Leglislative Commission on
Indian Services/Nine Tribes
Spring Celebration
May 18, 2017
Oregon State Capitol
Salem, Oregon
Edelio Chavez-Gonzalez (left) says he
loves to talk about his Tribe and did
just that with those who stopped by the
Siletz display.
Eva Jurado participates in a Grand
Ronde Canoe Family dance.
Photos by Diane Rodriquez
Chinook Winds, continued from page 1
File photo
File photo
The permanent building opened in 1996
The Tent in 1995
Nelson Witt and Dietmar Goebel, archi-
tect and owner’s rep. Frank Ducheneau
and Forrest Gerard also worked as our
lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
Dee, Frank, Craig Dorsey (Tribal
attorney) and I made several trips to
Washington, D.C., to lobby to put the
land in trust. On the very last day of the
session for that year, at 2 a.m., the Senate
approved our land in trust for gaming! We
were ecstatic, but we knew we had a lot of
work ahead of us.
After several meetings with the Lin-
coln City officials, we were ready to begin
the process to establish our gaming center.
To begin with, we purchased a sprung
structure (these are used in Antarctica and
can withstand 120 mile an hour winds).
Our structure was 10,000 square feet.
It housed 250 IGT slot machines. We had
quarter and $1 machines. There was a
small dining area.
We also had 12 Blackjack tables but
to begin with, we were not able to play
regular Blackjack. A player had to ante a
quarter each hand. That money was used
to purchase various prizes – a car, boat, an
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Siletz News
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RV. At the end of the month, a drawing was
held and a lucky winner received the prize.
After a few months, according to our
compact with the State of Oregon, we
were allowed to play regular Blackjack.
Dee, Craig and I were part of the nego-
tiating team with the state to do Class
3 gaming. Brad Darcy from the Gaming
Commission negotiated with the state
police rep specific to police, security and
their rules and regulations.
PCL was selected as the firm to con-
struct our facility. Its representatives were
Keith Hendrickson, Andy McCord and
Steve Warner. We had a year to complete it.
Unfortunately, that was one of the
worse winters for weather. It had a major
effect on the construction but we were able
to move forward.
A crisis occurred in December when
our financial backers were not able to
meet their obligations. We had to pay $2
million or we would have to shut down
the operation.
We had already ordered our steel for
the framework and without the money we
would have to shut down. It would have cost
us another $1 million for start-up costs.
June 2017
Luckily, we contacted the Marshall
Group and they sent a representative, Steve
Erickson, to meet with us. Once he saw
the site and believed in our stability, he
gave us the $2 million dollars. A verbal
commitment and a handshake sealed the
deal and the paperwork followed. Many
thanks to Steve.
Members of the Tribal Gaming Com-
mission were Joe Lane, Brad Darcy, Tim
Viles, Cy Hill and Mike Fisher. Through
attrition, Shawna Gray and Allison Sim-
mons were later hired. Shawna is currently
the chairman.
Chinook Winds was built with a
Tribal concept. The waterfall depicts the
Tribe’s Euchre Creek fishing site. The
actual rock was taken from the Tribal rock
quarry. The trees were also considered
to be a part of the forest along with deer
and bear.
The chandeliers represent the Siletz
baskets that Siletz is known for. Our meet-
ing rooms are also named after Tribes
that constitute the confederation. Each
councilperson was given an opportunity
to name their Tribe for each room. Each
one was different, i.e., Tututni, Chetco, etc.
When we decided on a name, Dolly
Fisher selected it – Chinook Winds –
which are the warm winds. She also
named the Play Palace and Arcade. They
were part of the facility and later were
moved to their own building, where they
are today.
The Siletz elders were supportive of
our gaming center and they helped over-
come the opposition against us. After a
year of hard work and overcoming the
many pitfalls that occurred, we were able
to open our door!
We were sorry to see our “tent” with
its happy memories go, but we were also
glad to have our casino at last!
Many people helped make it happen
and it has benefitted the Tribe, Lincoln
City, the community and various chari-
table organizations throughout the state.
Other council people in later years, in
the ’90s like Rosemary Landis, Bud Lane,
Clifford Case, Pat Morrell, Denise Peter-
son and Mike Darcy, were also supportive.
Congratulations to everyone involved
and those whose name were not men-
tioned – we are forever grateful.