Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 17, 2016
Page 3
Cannabis update
Steady progress for unique enterprise
From the Office of
Warm Springs Ventures
As our tribal community
knows, the Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs is
plowing new ground in Indian
Country with the cannabis
project.
The tribal voters resound-
ingly supported this project
by 86 percent.
While some tribes have
quickly entered into the can-
nabis industry with a limited
approach such as a single dis-
pensary or testing lab, we are
the first tribe in the nation to
manage the development and
regulation of a vertically in-
tegrated cannabis business—
the Warm Springs facility will
grow, extract, process, whole-
sale, and retail its own prod-
ucts.
This approach allows us to
maximize profits. This ap-
proach also takes time and
careful planning; however,
we are making great progress
and setting the model for
tribes across the nation.
Also, while other tribes
have not worked in coopera-
tion with federal and state
agencies, and suffered the
consequence of being shut
down or raided, we have been
very transparent and worked
in collaboration with our state
and federal partners.
This cautious and strate-
gic approach also takes time.
Given these circumstances,
we are still making tremen-
dous progress and will get this
project fully underway this
year.
Here are some major ac-
complishments and a brief
explanation of why it has re-
quired additional time to
complete these critical steps:
Check out the
enterprise website
at wscannabis.com
lent locations, and are work-
ing through the licensing and
permitting process. Our goal
is to open the first dispensary
by October/November.
Greenhouse
The design is near comple-
tion. Next we will put the con-
struction components out for
bid to get accurate costs.
Once costs are deter-
mined, we can submit this as
part of our finance package.
A key reason for the de-
lay in moving forward with
construction of the green-
house is that we selected a
new greenhouse manufac-
turer that would respond
quickly to our needs and has
better technology for can-
nabis growing.
We expect site work to
commence in August or Sep-
tember. The greenhouse will
take six months to complete
—approximately in March.
Retail dispensaries
We are actively working to
secure tribal dispensary loca-
tions in Portland, Salem, Eu-
gene and Government Camp.
We have identified excel-
Financing
We have developed terms
for financing the project with
our partner. This process has
taken time to ensure we have
a solid financing plan in
place.
We expect the loan agree-
ment to be completed in Au-
gust/September.
Inter-governmental
agreement with state of
Oregon
We are very close to com-
pleting this agreement, which
coordinates the tribal can-
nabis regulation and licensing
process with the state of Or-
egon cannabis regulation pro-
cess.
We expect this to be com-
pleted in August/September.
Wa r m Sp r i n g s Tr i b a l
Cannabis Commission
The Tribal Commission
has been appointed and they
are getting oriented, working
on licensing and permitting
processes, and will soon hire
an executive director.
The commission will work
closely with the development
entity to make sure opera-
tions are in full compliance
with tribal regulations.
Tribal jobs and recruit-
ment
We are continuing to pre-
pare for the tribal jobs fair,
recruitment and training pro-
cess in preparation for the
opening of our greenhouse
and dispensaries.
Because of the delays in
other aspects of the project,
we unfortunately had to de-
lay our August jobs fair. We
expect to reschedule them in
September/October and
again this early spring.
We apologize for the de-
lay and are working diligently
to address some issues that
have arisen. Also, we are
working closely with the state
of Oregon and federal agen-
cies to move forward in a
transparent responsible man-
ner.
We are excited to get our
Warm Springs Cannabis busi-
ness underway and will regu-
larly provide updates on our
website—wscannabis.com—
the tribal radio and newspa-
per.
Team to resolve TERO boundary issue
The Confederated
Tribes continue to work
with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
on the establishment of
the tribes’ Tribal Employ-
ment Rights Office
boundary jurisdiction.
Tribal Council last
week appointed a team to
negotiate a solution to a
sticking point that has
been on-going for some
time now.
The tribes’ established
the Warm Springs Tribal
Employment Rights Of-
fice (TERO) in 2015.
The office, part of Ven-
tures, has authority to en-
sure that public contract-
ing projects include fair
representation of tribal
member workers. The
TERO is also a source
for worker training.
The TERO jurisdic-
tion applies to projects
on the reservation, such as
ODOT contract projects on
Highway 26 through the res-
ervation. The jurisdiction
also extends to an area im-
mediately beyond the reser-
vation, and this aspect
brought the current impasse.
60-mile radius
The Warm Springs TERO
is the third such office in
Oregon, the other two being
the Grand Ronde and
Umatilla tribes’.
The TERO jurisdiction
boundaries for Grand Ronde
and Umatilla extend 60 miles
from the exterior boundaries
of their reservations.
The Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs are sug-
gesting this same standard—
60 miles from the exterior
boundary of the reserva-
tion—apply to Warm Springs.
