Spílygy T y m oo, W^rrn Springs, Oregon
Tribal sovereignty and
The Bridge of the Gods
B y Floyd Calica
Bridge of the Gods project team
candy larger net income to meet
yearly annual tribal needs such
T he aboriginal people o f as jobs, housing, public safety
Oregon, Washington and Idaho and education,
have lived along the Columbia
The projected revenue will
River since the beginning
make up the revenue our
o f time. We have used the
tribe earned through tim­
In My
river for transportation,
ber sales, which have dra­
View
trade, recreation and fi­
matically declined within
nally fishing. Today the
the last five years.
lands along the river remain an
Considering the distinct con-
integral part o f the daily life for trasting difference, it make’s
the members o f the Confeder- logical sense to build at Cascade
ated Tribes o f Warm Springs Locks. This location would pro-
Reservation o f Oregon.
duce adequate revenue for our
I f you take a careful slow tribe’s needs for years to come,
look at the river, you will see the This location would also make
many scaffolds (used for dip net more sense on the investment
fishing) along both sides o f the and the amount o f return the
C olum bia R iver and the tribe would receive. This is com­
Longhouse at Celilo Village.
mon business sense — ask any
Oral history has taught our business owners.
people our tribes occupied the
In 2002 the tribe’s general
Columbia Plateau territory since membership again overwhelm-
time immemorial, and our in- ingly voted to pursue gaming (a
herent sovereignty predates the casino) in the Columbia River
Treaty o f 1855. In the treaty, the Gorge, rather than on a reser-
. r
tribes ceded more than 10 mil- vation site. Studies have indi­
lion acres to the government, cated that no site on the reser-
but retained a 600,000 plus acre vation can produce needed rev-
reservation now called Warm enue to sustain the tribe’s gov-
Springs. Our tribe also retained ernm ental op eration s and
the rights to fish, hunt and economy. On the other hand,
gather in our usual and accus- the Cascade Locks site for a ca-
tomed areas and ceded land to sino would produce the needed
provide su stenance to our revenue to allow the tribe to sur-
people. The ceded area includes vive. Since that time, we have
territory and land along the Co- been diligendy making progress
lumbia River. This includes the towards that goal along with a
City o f Cascade Locks, which was consistent, respectful dialogue
originally a Wasco fishing village, with the State o f Oregon and
It is our tribe’s inherent sov- surrounding county and city
ereign right to determine our en tities and com m unities
own destiny and we must take around Cascade Locks.
advantage o f business opportu­
Additionally our tribe has the
nities to take care o f our mem- support
of
Gov.
Ted
bers. We have occupied this area Kulongoski, the Confederated
thousands o f years prior to Tribes o f Siletz, the Coquille
Lewis and Clark and arrival o f Tribe, the Nez Perce Tribe,
European setders. In fact, the Hood River County and City o f
United States Indian Claims H ood River and o f Cascade
Commission Docket No. 198 Locks. In addition, numerous
clearly outlines the Cascade state and federal legislators have
Locks area as aboriginal land o f supported the project, such as
Warm Springs, exclusive o f State Rep. Patti Smith, state Sen.
claims o f any other tribe.
Rick Metzger and U.S. Con-
In looking at the current de- gressman Greg Walden,
pleting economic condition o f
Our tribe made sincere and
the federal and tribal govern- diligent efforts to negotiate with
ments, we are compelled to ex- the State o f Oregon a gaming
plore other revenue opportuni- compact in accordance to the
ties. This includes our tribes’ Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
proposal to build a casino at Rather than exercising our abil-
Cascade Locks.
ity to build and establish a ca-
There seems to be much dis- sino on gaming-eligible land in
cussion and confusion about Hood River, the tribe, state and
our proposal to build at Cascade local governments collectively
Locks. To understand, it would worked together for a mutually
be logical to have a sense o f benefiting location at Cascade
history o f the tribe and se- Locks — a site within the city lim-
quence o f events that led to its and excluded from the Gorge
Cascade Locks.
Scenic Area.
In 1995 the tribe’s general
As such, we submitted an
membership overwhelmingly application to the Department
voted to enter into gaming (a ca- o f Interior Bureau o f Indian
sino) as a revenue source for the A ffairs to take the Cascade
tribe. We started conservatively Locks land into trust for the
at our Kah-Nee-Ta Resort. Cur- purposes o f gaming.
The signing o f the compact
rendy, the casino at Kah-Nee-
Ta produces net incom e o f agreement on April 6,2005 was
about $3 to $3.5 million per a testimony o f respect for tribal
year, as opposed to casino at sovereignty and pursuit o f eco-
Cascade Locks, which would nomic development. This event
eventually produce a signifi- was a victory and win-win situ-
ation to everyone. The compact
was for the Cascade Locks site,
a more favorable location than
Hood River, and one that has
the overwhelming support o f
the state and local surrounding
communities and residences.
As the federal approval pro­
cess moves forward, our tribe
remains optimistic about our
endeavor at Cascade Locks. We
have been following the process
set forth under the Indian Gam­
ing Regulatory Act (IGRA) Sec­
tion 20. We have the over­
whelming support o f our tribal
membership, Gov. Kulongoski,
Hood River and Cascade Locks
governments, and various sur­
rounding tribes. We have de­
cided to pursue Cascade Locks
as opposed to the legal right and
ability to build a casino on trust
land at Hood River. We wish to
continue to be good neighbors
to the surrounding community
and strive for working relation­
ships with such.
I encourage anyone who has
questions, concerns or com ­
ments to visit the following
websites: www.gorgecasino.eis,
www.turninglivesaround.com
and
w w w .kahneeta.com /
cascadelockscasino/
pressroom.htm.
Each o f these websites con­
tains contact inform ation to
reach federal, state and tribal
officials working on the casino
project. There also is informa­
tion about the gaming compact
signed last year.
It is our inherent right and
sovereign authority to continue
to occupy and enhance our ab­
original territory. Let’s put this
project and tribal sovereignty
into perspective, Cascade Locks
is our ancestral land and our
people simply wish to continue
to occupy and liVe along our
home — the Columbia River.
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