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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2004)
University of Oregon Library Received on! 05-03-04 Spilyay tynoo. SCA OrColl E 75 . S8 v. 9 no. 9 April 9, 004 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 ECRWSS Postal Patron Warm Springs, OR 97761 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Coyote News, est. 1976 April 29, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 9 50 cents Spilygy Tyrooo . '..? '-..it. "'''"'!','ittfc 1 ,f:: J. Louie Pitt, director of tribal Governmental Affairs, gives a basket of fruit to Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D Ohio), who is running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Kucinich visited Warm Springs last week, as he traveled through Central Oregon. He spoke at the Community Center. In greeting the Congressman, Pitt said the tribes are not endorsing a particular presidential candidate, but instead are showing appreciation that Kucinich took the time to visit the reservation. Gaming enterprise is doing well By Margie Tuckta Columbia Gorge casino Special operations officer How is Kah-Nee-Ta doing lately? Kah-Nee-Ta continues to make a profit and has held its own in recent times of economic difficulty. The year 2003 ended on a good note with the enterprise exceeding budgeted net income projections, that being a 39 percent increase in profits over 2002. Kah-Nee-Ta also paid a $2.5 million dividend to the tribe, and will do so again this year. For more details on the 2003 year, watch your mailboxes as annual reports will soon be mailed to all tribal member head of households. The enterprise started this year with inclement weather, which always affects the business. January had large amounts of snow, which kept many people close By D. "Bing" Bingham Spilyay Tymoo It's not hard to know Olney Patt as a tribal leader. He was a strong, prin cipled man who worked tirelessly for his people. He was capable of taking a stand - however unpopular - if he thought it was right. But what kind of man was he at home? That's less well known. "I never knew my dad as a leader," says Orthelia Patt, "I only knew him as a father and someone who worked hard to provide for his family. In later years I found out what a great leader he w as for the people." The Patt household w as filled with expectations. Respect was to be given to everyone, parents and guests alike. It didn't matter if the family was in camp pushing catde over the Mutton Mountains or sitting around the home fires respect was paramount. V o II o Witt' to home. Fortunately the month was followed with a highly positive Febru ary. The recent month of March was more so-so, ending with a lackluster spring break. Yet overall Kah-Nee-Ta still did well during the first quarter of 2004. The enterprise again exceeded its budgeted net profit producing a favor able result, while also surpassing the same first quarter period of last year. In order to assist the enterprise in achieving its financial objectives, grow the resort's room sales and conference business, Carlos Smith has accepted the position of director of sales. Carlos will head up the group sales office in Portland, and oversee all re lated efforts. Group sales is vitally important and critical to Kah-Nee-Ta's current and future success, and is an However, the respect went both ways. The children were taught to re spect themselves. "We were taught not to be ashamed of being Indian," Orthelia says. The Patt home was bilingual, Sahaptin and English. The children were often used as interpreters for grandparents when they were shopping. At a very early age, Olney Patt taught his children to ride and take care of horses. They learned to drive trac tors, trailers and trucks. They had an upbringing in both worlds, modern and traditional. After the death of his father, when Olney was very young, his grandpar ents raised him. He was very close to his grandfather and spent a lot of time listening to his stories. I fe and his grand father would ride horseback to and from Simnasho school evetr day. J 7 , k r j. - o Dave McMechanSpllyay intricate part of the enterprise. Additionally, Janell Smith is Kah-Nee-Ta's new director of human re sources. Being with the tribe for 16 years, she brings a wealth of experi ence and understanding in employee relations and operations. And Margie Tuckta, who has been involved with tribal gaming since May of 1995, has shifted her focus towards the gaming expansion project. Tuckta will be assisting the board of directors and the gaming expansion point team in a variety of ways, as the volume of work steadily increases. The tribal member recruitment and development program continues to be at the forefront of Kah-Nee-Ta's plans. See KAH-NEE-TA on page 16 Bmg BmghanVSpilyay Olney Patt Sr. Orthelia remembers hearing her fa ther say, "The winters seemed more fierce then,' but they still rode home in the winter darkness.. .it didn't matter, ? ("' ' ' ' v M Ventures eyes elite contracting status By Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo The Confederated Tribes may be able to gain an advantage in bidding on many types of government contracts. Warm Springs Ventures, the tribes' business development corporation, is looking into the matter. In contracting with private compa nies, the