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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2007)
News from Indian Country 4 *? Spilydy Tyrooo Montana tribe upbeat about new casino, despite slow start B R O W N IN G , M o n t. (A P)— O n an icy D e ce m b e r day, Carol Vielle bathes in the w arm , p u lsa tin g lights o f a video bingo m achine. “W ish m e luck, eh,” says Vielle, 54, as she makes penny bets with the push o f a glowing plastic button. V ielle p ic k ed th e “ Mr. Cashman” game from a sea o f 500 electronic bingo machines at the B lackfeet T rib e ’s new Glacier Peaks Casino. This ma chine tempts with a payout o f some $30,000. While payouts at off-reservation casinos in M on tana are capped at $800, jack pots for video bingo— available only on Indian reservations— can reach into the hundreds o f thousands o f dollars. “I ’m trying to win the big one,” Vielle said. She is part of a m uch larger gamble on the Blackfeet Reservation. H er tribe invested more than $7 million to open the 33,000- square-foot, Vegas-style casino in Browning. Mired in poverty and joblessness, the Blackfeet w ant a piece o f the boom ing $22.6 billion Indian gaming in dustry that is bringing wealth to tribes across the United States. “Casinos have a good history o f helping tribes get out o f pov erty,” said Rodney G ervais, a tribal councilman and member o f Siyeh Corp., the tribe’s eco nom ic developm ent arm that built Glacier Peaks. “We have really high hopes for the casino.” The Blackfeet’s entry into the world o f big-time casinos saw a few hitches. The tribe hoped to open Gla cier Peaks in late spring 2006, but construction delays pushed that back, forcing the casino into the long winter w ithout reserves from the summer tourist season. Then tragedy. A t the casino’s glitzy grand opening in late Septem ber, a skydiver dressed as Elvis suffered fatal injuries in a hard landing. N ow financial issues— in cluding layoffs, an across-the- b o a rd pay cut, and a re c en t cash flow sh o rta g e th a t r e quired a $50,000 loan from the trib e— have raised questions about G lacier Peaks’ viability. Patience, urges Siyeh board m em ber Virgil Edw ards. The troubles are the same ones ex perienced by many startup busi nesses, he says. T he original staff o f roughly 270 was cut back to roughly 128 to adjust for the winter season. That and other adjustments are expected to keep th e casino on solid ground until tourists return this spring, he said. “ I f we sta ff properly, it’s going to make a lot o f money for the tribe,” Edwards said. Rags-to-riches stories like that of Michigan’s Saginaw Chippewa, whose Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort pulled the tribe out o f deep poverty to become one o f the nation’s wealthiest reservations, have made headlines in recent years. A dult m em bers o f the Michigan tribe receive annual pay ments topping $50,000 from ca sino earnings. Nationwide, Indian gaming directly created 171,000 jobs in 2005, according to a new re p o rt from the W ashington, D.C.-based National Indian Gam ing Association. But not everyone’s cashing in. A 2003 analysis o f Indian c asin o re v e n u e s by th e Fedgazette looked at 42 reser vations in the N in th Federal Reserve District. The area cov ers Minnesota, M ontana, N orth Dakota, South Dakota and parts o f Wisconsin and Michigan. T he study fo u n d th a t the w e a lth ie s t fiv e trib e s a c counted for 54 percent o f ca sino revenue, b u t less than 6 percent o f the population. Some o f the m ost success ful casinos are near m etropoli tan areas. C asinos w o n ’t m ake rural tribes like the Blackfeet rich, said N IG A Executive Director Mark Van Norm an. “It’s maybe one stick out o f a bundle o f sticks that you re ally need,” Van N orm an said. “But it can be the one that cre ates capital that you need as a catalyst to get other economic development going.” A lack o f entertainment op tions in rural communities makes Indian casinos popular, even on relatively rem ote reservations, said Van Norman, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, where several rural casinos are thriving. The Rosebud Sioux built a successful casino on the South Dakota-Nebraska border hours from the nearest big cities o f Sioux Falls and Omaha. W ith roughly 250 machines, it’s about half the size o f Gla cier Peaks. The tribe uses casino earnings to buy school clothes for children. In N orth Dakota, the Stand ing Rock Sioux are drawing crowds to their Prairie Knights Casino and Lodge in Fort Yates, roughly 50 miles south o f Bismarck. Country acts, dining and ac cess to golf and a marina on the M issouri R iver draw patrons fro m a g re a t d ista n c e , V an N orm an