OR. COLL.
E
75
.58
v. 7
no. 10
May 16,
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
vmoc
SERIALS DEPT.
KNIGHT LIBRARY
1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
EUGENE, OR 97403
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
May 16, 2002 Vol.27, No. 10
35 cents
y
Tribal
events
Saturday
at Gorge
The Confederated Tribes will cel
ebrate a return to the Columbia River
this Saturday, May 18.
The event will include a religious
celebration to bless the tribes' land,
the river and the return of the
salmon. The religious ceremony,
open only to tribal members, will
happen Saturday at 11 a.m., on Gov
ernment Island at Cascade Locks.
Following the ceremony, tribal
members are welcome to attend a tra
ditional salmon bake. Bus rides will
then be available for tribal members
who wish to tour the Confederated
Tribes' property at the Gorge.
All members of the tribes are in
vited to attend the ceremony, salmon
bake and tours. Also on Saturday,
May 18,' the City of Cascade Locks
will host a friendship reception at the
Cascade Locks Marine Park. All
tribal members and residents of Cas
cade Locks are invited to attend this
reception.
KJlULlXLCiOXlXJ
rodeo on
new ground
The new Simnasho rodeo grounds
will be the scene this Saturday, May
18, of the Simnasho Jackpot Rodeo.
The rodeo action begins at 2 p.m.,
but people will want to show up
early. Starting at 11:30 a.m., there
will be a lunch at the Simnasho
Longhouse, followed by a raffle draw
ing. Opening services for the new ro
deo grounds - built this year by resi
dents of the Simnasho community
- begin at 9 a.m. Also on rodeo day,
an endurance race will start at 8 a.m.
Then starting at 2 p.m., the ro
deo action will feature bareback
riding, saddle bronc riding, bull
riding, senior barrel racing, and
breakaway roping.
Other competitions include calf
roping, wildhorse roping, wild cow
milking, junior bull riding, among
other events.
For information, contact the ro
deo secretary Fay Hurtado at 553
1022 evenings until 9 p.m., or in the
day at 419-7460. See page 10 for de
tails of the upcoming rodeo.
Madras event
celebrates
diverse cultures
The Collage of Culture in Madras
happens this Saturday, May 18.
As has been true in past years, the
Confederated Tribes are an essential
part of the event. Tribal members will
be part of the day's entertainment,
and tribal enterprises have contrib
uted to the funding of the Collage.
This year, Kah-Nce-Ta High
Desert Resort and Casino, Warm
Springs Power Enterprises, and Warm
Springs Forest Products Industries,
have contributed funding. As part of
the Collage entertainment, the Unity
Dancers of Warm Springs will per
form. Their performance will be at
12:45 p.m. The Collage is an all-day
event, featuring Hispanic dancers,
African and Japanese drummers,
Celtic music and belly dancers.
The hcadlincr is the Jake Blair
Band, who play blues music.
Refere
Tribal members on Tuesday,
May 21, will consider one of the
most important referendums in
the recent history of the Confed
erated Tribes.
In broad terms, the referendum
ballot asks tribal members
whether the tribes shall move forward
with expansion of the gaming enter
prise. More specifically, the referendum
asks whether the Confederated Tribes
shall proceed with an expansion of
gaming to a site off the reservation at
ds Tuesday
the Columbia River Gorge.
Such an expansion would be a
major investment by the tribes. A
casino at the Gorge would cost an
estimated $165 million to construct.
Likewise, expansion of gaming to
the Gorge would be a major source
At the top of his game
MHS sophomore
Jordan Stacona
is the top player on
the school golf team
By Selena Boise
Spilyqy Tymoo staff
Jordan Stacona began golfing at
the age of 8.
Now 15 and a sophomore at
Madras High School, Stacona is an
outstanding golfer on the school
varsity team.
During his freshman year,
Stacona also was on the varsity
team. That year he was the num
ber two player on the team, and
this year is the top player.
In the summer months, when
school is out, Stacona competes in
the Central Oregon Junior Golf
Association (COJGA).
In the COJGA competition,
Jordan travels all over the Central
Oregon region, competing against
other golfers his age. Over 225
youths between the ages of 6-18
belong to COJGA.
They play at some of the finer
courses in Central Oregon. Jor-
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Jordan Stacona
Dave McMecrtanSpilyay
dan has won or placed in the various Oregon Junior Golf tournaments,
age divisions and tournaments He will travel throughout the state
through the years. This summer he of Oregon for that,
would like to start competing in the See STACONA on page 10
of new revenue for the tribes.
