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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1993)
Smoke Signals January 1993 Page 2 NEWS FROM OTHER TRIBES Tulalips React to EPA Survey Tulalip Indians arc calling for action by state and federal government agencies in regards to a recently relaeased study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that found significant and widespread chemical contamination in sport-caught fish. The contaminants include diozins, PCBs, DDT, and other pestcides. The average person consumes 6.5 grams offish per day, approximately one fish meal per month, according to the study. Native Americans, who consume much higher quantities offish on average, are at greater risk than the general public. "The people of the Tulalip Tribes are calling on state and federal agencies to acknowledge the significance of these findings by providing financial support for local data-collection efforts," said tribal chairman Stan Jones, Sr.. "The information gathered on the local level would then be used to draft more appropriate regulations." Cow Creek's Bingo Hall Pays Off The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians finished building their 1.1 million dollar bingo hall six months ago in Canyonville, Oregon, and has been raking in $6,000 $8,000 a night ever since. The Tribe received a loan from the Bureau of Indian Affairs that allowed them to build the bingo hall, and are swiftly paying back the loan. The Tribe made the decision to build the facility in order to help them become economically self sufficient. Canyonville is located in Douglas County, where the local timber economy isn't thriving very well. The bingo hall has put 34 Canyonville people to work full-time. The Tribe plans on expanding the hall to include some slot machines and Keno, but there will be no gaming tables or alcohol on the premises. State Sues to Halt Siletz Casino Plans SALEM, Ore. (AP) The state of Oregon has filed a federal lawsuit to halt plans by the Confederated tribes of Siletz to build a gaming casino in Salem. The lawsuit seeks to Prevent Interior Secretery Manuel Lujan from taking the 20 acres of commercial land into trust so the Tribe can build on it. The lawsuit, filed November 20, in U. S. District Court in Portland, is the state's response to a request from Lujan that Governor Barbara Roberts concur with his November 6 decision that the Tribe go ahead with the project. Roberts restated her opposition to the plan, and in a letter to Lujan, she formally refused to concur with the finding that the casino wouldn't be detrimental to the community. "I have found nothing to convince me that my origonal position was incorrect," the Governor said in the latest letter. Roberts last month spelled out her opposition allowing the Siletz Indians to aquire land in North Salem to operate an $8.8 million , 24 hour casino seven days per week. Lujan, despite Roberts' opposition, concluded the casino would be in the best interest of the Tribe, and not harmful to the community. He asked Roberts to respond by November 20. The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would prohibit Lujan from taking the land into trust. It also seeks to clarify whether the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows gaming without the concurrence of the Governor, said Kerry Barnett, the Governor's legal adviser. "We're seeking to push the issue along for a final resolution," Barnett said. The project is subject to Interior Department approval because it would be on newly aquired land. Most Siletz tribal property is in Lincoln County on the coast. Tribal Chai rperson Dalores Pigsley said she was disappointed with the Governor's response but that she was optimistic that Lujan would allow the proposal to go forward. "In spite of what the Governor said, she has nor provided anything new and different to show any detrimental impacts," Pigsley said. "There's nothing that disproves Lujan's findings." Roberts said she has great respect for the tribe but is also a resident of Salem. "When I consider detriment to the surrounding community, I am thinking about ' my own community," she said. "With this local perspective...I have concluded that this aquisition should not be approved." "Credible concerns have been expressed by law enforcement, the city of Salem, and literally thousands of individual citizens that a casino inSalem would erode the social and moral fabric of the community and that quality of life would decline," she said. She also noted that the constitutional amendment passed by Oregon voters in 1984 authorizing lottery includes a provision forbidding casinos. Reprinted from Yakima Nation Review Groups Work to Protect Enola Hill On Wednesday, December 16, Tribal members and representatives from organizations throughout Washington and Oregon gathered in Portland to protest the Forest Service's use of National Forests, Enola Hill, and other Native American sacred sites. Enola Hill is a 3,000 foot mountain southeast of Rhododendron in the Zigzag Ranger District of Mt. Hood National Forest. Enola hill has been used by Native people for thousandsofyearsfor religious worship, ceremonial hunts, vision quests, and medicine plant gathering. It continues to be used by many Tribes throughout the Northwest. The Yakima Nation built a sweatlodge on Enola and the U.S. Forest Service is threatening to destroy it and open up a bid for timber sales on Enola. Other tribes which oppose logging on Enola Hill are the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Other groups supporting the protection of Enola include the Association of Oregon Archaeologists, Oregon State Preservation Office, and the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, a group which in a letter to the USFS Regional Forester stated they had "...serious questions regarding the value of timber on Enola Hill and the wisdom of logging this area. " Enola Hill is only one of several sacred sites that is in danger. Mount Graham in .Arizona, The Black Hills, and Medicine Rock on the Siletz River are only a few of the Native American sacred sites in the United States that have been subject to religious freedom arguments. On January 1 3 there will be another protest at Portland's Waterfront Park to demand a moratorium on the destruction of national forests and to campaign for forest restoration, wildlife protection, and clean water, and the preservation of sacred sites. Sponsors of this campaign are Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project, Voice of the Wild Siskiyous, Wijliams Watershed Protection Association, Kangaroo, Cascade, Southern Willamette, Cheetwoot, and Stumptown Earth First! If you are interested in joining the fight to protect Enola Hill, you can help by calling the offices of Governor Barbara Roberts or Senator Mark Hatfield and voicing your opinion, writing a letter to your local newspaper, or by donating to an organization working to protect Enola Hill. Moving.. .Let us know If you have recently moved or are planning on moving, let us know so you won't have to miss a single copy of your favorite newsletter. Just fill out this form with your new address and mail it back to Smoke Signals at 9615 Grand Ronde Rd., Grand Ronde, OR 97347 NEW OLD Name: Address: Pity: BtateZip: Smoke Signals EDITOR TRACY OLSON Smoke Signals is published monthly by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, 9615 Grand Ronde Rd., Grand Ronde, OR 97347. Articles appearing in Smoke Signals are the sole responsibil ity of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Submissions of articles, poetry, short stories, artwork and photos are encouraged. Smoke Signals does not assume responsibility for unsolicited material and does not guarantee publication upon submission.
