Health funding
measure passes
Deanie Johnson (left) and the
Wasco Dancers (right) perform
at the opening of the Youth Art
Exhibit.
The hand-drum performance
(upper right) was an added
attraction in the main gallery.
And above, a couple admire
the turtle artwork by students
at the Warm Springs Academy.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
News around Indian Country
Paulette Jordan hopes to be
first Native state governor
Paulette Jordan, member of
the Idaho House of Representa-
tives, is running for Governor of
Idaho.
She would be the first Native
state governor in the U.S.
She previously served on the
Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council. She
is the only Democrat elected from
northern Idaho.
Rep. Jordan was born into a
ranching and farming family in
northern Idaho. She is an enrolled
citizen of the Coeur d’Alene tribe.
She also has Sinkiuse (known
as the Moses–Columbia Band of
the Colville Confederacy), Nez
Perce, and Yakama.
Jordan attended Gonzaga Pre-
paratory before going to the Uni-
versity of Washington.
While in Seattle, she held a va-
riety of leadership roles in com-
munity activism and became in-
volved in local city politics, also
serving as an Advisor to the Presi-
dent of the University.
After returning to the reserva-
tion, Jordan ran for and was
elected to the Tribal Council.
From this position, she became
the co-chair of gaming for the
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest In-
Oregon voters approved Mea-
sure 101, good news for the tribal
Managed Care program. The
measure passed last week by an
overwhelming majority.
The referendum asked voters
to approve up to $320 million in
taxes on hospitals and certain
health insurers to help pay for
those on the Oregon Health Plan,
the state’s version of Medicaid.
Many tribal members use the
Oregon Health Plan, reducing the
reliance on the Managed Care pro-
gram for some health procedures.
Some state lawmakers said the
passage of Measure 101 still does
not provide a permanent resolu-
tion to the state budget situation.
“The voters have approved
Measure 101, voting to protect
health care for over 300,000 Or-
egonians,” said Senator Jackie Win-
ters, R-Salem.
“This is a short term fix, and
we will need to work to find a
bipartisan long term solution. I am
hopeful that we will move forward
with this bipartisan spirit into the
2018 short session.”
Yakama concern over possible landslide
The Yakama Nation is ask-
ing Washington Gov. Jay Inslee
to declare a state of emergency
for the Rattlesnake Ridge land-
slide. It’s a steep slope outside
of Yakima that is moving slowly
and clings above a small com-
munity, a railroad corridor, In-
terstate 82 and the Yakima River.
The tribes have a lot to lose
if it goes down: Rattlesnake
Ridge is an important geological
feature of the Yakama Nation’s
traditional lands.
It faces another ridge across a
narrow valley. If Rattlesnake Ridge
really slides—in the worst case sce-
nario—that could deeply affect the
tribes.
First, there’s actual tribal prop-
erty on the top of the ridge. It is
unclear what would happen to the
tribal property right in csae of
a landslide.
Then there’s the historical
value of the ridge to the tribes.
The tribes won an important
battle there against the U.S.
Army in the 1800s.
And there’s an old legend
about crickets, frogs and the
Grizzly Bear, based on the
ridge.
Klamath plan to open $6.5 million hotel at casino
Paulette Jordan
dians, an organization founded in
1953 so that tribes could act in
concert on mutual interests.
She is also a Senior Executive
Board representative, Finance
Chair and Energy Initiative Chair
for the National Indian Gaming
Association, serving her third con-
secutive term.
Rep. Jordan also owns timber
and farmland in northern Idaho.
She is now running for Governor
of Idaho against A.J. Balukoff and
Troy Minton in the Democratic
Primary.
The Klamath Tribes continue
work on a hotel at the Kla-Mo-Ya
Casino in southern Oregon.
The Choice Hotels Sleep Inn
will open this summer, according
to a press release posted by The
Klamath Falls News. The $6.5 mil-
lion project features 76 rooms, an
indoor pool and a conference
room.
“I’m going to remain optimistic
and keep pushing forward,” Jared
Hall, the tribe’s economic develop-
ment director, said in the press re-
lease.
The tribe broke ground last
August. The project is being fi-
nanced in part by a loan guar-
antee issued by the Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
9 more ‘deemed approved’ gaming compacts
The Bureau of Indian Affairs
has allowed nine tribal gaming com-
pacts to take effect in California, a
significant number for the Golden
State.
The agreements are considered
legal, but only to the extent their
provisions are consistent with the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,
according to a notice published in
the Federal Register. The Secretary
of the Interior otherwise did not
outright approve or outright the
nine compacts.
“The Secretary took no action
on the compacts within 45 days of
their submission,” the notice signed
by John Tahsuda, the Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for In-
dian Affairs for the Trump admin-
istration, read.
Allowing a compact to take ef-
fect is not an unusual event in and
of itself. But the publication of the
notice increases the number of
“deemed approved” compacts in
California by a significant amount.
In all of 2016 and 2017, the
BIA allowed nine compacts to take
effect, so the number of “deemed
approved” compacts has doubled
with the publication of just one
notice.
Still, the situation pales in com-
parison to the one seen in New
Mexico. In that state, every single
tribe is operating under a “deemed
approved” compact.