Page 12
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
March 7, 2002
Suspect arrested, youth recovering after being shot in chest
Tribal member Luke Miller,
24, was arrested recently on
allegations of assault with in
tent to commit murder, assault
with a dangerous weapon, and
assault resulting in serious
bodily injury.
Miller was arrested the af
ternoon of Saturday, Feb. 23,
at a residence off Highway 26
northwest of Warm Springs.
Miller has been accused of
shooting a 17-year male on the
morning of Feb. 23.
The 17-year-old was recov
ering and in good condition
within a week after being shot.
The bullet struck him in the
chest area, according to Warm
Springs police.
That same morning, Miller
also fired at a vehicle driven by
Sterling Kalama, who was on
his way to work, according to
a report from the Warm
Springs police.
Miller and the 17-year-old
apparently were involved in a
dispute sometime before the
shooting, according to police.
Kalama, on the other hand,
Officers searched the
residence and recovered
evidence related to the
shooting incidents,
according to police.
had not been in contact with
the suspect prior to the shoot
ing. Instead, Kalama apparently
was driving a vehicle that
looked similar to the one that
the 17-year-old shooting vic
tim had been driving.
Miller apparently fired at
the vehicle thinking that the
17-year-old was driving. The
bullet struck the car, but for
tunately Kalama was not in
jured. Miller then went to a resi
dence located off Highway 26
to the northwest of Warm
Springs.
Police were able to learn of
his whereabouts, and at
tempted to make contact with
Miller by knocking on the
door of the residence.
After knocking several
times with no response, the
officers used a loudspeaker to
ask everyone inside the resi
dence to come out, according
to the police report.
This request also went ig
nored by the people in the
house, so the police established
a security perimeter around
the residence.
Because the suspect was be
lieved to be armed with a rifle,
and because he allegedly had
just shot one person and nearly
shot another, the decision was
made to call in the regional
Emergency Response Team.
The team, representing of
ficers from several law enforce
ment jurisdictions in the re
gion, uses special weapons and
tactics in potentially dangerous
situations, such as when an
armed suspect is barricaded in
a building.
Several hours passed while
Miller remained in the resi
dence. The road to the house
meanwhile was blocked off to
I sW :
J " !'
u
0
n
Members of the regional SWAT team gather near the scene of the shooting.
regular traffic. Miller and other came out of warrant, officers searched the
In the afternoon, a relative the house. Miller was arrested residence and recovered evi-
of Miller contacted him by anj taken mto federal custody, dence related to the shooting
phone, and a short time later Later, by authority of a search incidents, according to police.
' -V-
j;
V - ' V-
Highway 3 tragedy
An Oregon State Police
accident reconstruction
specialist inspects a vehicle
involved in a wreck this past
weekend that claimed the
life of tribal member Eunice
Wolfe Esquiro.
The passenger in the vehicle
was seriously injured in the
accident. The driver of the
other vehicle was not
seriously injured. The matter
was under investigation
earlier this week.
Casino: opponents have lobbied against Gorge plan
Continued from page 1
A casino at the Gorge - a
proposal being considered by
the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs - would be
closer to Portland than any
other tribal casino.
For this reason, a Gorge ca-
Jobs: program to
meet benchmarks
Continued from page 1
The benchmarks were set
during the updating of the
long-range and comprehensive
planning document of the
Confederated Tribes, The
People's Plan, published in
1999.
The plan was the culmina
tion of three years work, in
cluding extensive participation
by many tribal members. Dur
ing the planning update pro
cess, many tribal members
spoke of the need for more
employment opportunities for
tribal members.
Last year, in order to meet
this priority, a group of tribal
officials from various depart
ments worked on a list of pro
grams that have the potential
for creating new tribal employ
ment opportunities.
The group - including eco
nomic development, planning
and education representatives
- came up with fairly long and
diverse list of potential
projects, from a new resort to
a recycling operation.
The list was narrowed
down, based on factors such as
funding that would be needed,
the number of potential new
jobs, and the likelihood of suc
cess of the enterprise.
The final list consisted of
two projects: Environmental
Services, and an enterprise in
the field of construction,
which may begin later this
year.
sino would be a very profitable
venture for the Confederated
Tribes, said Clements.
Conservative estimates are
that a casino at Hood River
would generate between $13.3
million and $15.5 million in
net profit to the tribes.
The $15.5 million figure is
more than three times the
amount generated by Indian
Head at Kah-Nee-Ta.
The Grand Ronde and Cow
Creek tribes have been lobby
ing against the Gorge casino
plan, said Clements.
The lobbying effort has
been toward state and federal
officials, including an attempt
to hinder a fee-to-trust transfer
at the proposed Hood River
casino site, said Clements.
"They're lobbying the
governor's office, and any leg
islative person who will lis
ten," said Clements. "And
they're lobbying aggressively."
In contrast, other tribes in
the state have indicated a will
ingness to write letters in sup
port of the Gorge casino pro
posal, said Clements.
Besides Grand Ronde and
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Cow Creek, "I've heard from
no other tribes who are op
posed to what we're doing," he
said.
Also, Clements said, the
opposition from Grand Ronde
and Cow Creek does not ap
pear to be popular with all
members of those tribes.
"I think within their own
community there is disagree
ment," he said.
The opposition to the
Gorge casino plan seems to
come largely from younger
members rather than the elder
members, Clements said.
Grand Ronde and Cow
Creek were two of the tribes
terminated by the federal gov
ernment. The tribes were later
reinstated.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs offered support
during the reinstatement ef
fort. The support that Warm
Springs gave Grand Ronde and
Cow Creek during reinstate
ment makes their opposition
especially hard to accept, said
Clements.
He said that the people who
are being lobbied on this issue
by Grand Ronde and Cow
Creek need to understand fully
the situation at hand.
A key point, Clements said,
is that the Confederated
Tribes' Gorge casino proposal
involves property that is part
of the tribes' ceded lands.
By right of treaty, and in the
spirit of free enterprise, the
tribes are pursuing the devel
opment of a Gorge casino, said
Clements.
The land at I Iood River on
which the casino would be
built is land that is held in trust
by the federal government for
the benefit of the Confederated
Tribes.
This land was in trust sta
tus prior to the enactment of
the 1988 Indian Gaming Regu
latory Act.
That act makes the land eli
gible for a casino by Congres
sional law, Clements said, and
the governor cannot override
a law passed by Congress.
r
A spiritual recovery
AA convention will hap
pen at the Slmnasho
Longhouse March 6, 9
and 10. Opening on Fri
day March 8 Is at 6:30
p.m. Saturday and Sun
day, 6-7 a.m. sunrise
AA; and 8 a.m. till 8 p.m.
AA conference.