The issue would at first
seem to be simple, as the pre-
cedent exists with the Grand
Ronde and Umatilla. How-
ever, the matter remains un-
resolved, even as the 2016
construction season is pass-
ing.
The goal now is to resolve
the matter before the start
of the 2017 season.
The problem is that 60
miles from the exterior
boundar y of the War m
Springs Reservation would
overlap to the west with the
TERO boundary of the
Grand Ronde. This would
include some highway areas
that will involve ODOT
contracting projects.
A sug gestion from
Warm Springs is that the
Grand Ronde and Warm
Springs TEROs share in the
projects that come up in the
overlapping areas.
There are enough
projects for both tribes, the
Warm Springs TERO offi-
cials say.
A second idea—one
that Warm Springs does
not support—is that the
60-mile radius for Warm
Springs be calculated
from the center of the res-
ervation. In that case, the
boundary to the west
would no longer overlap
with that of the Grand
Ronde.
Following discussion
last week, Tribal Council
appointed a team to work
with ODOT and Grand
Ronde on a solution.
Team members in-
clude the secretary-trea-
surer Glendon Smith, Ven-
tures chief executive of-
ficer Don Sampson, Gov-
ernment Affairs Director
Louis Pitt, the TERO
staff, and Council mem-
bers Lee Tom, Brigette
McConville and Jody
Calica.
Council meets with
U.S. Attorneys
Tribal Council meets at
least once a year with law-
yers from the U.S.
Attorney’s Office. The
annual consultation is to
share information, as the
U.S. Attorney’s Office
prosecutes the major
crimes that happen on the
reservation.
Last week Tribal
Council met with three
attorneys from the Dis-
trict of Oregon U.S.
Attorney’s Office: U.S.
Attorney for the district,
Bill Williams; and Assis-
tant U.S. Attorneys Tim
Simmons and Paul
Maloney.
Simmons is the office’s
liaison to the nine tribes
of Oregon; and Maloney
is now the Assistant U.S.
Attorney whose focus is
on the federal cases from
the Warm Springs Reser-
vation.
This was Maloney’s
first visit to War m
Springs, as he recently
joined the U.S. Attorney’s
Office, having ser ved
previously as district at-
torney for Washington
County.
A focus has been on
prosecution of sexual
abuse cases, he said. Fol-
lowing a directive from
the Attorney General,
part of Maloney’s work
is with the Warm Springs
Justice Team, law en-
forcement and IHS on
the development of
sexual violence prosecu-
tion guidelines.
Some other areas of
discussion that came up
last week include:
The tribes’ cannabis
project. Bill Williams said
the office’s policy is to
follow the Cole Memo-
randum, which guides
federal law enforcement
in states that have legal-
ized marijuana.
There are specific ar-
eas—cannabis sales to
minors, inter-state traf-
ficking, and racketeering,
for example—that can in-
cur federal prosecution.
Otherwise, the memo-
randum suggests the U.S.
Attorneys follow the state
standard. And it is this
standard that has allowed
the tribes to pursue the
cannabis growing enter-
prise.
Another important
development: Officers
of the Warm Springs Po-
lice Department have
participated in recent
training that gives them
authority to cite non-In-
dians into federal court
for alleged crimes on the
reservation.
Councilwoman
Brigette McConville
brought up the issue of
railroads blocking access
to fishing sites at the Co-
lumbia River. The access
roads are gated and
locked, she said. Coun-
cilman Jody Calica men-
tioned a similar concern:
Tribal members having to
park in areas by the high-
way, which can lead to a
citation.
Oil transport by rail is
another issue at the Co-
lumbia, said Council
Chairman Austin Greene.
Bill Williams said he wants
to work with the tribes on
these issues.
Birth announcements
Anthony Jesse Gonzales Jr.
Anthony Gonzales Sr. and
Ida Frank of Warm Springs
are pleased to announce the
birth of their son Anthony
Jesse Gonzales Jr., born on
August 3, 2016.
Anthony Jr. joins sister
Lawanda.
Grandparents on the
father’s side are the late David
Gonzales, and Georgina
Suppah.
Grandparents on the
mother’s side are Eldred
Frank and Andrea White.
Rowena May Begay
Atcitty Begay and Calley
Begay of Simnasho are
pleased to announce the birth
of their daughter Rowena
May Begay, born on August
13, 2016.
Rowena joins brother
Landon, 5, and Colton, 3.
Grandparents on the
father’s side are Anson Begay
and CR Begay of Simnasho.
Grandparents on the
mother’s side are Mick
Scroggs and Tamara Scroggs,
of Metolius.