federal and state governments set aside some funding for businesses classified as "8(a)." The purpose of the set-asides is to promote the develop ment of minority-owned businesses in the U.S., as 8(a) companies are minority-owned, said Tom Henderson, Ven tures chief executive officer. In many instances, said Henderson, the contracting government agency has a hard time finding a qualifying 8(a) company willing and able to take on the contract. In other words, he said, the demand clearly exists for these types of companies. So far, Henderson and others at Ventures have met with representatives of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in regard to the 8(a) contracting requirements. "After meeting with the SBA," said Henderson, "I'm feeling Tribes release casino designs for PORTLAND (AP) - The Confed erated Tribes have released two design options for a planned casino in the Columbia River Gorge, one for each possible site for the gaming operation. The final decision on placing the casino is up to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. People visiting the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area could see a low-rise, earth-tone casino in Cascade Locks or an eight-story, stone-and-glass building outside Hood River. Hood River County Commissioner Carol York presented the drawings to the Columbia Gorge Counties Coali tion in Stevenson, Wash. The coalition of economic develop ment directors, city officials and gorge commissioners from the six Oregon and Washington counties seemed impressed by the subdued nature of the designs. Both casino options lacked the Las Vegas look of neon and water foun tains spouting from concrete ponds. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have made it clear since 1998 that they want to build a casino in the gorge, an 85-mile stretch of which falls inside a two-state federally protected because his grandparents wanted him educated." Olney's grandfather died when he was 12 years old. After the death, he helped his grandmother finish cleaning the house. "To this day Olney Patt relives the sad experience of leaving his grand mother," says Ordielia, "He heard his grandmother sit and cry as he hiked to catch the bus at Chemawa Indian School." Family was important to Olney and not just his, but everybody's. Orthelia continues: , "He had a real special place for chil dren who lost their parents. He always gave them gifts. He would make sure mom had extra gifts on hand to use if he felt kids were being left out. We actually had to give up some of our gifts for them. I le didn't want to sec very confident." The 8(a) contracting idea is exciting for Ventures because of the potential for many types of contracting oppor tunities. An idea that is emerging is for Ventures to be the 8(a) holding com pany for various business entities that exist under the enterprise. For instance, Ventures, owned by the tribes, in turn has purchased a tile company, and a human resourcespersonnel software company. Tribal Construction is also under Ventures. If Ventures attains the 8(a) contract ing status, then these entities under en tures could realixe a great advantage in bidding on some government contracts. Ventures and the companies under Ventures are minority owned, as they are owned by the Confederated Tribes. Other entities could come under Ventures, and then also qualify for the 8(a) contracting status. There are Native companies in Alaska that best serve as the model, said I lendcrson. In the Northwest there are very few examples. Achieving 8(a) contracting status, he said, "could open the door to more revenue generation." the gorge national scenic area. Much of the sce nic area is tightly regulated, but the guidelines do not apply to Native Ameri can lands or to the cities' urban growth boundaries within the scenic area. The Cascade Locks casino would sit in an industrial park not far from a wood-pellet mill and the Columbia River. The low-rise building incorpo rates basalt rock and wood planks in its design, an artistic modeling of a Native American fishing village. Park ing would be both above and under ground. The architects gathered ideas from Warm Springs tribal history, culture and members for the design, projected to cost $300 million, York said. The 500,000-squarc-foot building is planned to include a conference cen ter, Native American museum and hotel. Inside, small shops and restaurants would surround the slot machines and gaming tables. It also would have a swimming pool, spa and waterfalls sur rounded by tribal cultural designs, such as petroglyphs and pottery. (See the drawings on page 3). 90th birthday people being left out." Being left out wasn't a problem for Orthelia when she was very young. Her father was working as a welder. She would sit and watch the clock, waiting for him to come home. The minutes would drag by. Her father always walked home and as the time ap proached, she raced out the door to meet him. Each time he would pick her up and carry her back to the house. The best part was when he shared the dessert he always saved for her. For Orthelia, these were special times. I lowevcr, other times were hard. Orthelia was too young to under stand what it meant for the tribes when Olney broke the tic vote for the Celilo Falls inundation money. Set OLNEY PATT on page 16