said. “I think (the Blackfeet) will be very successful based on the experience o f other rural areas,” he said. “People want other en tertainment venues.” Glacier Peaks plans to build a hotel this spring, and has ex panded the plan from 60 rooms to m ore than 100. The tribe also plans to bring m ore horse racing events to its tra c k n e x t to th e casin o to draw interest. And unlike other rural casinos, Glacier Peaks has the advantage o f neighboring Glacier National Park, which can draw more than 2 million visitors a year. D uring the summer, G reen plans to station casino buses at strategic points across the park. An advertising blitz is planned this spring. In the o ff season, G reen is betting on business from M on tanans and Albertans. A thirst for something differ ent will draw patrons from across the region, Green said. £CW hen you walk in here it’s not what you expect in a Mon tana casino,” he said. “I’ve got an Elvis im personator w ho walks around. I’ve got show girls.” Kole Larson, 25, sings “All Shook U p ” as he roam s the casino flo o r in a late-m odel Elvis getup. The Elvis gig— 40 hours a week at $10 an hour— is a vast improvement from his $6.50-an-hour job as a custodian at the tribe’s old bingo hall. “I always w anted to be an actor,” says Larson, his voice still in a deep Elvis bass. B ut the cuts to o k G lacier Peak employees— Larson wasn’t am ong them — started talk o f financial trouble at the casino. Late payments to vendors and pay cuts only added to worries. The tribe made a $50,000, 30- day loan to Glacier Peaks to help it bridge a gap in cash-on-hand available for jackpot payouts. Green said the measures are balancing the budget. “We’ve got to realize it’s not an o v e rn ig h t su cc e ss,” said Roger Running Crane, a tribal councilman and longtime advo cate o f the Blackfeet’s gaming enterprises. “We’re experiencing growing pains as we go along.” W hen to u rists re tu rn this spring, Edwards estimates the casino will rake in $2 million a m onth on machine play alone. Tribal Treasurer Joe Gervais lauded Green’s cost-cutting mea sures, saying they’re a sign the casino is well managed. He also supported the short term loan. “Right now there’s a learning curve that went on there the first few months and they had to make the adjustments,” Gervais said. “I think everybody, especially the (tribal council), is committed to see the thing be a success.” Though the layoffs sparked rumors and left form er employ ees and th e ir fam ilies d is gruntled, the casino appears to have broad community support. I f there is concern on moral grounds about bringing a large- scale gambling operation to the reservation, it has been quiet in recent months. “Gambling has always been in the Native American culture, like playing stick games and all those forms o f gambling and cards and stu ff like that,” said H erm an Whitegrass, a state-licensed addic tions counselor at the Crystal Creek Lodge, the tribe’s chemical dependency center. T h o u g h people should be mindful that gambling cap be com e a p ro b lem , the casino w on’t make a significant differ ence in addiction levels, he said. “Addictions are addictions and they will always be here in our society,” on the reservation and off, Whitegrass said Gary Grüner Chevrolet - Buick - Pontiac 2000 SW Hwy. 26, Madras, OR 97741 475-2238; 1-800-437-3444 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe Sport Utility 4D $16,900 V8 5.3L Flex Fuel 4WD Air Conditioning Rear Air Power Steering Power Windows Power Door Locks Tilt Wheel Cruise Control AM/FM Stereo Cassette Single Compact Disc Gary Grüner P.O. Box W, M adras, OR 97741 formerly Ron McDonald Chevrolet Automatic LT Dual Front Air Bags Front Side Air Bags Leather Dual Power Seats Third Seat Roof Rack Privacy Glass Running Boards Towing Package Alloy Wheels January 18, 2 007 Family of man killed by park police files lawsuit N EW A R K , N.J. (AP)— The family o f a Ramapough Lenape Indian fatally shot by a state park police officer last year plan to file a civil rights lawsuit Thursday against the officer, the state and others, claiming they used excessive force against an u n arm ed man. The family o f Emil Mann plans to hold a news confer ence o u tsid e th e B erg en County C ourthouse T hurs day afternoon after its law yers file the suit in state Su p erio r C ourt. It will nam e P ark Police O ffic e r C had Walder, other officers at the scene, the state D epartm ent o f Environmental Protection and the state o f N ew Jersey as defendants, said attorney Eric Hecker. “ T h is w as ex cessiv e force,” Hecker said. “He was unarmed. They were no t in any p h y sical a lte rc a tio n , much less struggle.” H e declined to discuss de tails about the