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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2011)
SCH OrColl Spi lyay Tyme ?-1 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 I / / , ^ / January 12, 2011 Zoyote News, est. 1976 / f „ . Vol. 36, Ne Eugene OR y S pilyay Tymoo The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the state of Oregon now have a federally approved gaming com pact for the tribes’ proposed Cascade Locks casino. The tribes and the state submitted the compact to the Department of the Interior for approval in November of last year. The agency took no action regarding the application, which results in approval. The com pact sets out term s of agreement between the tribes and the local community of Cascade Locks, regarding law enforcement, fire protec tion, the number o f slot machines, among other issues. Provisions for a scholarship fund from gaming proceeds are included in the compact, as is an agreement by the tribes not to build on property located outside of Hood River, if the Cascade Locks property is taken into trust. That recendy approved compact is an updated version of one that the state and the tribes negotiated in 2005, which the federal government rejected. The Interior Department at that time de clined to approve the compact because, the Secretary of the Interior said at the time, the land in question was not yet in trust. The land is still not in trust, but the compact is now place. There will need to be a “two-part determination” before the critical step is taken to bring the Cascade Locks site into trust. The two-part determination test of the Indian Gaming Regulatory The two-part determination, and the new Governor’s response to the determina tion, remain significant challenges fo r the Cascade Cocks casino proposal. Act requires a finding that the proposed gaming enterprise is in the best interest of the tribes and its members, and does not harm the neighboring communities. Gov. Kitzhaber will have to concur with the two-part determination. Mean while, the Interior Department has in dicated that no hew two-part determi nations for tribal casinos will be issued until spring. The two-part determina tion, and the Governor’s response to the determination, remain significant challenges for the Cascade Locks ca sino proposal. Still, the approval of the compact was good news. “The compact is important be cause it establishes the legal frame work for operation of a gaming fa cility at Cascade Locks,” said Louie Pitt, director of tribal Government Affairs. Following the release of the Fi nal Environmental Impact State ment last August, “The approval of the compact means that another major hurdle has been cleared, lead ing the way to final federal approval for the project,” said Pitt. The casino would provide 400 construction jobs and 1,700 full time jobs once the facility is in op eration. Oregon Ducks fans show team spirit Monday before the BCS Championship game. Gathering at the administration building were Delson Suppah and Francelia Miller (front); JoyDee Smith, Beverly Surface, Benson Heath, Rena Suppah and Toby Smith-Morales (middle row from left); Jonathan Smith, Charles Jackson, Will Robbins, Buttons Miller and Lonny Macy (back from left). Benson Heath, director of tribal personnel, is an alum of Eastern Oregon University, but is now among the most ardent of Duck fans. It was unfortunate, to say the least, that in Monday night’s game the Auburn Tigers edged the Ducks 22-19. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Teleco Update Project w ill bring 19 local jobs S pilyay Tymoo /-phe Warm Springs Telecommunica tion Com pany m ain office w ill be housed in the former apparel building at the industrial park. “It’s an ideal building for our pur poses,” said Adam Haas, the company general manager. “There’s a large open area that we can use to build out the central office.” The central office area will house electronic equipment, office space for the staff, and the customer service area. The apparel building has been mostly vacant for several years, with the tribal Construction enterprise currently using only part of the building. The Warm Springs Telecommunica tions Co. (WSTC), tribally owned and chartered, will create new 19 local jobs, said Marsha Spellman, company mar Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Duck Spirit By Dave McMechan . Postage f RSRTSTD January - Wiyak’ik’ila - Winter - Ânm Casino clears hurdle, still faces challenge By Dave McMechan ECRWSS )stal Patron keting and regulatory director. The company last year was awarded $5.5 million in funding, as a grant and a loan, last year through the federal stimulus program. When in operation, the company will provide telephone and other commu nications services to the reservation. WSTC recendy chose an architect, Steele and Associates of