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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2004)
VICE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Economic Impact of Indian Gaming in Oregon The study to determine the economic impact of Indian gaming in the state of Oregon is well under way and expected to be completed by the end of December. The independent study, which cov ers the year 2003 for which complete data is available, was contracted to ECONorthwest, a highly reputable and credible Portland-based economic research firm. All member tribes of the Oregon Gaming Alliance contributed financially to the funding of this project. All nine gaming tribes have offi cially endorsed this important project and those that had casinos operating during 2003 provided data indispens able for this study to ECONorthwest. According to ECONorthwest, almost all data needed for the study has been col lected from all nine Oregon gaming tribes. It’s expected that the results of this study, which will be made available not only to the member tribes but also to the general public, will present statisti cally and accurately how much of an impact Indian gaming has had on Oregon’s economy. It’s important to point out that the data collected is confidential. Only ECONorthwest and the individual tribe that provides the data to the firm have access it. The compilation of the data from all nine tribes will be ana lyzed, the result of which will be ECONorthwest’s report on the impact of tribal gaming in Oregon. Economic Development at Governor’s Summit As a panelist on economic devel opment at the Governor’s Summit in Pendleton on Oct. 27,1 took the oppor tunity to comment on issues involving the fee-to-trust process for economic development. To give historical perspective to the issues involved, I stated, among other things, that “... For a long period after the Siletz Tribe was restored 27 years ago, we had just a few parcels under trust in the town of Siletz ... the 3,600-acre res ervation, which was restored to the tribe by Congress in 1980, consisted mainly of scattered mountainous parcels barely accessible, even by four-wheelers. “... Congress, in 1994, restored to reservation status several parcels in Lincoln City, which were eligible for gaming ... Those very parcels had been allotments in trust status until several years before the tribe was hit with ter mination in 1954.” Here in Oregon, the tribes have signed compacts with the state that in clude community benefit fund provi sions. The difference between that and California’s Prop 70 is that the gaming revenue of Oregon tribal casinos is not paid to the state as a corporate tax. The Siletz Tribe contributes part of its gaming revenues not to the state but to charities of the tribe’s choosing. Gaming funds allocated for this pur pose comply with one of the five cat egories specified in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In fact, those parcels as well as a vast area stretching along the Oregon coast were, at one time, part of the Siletz Tribe’s treaty reservation. I quoted former Sen. Mark Hatfield, who said: “ ... in his statement before Con gress on July 25, 1991, ‘Historically, the Siletz Tribe occupied a 1.2 million acre reservation in Western Oregon ...’” I went on to state: “... Today, the Siletz Tribe strug gles to acquire land in trust for various tribal purposes. The fact is, as the record shows, whenever we succeeded in having land put in trust status, it has been a benefit, not a detriment, to the local governments and surrounding communities.” To paraphrase my conclusion, I said that I believe it would help if the tribe’s pursuit of land in trust for economic development, housing, cultural, and other tribal purposes were seen and understood in historical perspective ... then, by facilitating the fee-to-trust process, local governments would be helping the tribe toward greater eco nomic self-sufficiency instead of imposing impediments. This would, in turn, benefit the state, local govern ments, and surrounding communities. What’s New in Indian Gaming In our neighboring states of Wash ington and California, important Indian gaming ballot measures were defeated in the recent general election. In Washington, the initiative that would have allowed restaurants, race tracks, delis, card rooms, etc., to oper ate slots in the same way Indian casinos operate gaming machines went down by 65 percent. In California, two propositions were defeated, Proposition 65 by a vote of more than 75 percent. If passed, Prop 65 would have forced tribes to give up 25 percent of their gaming revenues to Vice Chairman Jessie Davis Occupancy at Chinook Winds Casino Resort the state within 30 days of passage of the proposition or face competition from private clubs, race tracks, etc. Proposition 70, which failed by more than 70 percent, was endorsed by the California Nations Indian Gaming Asso ciation. It would have imposed on tribes corporate tax payments to the state of 8.89 percent, in exchange for which tribes would get 99-year compacts with the right to expand certain gaming activities. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger op posed both initiatives. He was opposed to Proposition 70 because he doesn’t consider the proposed corporate tax rate as “fair.” He has indicated his support for 25 percent as the state’s “fair share.” What is happening in California is extremely disturbing. Christine Grabowski stated in Indian Country Today on Nov. 5, 2004: Once again, I am happy to say that the monthly occupancy rate of our Chi nook Winds hotel has increased. For the month of September 2003, the occupancy rate was 66 percent. Since the tribe assumed ownership, the occupancy rate for September 2004 has increased to 74 percent. We greatly appreciate the hard work and great customer service of the Chi nook Winds staff, for they have a great deal to do with increased hotel occupancy. “Since Proposition 70 failed - as it may have been destined to all along - tribes are also losers since there is no retreat from the position already en dorsed and actively advanced. Tribes can then almost certainly expect that the next phase of the attack on tribal resources will be mounted. With tribal gaming effectively reduced to a state revenue stream, how soon will it be before a needy - or perhaps greedy - state government seeks to tap that resource again? “... As the ‘fair share’ language well demonstrates, tribal leaders can not afford to be complacent. They can not assume that the valuable resource that tribes currently enjoy and control by virtue of tribal sovereignty will not be jealously coveted by the majority society. Tribal leaders cannot assume that what rights and privileges their tribes enjoy will remain intact tomorrow.” Get Computer Training Today The Siletz Tribe is providing the opportunity for tribal members to take online computer classes at your own pace and in your own home. The tribe has purchased a limited number of training subscriptions to a company called MySkilSource. More than 200 different types of computer programs can be learned. In order to enroll, you must be an enrolled tribal member, have Internet access (the tribe does not provide Internet access), and you must send an e-mail to tinar@ctsi.nsn.us. You will be registered for the classes and notified about how to ac cess the program. From there, you just log on when you have time and decide which programs you would like to learn. Classes include Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and other popu lar software programs. You work at your own pace and individual mod ules allow you to return to the pro gram for a refresher. December 2004 • Siletz News • 5
