Siletz news /, June 01, 2005, Page 14, Image 14

NOTICES
Delores Pigsley, Rosemary Landis, Gov. Barbara Roberts, Mary Fisher, and Jessie Davis participate in the compact-signing
ceremony that launched “the tent" and the permanent facility.
Chinook Winds, con’t from page 1
ervation as of the tribe’s Reservation Act
of 1980, the 11 acres were automatically
eligible for gaming under the Indian Gam­
ing Regulatory Act. In fact, the property
the casino sits on was part of the original
Siletz Reservation established in 1855.
Within two months after the tribe’s
plan was made public, the Lincoln City
Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon
for the tribe, which drew a large number
of community residents. There was con­
siderable support and interest in learning
more about the tribe’s plans directly from
tribal officials.
A ceremony dedicating the gaming
center site was held on Feb. 25, 1995.
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Siletz News
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After several months of intensive ne­
gotiations, a tribal/state compact for con­
ducting Class III gaming was successfully
signed off by the governor and the tribal
chairman. The compact provided for the
operation of a 10,000-square-foot tempo­
rary gaming facility for one year while the
permanent facility was under construction.
Tribal Council Member Mary A.
“Dollie” Fisher came up with the name
“Chinook Winds” for the casino. There
is symbolism in the name. The Siletz
Tribe is culturally linked to salmon, thus
the name “Chinook.” Chinook winds are
warm winds and the thought that followed
was, “The warm winds of success will
blow over our casino.” That’s how the
name came to be.
June 2005
PCL. a major construction firm based
in Bellevue, Wash., whose background
included Minneapolis’ Mall of America
and the Denver airport, was awarded the
contract to complete the temporary facil­
ity and construct the permanent facility
under a design/build contract. Keith
Henrickson and Andy McCord were in
charge of the project.
Kane and Johnson, an architectural
firm based in Minneapolis, Minn., under
the direction of Mike English and associ­
ates Peter Poulson and Stephanie Howe,
was contracted to design the 140,000-
square-foot gaming and convention facil­
ity (later enlarged to 159,000 square feet
with the addition of a mezzanine floor).
Creative Design and Engineering of
Newport. Ore., (Dietmar Goebel and Den­
nis Lowrey) was contracted to serve as
the owner’s representative to monitor the
planning and construction of the tempo­
rary and permanent centers.
In March, as required by the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act and the tribal/
state compact for Class III gaming, the
Tribal Council established a gaming com­
mission of five members with regulatory
responsibilities to ensure that all federal,
state, and tribal gaming laws and regula­
tions were complied with, including the
conducting of background investigations
and the issuing, revoking, and denying of
employee and vendor licenses.
Members were Joe Lane, Mark
Pullam, Cy Hill. Mike Fisher, and Brad
Darcy. A tribal monitor also was chosen,
Tim Viles.
Upon completion of the construction of
the temporary facility (the tent) on May 26,
1995, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held
exclusively for tribal members and staff
and a grand opening was held the follow­
ing day for the general public to attend
the first day of gaming in our “tent.”
Based on recommendations of the
Ad Hoc Gaming Committee, it was ex­
panded to include Amos Arden, Geneva
Johnson, Mike Fisher, and Lisa Norton.
A general plan for the use of gaming
revenues with percentage allocation for
various uses over a five-year period was
adopted by the Tribal Council by resolu­
tion on July 16, 1995, and sent to the
National Indian Gaming Commission
as required.
In designing Chinook Winds, careful
consideration was given to include cul­
tural aspects of the tribe. Since the Siletz
Tribe was known for its double-handled
basketry, this was a design the tribe
wanted to incorporate into the facility.
The architects were very willing to
include all tribal suggestions. They used
the basketry in the development of the
round bingo hall/showroom.
They followed through with the
double-handled design in the ceiling of
the gaming area. Also, two large Tivoli
basket-style chandeliers were selected to
represent baskets hanging above the gam­
ing floor.
Before the casino could be built, rock
from the tribe’s rock quarry was hauled
in to make the waterfall that depicts the
spawning ground of the salmon at Euchre
Creek. The casino then was built around
this cultural site.
An escalator was positioned inside
the falls to move people to the second
floor gaming and convention center.
Tribal Council members each se­
lected a name for a room by naming one
of the tribes that make up the confedera­
tion of Siletz Indians, i.e., Tututni Room,
Chetco Room. Makanotin, Shasta, etc.
Keeping our culture in mind, the porte-
cochere uses the design of our plank
house. We also used one of our basket
designs for the exterior trim.