FEE-TO-TRUST APPLICATION SUBMITTED; GOVERNOR
ISSUES POSITION ON OFF-RESERVATION GAMING
The Tribe's request to have the property taken into
trust by the Secretary was followed by a fully documented
fee-to-trust application on June 22, 1992 which addressed
every issue raised by the community. The application was
considered by the BIA to be one of the most comprehensive
ever submitted.
Governor Roberts had issued a statement two
months earlier, before the Tribe had even submitted its
application, not only opposing the Siletz proposal involving
the Salem site, but any off-reservation acquisition of land
for gaming by any tribe.
BUREAU RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE FEE-TO-
TRUST APPLICATION; SECRETARY ISSUES HIS TWO
PART DETERMINATION
Despite Governor Roberts' position against off-
reservation acquisition of land for gaming, the
Superintendent and the Area Director, in turn,
recommended that the Secretary approve the Tribe's
application based on the strength of the Tribe’s
submission.
On November 6, 1992, Secretary Lujan made his
decision to support the Tribe's proposal and found that the
Tribe's fee-to-trust was "in the best interest of the Tribe and
not detrimental to the surrounding community." Lujan
then sent this decision to Governor Roberts, as required by
the Gaming Act, for her views.
GOVERNOR ISSUES STATEMENT OF NONCONCURRENCE
On November 20th, the Governor issued a statement
of nonconcurrence, claiming "a casino in Salem would
erode the social and moral fabric of the com m unity and the
quality of life would decline", she ignored the fact that
gambling abounds in the city of Salem; that the Governor
herself approved video poker in 1992, which by the end of
the year had been installed in thousands of bars and clubs
across the state.
Tribal officials and Franklin Ducheneaux (who
continued to serve as our Washington consultant after the
retirement of Gerard), were in frequent contact with the
Secretary regarding our application. We were repeatedly
assured by many federal officials, including the Secretary,
that the Governor's nonconcurrence did not constitute a
veto and the application would therefore be approved. The
Secretary's position was bolstered by the opinion of the
departmental Solicitor who consistently maintflined that it
was unconstitutional for the Governor to veto executive
decision.
SECRETARY LUJAN DISAGREES WITH GOVERNOR BUT
DISAPPROVES TRIBE'S APPLICATION
In a letter dated December 21, 1992, in a sudden
reversal of his long-held position, the Secretary informed
the Tribe that although "we do not necessarily agree the
Governor's assessment is accurate...the Solicitor has
advised that the fee-to-trust application could not be
approved without the Governor's concurrence." The
Secretary had suddenly changed his legal opinion support
of the Tribe, because of political pressure from the states.
TRIBAL COUNCIL DECIDES TO SUE THE U.S. BASED ON
APPOINTMENTS CLAUSE OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
After much deliberation, the Tribal Council
unanimously decided to fight the Secretary's denial
decision in court, contending that the Governor’s veto of
the Secretary's decision was a violation of the
Appointment's Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The suit
was filed in the U.S. District Court in Portland on
December 22, 1992.
January 1995
The year 1993 began and ended with the Tribe in
litigation over this issue.
While the case was pending, however, it was
necessary to purchase the Salem property to prevent it
from being lost to a tax foreclosure. Loss of the property
would have ended the Tribe's lawsuit, and the Tribe would
have had to start all over again with a new piece of
property. There were also legal costs involved which First
Astri had assured the Tribe it would pay, "to the Supreme
Court if necessary." Since First Astri was unable or
unwilling to provide the necessary funds to pay the taxes,
the Tribal Council voted unanimously to pay the taxes from
timber revenue. Our case would have been moot if the
Tribe did not have the Salem property as the subject of the
suit. Rationale allowed that the property was a good
investment, independent of gaming possibilities.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS STUDIED FOR
NORTH SALEM PROPERTY
Since the property could not be used for gaming
under IGRA, the Ad Hoc Gaming Commission began
considering various other options. Based on economic
surveys, it was decided that an RV/business park was the
most economically viable option available. A Corvallis
based firm, the Research Group, was therefore contracted
to begin conducting detailed studies and laying preliminary
plans for an RV park.
MAJOR EFFORT LAUNCHED TO LOCATE ALTERNATIVE
GAMING SITE
Meanwhile, the Ad Hoc Gaming Commission quietly
launched a concentrated effort to locate an alternative
gaming site, this time, in Lincoln County. We proceeded
despite Governor Roberts' explicit warning that she would
not approve any acquisition of off-reservation land for
gaming by any tribe. We thought we were limited to
already existing reservation land in the City of Siletz.
GOFKRJVDR S ERROR HELPS GRAND RONDE GET
RESERVATION LAND FOR GAMING
Our attorney discovered that the Governor had
negotiated a Compact with the Grand Ronde Tribe on
property which the Tribe was using as its forestry
headquarters. The Governor executed the compact
erroneously believing that the property was reservation
land eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act of 1988. It was not.
In view of the Governor's publicly stated opposition
to the acquisition of any off-reservation land for gaming by
any tribe for gaming, it became necessary for the Governor
to actively push for congressional action to make the
property eligible for gaming. She personally lobbied
Congress to have the property converted to pre-1988
reservation land.
The Siletz Tribe saw an opportunity from the
Governor's conduct with regard to Grand Ronde to also
gain state approval of an off-reservation site located in a
more viable location than Siletz.
SILKTZ TJUBK NAMES JUDD PROPERTY TO START
COMPACT NEGOTIATIONS; TRANSFER TO ANOTHER
ELIGIBLE SITE UNDERSTOOD
Although the Siletz Tribe requested that compact
negotiations be initiated, the Governor's office advised that
the negotiations must be site specific and involve eligible
reservation property.
In order to get the process moving, the Tribe
identified the Judd property at Siletz which qualified under
IGRA but was property already designated by the Tribe for
other purposes. A confidential letter was sent to tribal
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