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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2006)
CHAIRMAN S REPORT About the Restoration Day Celebration Once again, Forrest Gerard gave us a lot to think about. He not only re called the devastating consequences of termination of the 1950s, he also re minded us how the Siletz Tribe retained its sovereignty and was successfully restored as a federally recognized tribe 29 years ago. He also pointed out the critical challenges that lay before us. Whether you were in attendance or not, I strongly recommend reviewing high lights of Forrest's important Restora tion Day comments starting on page 1 in this issue of Siletz News. From The Lord’s Prayer by Siletz Royalty, the delightful singing by the preschoolers to the moving perfor mance by our Siletz traditional danc ers and the rousing pow-wow, our 29,h celebration was again an event to be remembered and treasured. Finally, in regards to Restoration Day, a personal incident occurred for which I would like to take this oppor tunity to express my appreciation. For someone who has no hesitation to speak on public occasions, I was taken by surprise and made completely speechless. I was recognized and showered with gifts for my years of service to the Siletz Tribe. I need to let everyone know how happy I was for being rec ognized but deeply humbled at the same time. I only hope that during my 30 years of service, I helped contrib ute to the progress of the Siletz Tribe. ings, where tribal projects and issues are discussed. Tribal members can. at the ap propriate time on the meeting's agenda, ask questions and express their views. Even tribal members who are un able to attend these meetings can keep abreast of projects and issues. Every meeting is recorded and any tribal member can. by request, get copies of the approved Tribal Council minutes. Another way of learning what is going on is by attending the quarterly General Council meetings, which are not only recorded, but the minutes are published in Nesika Illahee, the tribe's confidential newsletter. Whether you attend the meetings or are unable to attend, the proceedings in one form or another are made available for the ben efit of all tribal members. Delores Pigs ley Another way of learning about the tribe is by using your personal com puters. which have been issued to ev Tribal Council/Tribal tribal household. Our tribal staff has Member Communications ery been doing a fine job of keeping the “We don’t know what’s going on” Siletz Tribal Web site updated. I is an often-heard complaint by some strongly urge all tribal members to make tribal members. Another one is they arc use of your computers by visiting the “kept in the dark." tribe's Web site for interesting and As hard as we Tribal Council mem valuable information about our tribe. One way that I. personally, try to bers try, we might not always succeed in keeping our members adequately keep our members informed is by my informed. On the other hand, some tribal chairman's reports that are published monthly in Siletz News. You also are members often keep themselves in the invited to call me. or any Tribal Coun dark by not taking full advantage of the cil member, on the phone to ask ques many opportunities that are available to tions or to express your views on any them to learn about Tribal Council actions. matters that are of concern to you. There are several opportunities to Finally, if you have any suggestions learn about what is going on. One way is as to how we can strengthen our commu by attending the monthly council meet nications, don't hesitate to let me know. 2007 Standing Committee Applications Due Deadline for consideration for 2007 committees is Jan. 31,2007 Any tribal member interested in serving on a committee for a two-year term must fill out the following form and return it to the address below prior to Jan. 3I, 2007, to be considered for the following committees. Please mail or fax your application to Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indi ans. Attn: Executive Secretary to Tribal Council, P.O. Box 549. Siletz, OR 97380-0549; Fax: 541-444-8325. Name: No: ------------------------ Address:______________ _________________ ____________________________ _ City Telephone: Day ( State:ZIP: ----------------- ) -------------------- ------ Evening ( )------------------------ Choose the first, second, and third choice of committees you are request ing by numbering your preference I, 2, 3 in the space provided. If you only want to request one committee, please indicate this by inserting the numbei I. Committee appointments are for a two-year term. ____ Education Committee (3) Housing Committee (3) ____ Natural Resources Committee (3) Pow-Wow Committee (no limit) ____ Health Committee (3) Budget Committee (I) Cultural Heritage Committee (3) Tribal Council will review applications and approve appointments at the Regular Tribal Council meeting in February 2007. If you have any questions, please call Tami Miner at 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1203, or 541-444-8203. NIGC - No Authority to Regulate Class III Gaming Franklin Ducheneaux, who served as the Siletz Tribe's consultant tor many years before retiring two years ago. always maintained that the Na tional Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) has no regulatory authority over Class III Indian gaming. Class III gaming includes most con ventional forms of casino gaming, such as slot machines, roulette, and black jack. The Siletz Tribal Council has al ways operated on the belief that NIGC has no jurisdiction over Class III gam ing, though that position has been dif ficult to maintain whenever a dispute with NIGC arose over this issue. Franklin knew what he was talking about. As a member of the Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs, he played a major role in writing the Indian Gam ing Regulatory Act (IGRA) - an act that defines the three classes of Indian gam ing. He consistently contended, but NIGC officials just as consistently dis puted, his claim that it was the states under tribal/state compacts that had the authority to regulate Class III gaming. He maintained that only Class II gaming, which includes bingo, non banking card games and pull tabs, lotto, and other games similar to bingo is within the regulatory authority of the NIGC. Class I games, such as traditional Indian hand games, which are played on Indian lands, are within the exclu sive jurisdiction of Indian tribes and are not subject to IGRA. It was the Colorado River Indian Tribes that contested the NIGC's “au thority to promulgate regulations estab lishing mandatory operating proce dures for certain kinds of gambling in tribal casinos." The tribe's Blue Water Resort and Casino was operating Class II and Class III gaming and was regulating its ca sino “pursuant to a tribal ordinance and rules contained in a tribal-state Class III gaming compact with the state of Arizona.' In 1999 the NIGC promulgated reg ulations that it termed Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS) governing both Class II and Class III gaming, a document containing 80 pages published in the Code of Federal Regulations. In January 2001 when the NIGC attempted to audit the tribe's Class III gaming to determine whether it was complying with the MICS. the tribe protested “on the grounds that the rules exceeded the commission's authority." The commission issued a notice of violation and fined the tribe. The tribe filed suit in federal district court, which ruled that “Congress did not intend to give such broad authority to the com mission." and therefore vacated the commission's decision and declared the regulations unlawful as applied to Class III gaming. On Sept. 8. 2006. the commission argued the decision of the U.S. District Court before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On Oct. 26. 2006. after listening to the arguments advanced by the attorneys for the commission, the Court of Ap peals found no statutory basis upon which the commission was empowered to regulate Class III gaming. As far as the Siletz Tribe is con cerned, the court decision has very little effect on our gaming operations except that NIGC cannot be as intru sive as it has been. With NIGC exercising regulatory oversight over our Class II gaming, the state having regulatory responsibilities over our Class III gaming operations in accordance with our tribal-state gam ing compact, and regulatory functions performed by the tribe's Gaming Reg ulatory Agency and Gaming Commis sion. the Siletz Tribe's gaming opera tion is more than adequately regulated. Compared with non-tribal casinos, we are highly regulated. Although NIGC no longer has the authority to regulate Class III gaming. I believe it's in the tribe’s best interest to make sure that our Class II and III gaming operations are efficiently and adequately regulated. Anti-lndian gam ing forces are still out there, dedicated to undermining Indian gaming based at least partly on the myth that Indian gaming is inadequately regulated. December 2006 • Siletz News • 3
