but to non-Indians as well.
While the council was gratified that its
administration of public service programs has led
to the creation of numerous jobs, it was painfully
obvious that broader economic initiatives were
needed in order to provide optimum employment
opportunities for tribal members. As a result,
the council embarked on a variety of economic
development ventures with modest success.
Eventually, the economic benefits offered by
gaming led the council to make a conscious
that tribal employment is not confined to public
service and gaming jobs alone. Moreover, the
council will utilize gaming funds to support other
sorely needed social welfare programs to
improve the quality of life of the tribal
membership.
In our exuberance over the tribe’s economic
successes, we must not overlook the tribe’s
successful efforts to restore lost cultural attributes
through a diversity of cultural enhancement
activities.
For example, at about the same time the
casino was opened, the tribe also dedicated the
Ceremonial Dance House. This refocus on
traditional social and religious dances has
sparked a further interest among the members
to learn their native language and to bring more
authenticity to the dances and costumes.
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