Bend, to de sign the rem odeling o f the apparel building. The Construction Enterprise will remain at one end of the building, and the WSTC offices and electronic center will be at the other end. The plan is for the office to be in o p eratio n by late sum m er, said Spellman. The first two WSTC custom ers will be Kah-Nee-Ta and the tribal administration building, followed by residences and other organizations on the reservation. An early challenge facing the WSTC is the recruiting of people to fill the 19 positions. Some of these jobs will re- “ To be a success, this has to be run and operated by the members.» Adam Haas WSTC general manager quire specialized training in the main tenance and operation of telecommu nication equipment. Other positions will require office skills such as bookkeep ing and customer relations. A p rim ary go al o f the W ST C , along with successful operation, is the employment of tribal members, said Haas. “To be a success, this has to be run and operated by members,” he said. W STC is w o rkin g w ith M arcia Soliz, tribal Human Resources em p lo ym en t serv ic e s m an ager, and Laura Switzler, job placement special ist of Workforce Education and De- velopm ent Department, on hiring and other aspects o f the teleco project. Soliz and Switzler recently visited the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in California, near Nevada, where the tribe operates a telecommunica tions company. The visit to Fort Mojave was a chance to see first hand the operation of a successful tribal telecommunications enterprise, Soliz said. The experience was educational and inspiring, said Soliz. (H er report on the visit is p rin ted on p a ge 4.) The WSTC board of directors at this time are Sal Sahme, chairman; Robert Macy, secretary-treasurer; Ken Smith, and Mitch Moore, board vice chairman, who is the general manager of Clear Creek telecommu nications company. WSTC estimates a tim eline of about three years to bring its services to the entire reservation. Tribes heard at Summit of the Horse By Terri Harber S pilyay Tymoo The amount of attention the first time event received was “fantastic,” said Sue Wallis, one of the organizers of The Summit of the Horse, held last week in Las Vegas. Singer M ichael M artin Murphey, known for the 1970s radio staple “Wild fire,” lent his support to the cause through a written message. Dr. Temple Gradin, an autistic woman who became a successful veterinarian and author im m ortalized in an aw ard-w inning HBO film, signed autographs for the attendees. This summit focused on the sensi tive issue o f resurrecting the horse slaughtering business in the U.S., and drew attention from m edia outlets across the country and even gained some international coverage. Protesters also abound, however. They stood along the Strip with signs and spoke out loudly against the event. Others opposing the idea of restarting the practice attended and asked ques tions of anyone who was interested in conversing. More than 200 ranchers, govern ment officials, wildlife advocates and tribal officials— including representa tives of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs— attended the summit, said Wallis, vice president of United Horseman. “We were impressed with their fo cus, their efforts,” she said o f the people there rep resen tin g N ative American tribes. “They were well rep resented.” Horse processing was halted in the U.S. in 2007 after animal rights activ ists made public poor practices at slaughterhouses. There were only three of them in operation then. It’s still not illegal to be in the horse slaughtering business. There aren’t any federal inspectors to look over horse carcasses meant for human consump tion , ho w ever, b ecause C ongress stopped allocating money for it, accord ing to Wallis. She and other critics of the 2007 federal action contend it has contrib uted to the horse overpopulation prob lems that plague federal lands and In dian reservations. They also say it hurts the U.S. because the operations simply go on in Canada and Mexico, and that the current arrangement allows more harmful and potentially unsanitary pro cessing practices to occur. The group has created standards of operation and is involved in a variety o f outreach endeavors to get their message across: It’s a viable business. Range overpopulation Horses are livestock, said Jason Smith, manager of the tribes’ Range and Agriculture Department. He is in volved with United Horsemen and is president of the similarly focused and renamed National Tribal Horse Coali tion. He was also one of the featured speakers at the summit. “Nobody is buying horses right now because they know they can’t get rid of them. And it’s affecting our natural resources,” he said after returning home last week from the summit. See HORSE SUMMIT on page 6 a L 4 I > f > * • V * 4 ».t
