It’s Happening at Chinook Winds ...
by Teresa Miller
A Time to Remember
Matt Kenttä
Matt Kentta Named
Facilities Director
Tribal member Matt Kentta has
accepted the position of facilities director for
Chinook Winds Casino.
Kentta is a native of Siletz, living in
Oregon all but five years of his life, which
were spent in Southeast Alaska. For the past
nine and one half years, he has worked for
the Siletz Tribe and the last five have been
with the casino as Facilities Department
manager.
According to Kentta, “Working at
Chinook Winds is a great opportunity to help
the tribe and the community, and meet a lot
of interesting people.”
Saturday afternoon of the fifth
anniversary weekend proved to be a time
for
remembering
the
successful
partnerships that helped create Chinook
Winds Casino.
Tribal Council member Jessie Davis
recalled the steps the tribe took to secure
the construction of the casino, first the tent
and then the permanent facility. With the help
of Tribal Council Chairman Delores Pigsley,
Davis presented people with Chinook Winds
canvas bags filled with fifth anniversary
goodies as a thank you from the Siletz Tribe.
Representatives from PCL, the
construction firm based in Bellevue, Wash.;
Kane and Johnson, the architectural firm
based in Minneapolis; and Creative Design
and Engineering of Newport, Ore., which
Henry Morgan wins the quilt made by
served as the owner’s representative, all
Karen Van Der Zanden.
attended the event.
A special thank you went to Amos
secretary of the Interior and long-time
Arden for his dedication in leading the
consultant to the Siletz Tribe; and Hiroto
subcommittee responsible for the
Zakoji, former general manager of the Siletz
construction of the child care center
Tribe and long-time consultant.
and arcade.
All tribal members in attendance also
Several other individuals were
received fifth anniversary T-shirts and
honored, including Stan Speaks, northwest commemorative $1 coins.
regional director of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs; Forrest Gerard, former assistant
(See photos on pages 15 and 17.)
History of Chinook Winds Casino
For the fifth anniversary celebration of
Chinook Winds Casino, several displays
were available to the public, including the
f ollowing history. We thought you might enjoy
reading this review covering the events of
the past nine years.
Chinook Winds Casino and Convention
Center, the 159,000-squa re-foot enterprise
of the Siletz Tribe in Lincoln City, is beginning
its fourth year. But it has actually been in
the gaming business for a total of five years,
including “The Tent."
The Siletz Tribe began exploring
gaming as a source of revenue in 1991.
During that year, a six-member Ad-Hoc
Gaming Committee was appointed and with
an investment of $25,000 of timber revenues
and a BIA grant of $15,000, the Tribal Council
strategically planned and began lobbying
efforts to the Oregon congressional
delegation.
Members of the Gaming Committee
were Jessie Davis, chairman; Delores
Pigsley (tribal chairman); Nelson Witt, CEO;
and Craig Dorsay, tribal attorney.
Subsequently two Council members were
added to the committee and over a period
of time, Frank Simmons, Jane John, Lillie
Butler, and Phil Rilatos served as committee
members during their tenure on
Tribal Council.
Forrest Gerard, former assistant
secretary of the Interior, was contracted to
advise the tribe on political strategies, and
L.ou Gallegos, who had formerly served as
assistant to Secretary of the Interior Manual
Lujan, also was hired as a consultant. In
addition, public relations firms were hired to
deal with the political issues the tribe would
face in establishing a gaming center
outside Siletz.
Since the tribe did not have trust land
suitable for gaming, it was necessary to
acquire fee land in trust for this purpose.
From a list of nine potential sites, a 16-acre
parcel in North Salem was selected.
Requested by resolution to take the
parcel into trust for gaming, the agency
superintendent notified city, county and state
governments of the proposed acquisition
and solicited their comments. The tribe’s
request was followed by a fully documented
fee-to-trust application on June 22, 1992,
which addressed every issue raised by the
local governments. It was considered by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs to be one of the
most comprehensive fee-to-trust packages
ever submitted.
Gov. Barbara Roberts, however,
issued a statement two months before the
tribe had even submitted its application, not
only opposing the Siletz proposal, but any
off-reservation acquisition of ¡and for gaming
by any tribe.
Nonetheless, the superintendent and,
in turn, the Bureau of Indian Affairs area
director, recommended secretarial approval.
After his review, Secretary Lujan notified
Gov. Roberts on Nov. 6,1992, that the tribe’s
fee-to-trust was “in the best interest of the
tribe and not detrimental to the surrounding
community.” He asked the governor to
concur with his determination.
On Nov. 20, the governor issued her
statement of non-concurrence, claiming “a
casino in Salem would erode the social and
(Continued on page 24)
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