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
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Siletz News
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