lawsuit. M an n , 45, o f M o n ro e , N.Y., was shot to death on A p ril 1, 2006 o n th e m ountain top near the N ew York border after a confron tation with Walder under cir cum stances that rem ain in dispute. Tribe members say Mann was trying to break up a fight between a cousin and a dif fe re n t p ark p olice o fficer w ho was issuing tickets to people for illegally riding all- terrain vehicles in a prohib ited area. T h e B erg en C o u n ty Prosecutor’s Office is still in vestigating the shooting. The D epartm ent o f Environm en tal Protection, which oversees the park police, had no com m ent Wednesday. Shortly after the shooting, Gov. Jon S. Corzine m et with R am ap o u g h le ad e rs and p ro m ised an in vestigation into the killing. H e also ap p o in te d a c o m m issio n to study American Indian com munities in N ew Jersey re garding civil rights, access to education, fair housing, infra structure, em ploym ent and health care. Documentary focuses on Navajo water rights CO YO TE CANYON, N.M. (AP)— Mark Tsosie rises each morning at dawn and travels six miles to haul water for his fam ily and livestock. T he 77-year-old is am ong 70,000 people who live without running w ater on the Navajo ■ Nation, the country’s largest In dian reservation. “He continues to do this ev eryday because there’s no other way,” said his daughter, Sharon William. “T here’s no t another alternative. I believe the govern m ent forgot us down here.” Tsosie’s story is featured in “The Water Haulers,” a docu mentary that premiers Friday on PBS television station KNM E. The program was funded in part by the Navajo N ation Wa te r R ights C o m m issio n , the H ealy F o u n d a tio n , th e state engineer’s office and the Inter state Stream C om m ission. It explores the challenges facing a culture w hen a basic hum an right, such as access to water, is unobtainable. Navajo families interviewed for the documentary said they have been prom ised for years that a series o f pipelines would be built to provide water. They now are looking to Congress to make that a reality. “We’re 30 years behind the times, 30 years behind the main stream,” Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. said. In tow ns th a t b o rd e r the sprawling reservation, hom es have three or four bathrooms, Shirley said. “T hen you come out here to Navajoland and you find grand mas and grandpas in this one- ro o m house and no ru n n in g water,” he said. In addition to Navajos w ith out running water, the documen tary features interview s w ith w a te r rig h ts e x p e rts an d p o licy m ak ers. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M ., talks about legislation that would settle the tribe’s water rights claims in the San Juan River Basin. T he state o f N ew M exico and the tribe have signed a settle m ent agreem ent that resolves the tribe’s w ater claims in the basin. But before it can be offi cially settled, C ongress m ust enact legislation. T he legislation in tro duced Bingaman would recognize that about 600,000 acre-feet per year w ould go to the N avajos for agriculture, industrial, municipal, dom estic and stock w atering purposes. The measure also au thorizes federal funding for the Navajo-Gallup pipeline project. A similar measure has been introduced in the House by Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Cigarette wholesalers, tribes claim victory with court ruling BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)— A state law intended to make non-Indians pay tax on ciga rettes they buy from Indian retailers is not in effect be cause N ew York has yet to come up with a way to imple m ent it, a judge ruled. State Supreme Court Jus tice Rose Sconiers issued a pre liminary injunction barring New York from enforcing the law that has been a source of confusion since it went on the books last March. The Jan. 2 trial court deci sion was a victory for cigarette wholesalers and Indian retail ers, who have argued that the state has not given them to the tools to comply with the law. For example, the statute ex empts Indian customers from paying the state tax through special coupons, but no cou pons have been issued. “While the intent o f the statute is to require that non- Indians who purchase ciga rettes on Indian reservations pay th e N ew Y ork state stam p tax, the statute can only function if it properly exempts Indians purchasing c ig a re tte s u n d e r c irc u m stances where they are not lawfully required to pay such taxes,” the decision said. Lawyers for the state had argued that if Indian custom ers paid taxes in error, they could apply fo r a refu nd. H ow ever, the judge c o u n tered that there is no system in place to process those re funds.