The best and most recent estimates
are that a Gorge casino would bring
a net profit to the tribes of $15 mil
lion during the first year of full op
eration. The $15 million would be after
operating expenses and debt pay
ment. In comparison, Kah-Nee-Ta
generates about $4 million per year
in profit.
Additionally, the $15 million fig
ure for the Gorge is projected to in
crease in years subsequent to the first
year of operation.
The new revenue is needed, tribal
leaders agree, because other revenue
sources - mainly timber - are no
longer able to sustain the present level
of essential tribal government ser
vices. . . .
Rather than cutting essential ser
vices - education, police and fire pro
tection, and community infrastruc
ture - the tribal leadership has pro
posed the referendum to expand gam
ing. The Gorge is proposed because a
casino at that area, close to Portland,
would generate a large profit, in com
parison with a new casino on the res
ervation, farther away from Portland.
For the vote on May 21, there will
be 2,230 tribal members eligible to
cast their ballots.
A turnout of one-third of the eli
gible voters is needed for the election
to be valid. --'
Reaching the necessary one-third
voter turnout will likely not be an
issue in the May 21 referendum elec
tion. See VOTE on page 10
Kah-Nee-Ta adopts tribal member hiring program
The Kah-Nee-Ta board of direc
tors has approved a $250,000 tribal
member employment program.
The purpose of this new pro
gram is to recruit and employ tribal
members at Kah-Nee-Ta, and to
provide training for work in the
gaming and hospitality industry.
The program is available only to
tribal members.
The $250,000 represents the ini
tial funding for a program that the
board members foresee as an on
going effort at tribal member em
ployment. Currently, Kah-Nec-Ta High
Desert Resort and Casino - includ
ing the resort, the Village, Indian
Head, the golf course, etc. - employ
318 people. Of the total, 98 people -or
roughly 29 percent of the total -are
tribal members.
During recent gatherings and dis
cussions on gaming expansion, some
tribal members have said that Kah-Nee-Ta
should employ more tribal
members.
"We have heard several complaints
from tribal members about employ
ment at Kah-Nce-Ta," said Rudy
Clements, who is chairman of the
resort and casino board.
The board members were con
cerned about tribal member employ
ment before the recent gaming expan
sion meetings, but the comments at
'We are going to be asser
tively monitoring the
progress. "
Rudy Clements
Kah-Nee-Ta
board of directors
these meetings have served to rein
force the concerns, said Clements.
In response to the complaints
about employment, the board of di
rectors has instructed Kah-Nee-Ta
management to focus on strong en
forcement of the tribal member hir
ing preference policy, said Clements.
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elders with powwow
Honor Seniors Day last Friday, May 10, featured the
popular ECE powwow. At left, Clrelle Frank dances
during the powwow; and below, Brandon Lucei (at
right) looks on with his friends.
Hundreds of seniors, Including local tribal members
as well as visitors, enjoyed the day. This year
marked the Twelfth Annual Warm Springs Honor
Seniors Day.
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As part of this stepped-up enforce
ment, each department at the resort
and casino is to compile monthly re
ports for review by the board, said
Clements.
The reports will allow closer
monitoring of how many tribal mem
bers are hired during the month in
each department, and whether any
have been terminated.
"We'll develop a cumulative ledger,
instead of a general report," said
Clements.
Also in response to the complaints
regarding tribal member employ
ment, the Kah-Nce-Ta board earlier
this year agreed to initiate the
$250,000 tribal member-hiring pro
gram. "And we arc going to be asser
tively monitoring the progress," said
Clements.
A draft mission statement of the
new program, explaining the overall
goals, reads as follows:
To afford tribal members dignity
and worth by providing them with
the opportunity for a sense of con
trol of a satisfactory ijualiiy of life and
well-being, through a long-term re
cruitment, employment, supervision
and retention program.
A part of the hiring issue at Kah-Nce-Ta
has to do with the extensive
background check that is currently
required for employment in gaming.
Clements said that casino manage
ment may want to consider different
levels of background checks, depend
ing on the type of work the particu
lar person is applying for.
The strict background check for
people who handle money, or for
people in security or tipjH'r level man
agement, should not necessarily ap
ply to a person seeking employment
in some other, less sensitive field of
casino work, said Clement.
Spilyay tynoo. EZ