THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY
$18.9 million loan for
casino goes through
By Tracy Olson
The loan papers for the tribal ca
sino were signed on Feb 27, by
Spirit Mountain Development
Corporation Chairman Mike
Larsen, and General Manager
Bruce Thomas.
The loan for the casino, negoti
ated through John Hancock Insur
ance Company, is for $18.9 mil
lion. This financing has special sig
nificance not only for the Grand
Ronde Tribe, but for any tribe in
terested in pursuing gaming as an
economic development opportu
nity. Mark Jarboe, a financing attor
ney with Dorsey and Whitney in
Minneapolis, helped establish
Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc., a
subsidiary of SMDC, and also
helped the company in the loan
transaction.
Jarboe said that since the Bureau
of Indian Affairs loans are no
longer available to tribes, most
tribes establishing a gaming ven
ture hire a management company
to get the wheels in motion on a
start-up project.
Most management companies
bring their own people in to run
the casino and require a substan
tial percentage of the profits as
compensation.
"This is the first transaction in the
U.S. I know of where an insurance
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company gave a loan to a tribe for
an operation of this type," said
Jarboe. "John Hancock was re
markably cooperative. Their rep
resentatives were impressed with
the Tribe and Spirit Mountain's
planning and quality of staff."
Jarboe said that lenders are usu
ally very cautious when dealing
with Indian tribes, but that Grand
Ronde was treated the same way a
large corporation or unit of govern
ment would be treated when apply
ing for financing.
Another person who has worked
on the casino financing is Scott
Clements, Senior Managing Con
sultant for Public Financial Man
agement, Inc. He was retained by
SMDC to identify potential lend
ers. He put the Tribe in contact with
John Hancock. Clements worked
with SMDC and the Tribe from the
onset of the gaming project and
said, "This deal will not only ben
efit Grand Ronde, but all tribes in
terested in gaming. Other tribes can
now consider their best financing
options, separate from decisions
about management or where the
equipment will come from."
Clements said that tribes can have
the opportunity to negotiate the best
deal they can based on likelihood
of success, and their own planning.
"This is a significant step forward
for all tribes," he said.
Bronze artwork nears
Historic tribal member's
Work is underway on a major
bronze artwork destined to be the
centerpiece of Spirit Mountain re
sort, scheduled to open this fall.
Sculpted by Troutdale's artist Rip
Caswell, the twice-life-size bronze
portrays memorable Martha Jane
Sands passing the culture and tra
dition of basketmaking to her
granddaughter.
The central figure has special
meaning to the Tribe. As a child in
the 1850s, Sands was separated
from her family in the "Trail of
Tears", a U.S. Army relocation of
Oregon tribes to the Grand Ronde
reservation. She grew up to be
come a noted basketmaker.
"With a powerful sense of per-
A smaller size version of the bronze artwork of Martha Jane
for the entrance of the casino.
OF OREGON March
image will greet casino visitors for years to come
sonal triumph and dignity over gijsn and Chinook Jargon on a
tragedy, this piece embodies our
Tribe's respect and recognition for
our culture, and for those who kept
it alive from generation to genera
tion," said Kathryn Harrison, Vice
Chair of the Tribal Council.
The work was inspired by tribal
member and noted artist Lon
Mercier's rendering of an old photo
of Sands. Kathryn recently sat as a
model for the bronze, in which two
figures are seated on the ground as
they work on a basket.
Plans call for the 5 12 foot tall
artwork to be placed in the entry
foyer of the casino, welcom ing visi
tors to the facility. A traditional
greeting will be inscribed in En-
J? t- "
17, 1995
completion
plaque set into the artwork's ped
estal. The greeting will be as follows:
Klohowyam nesika tillicum!
(Welcome our friends!)
mithlet lee lee
(live long)
cupa ook ilahee
(on this land)
A limited edition of 150 scaled
down bronze "maquettes" or mod
els of the work are available
through the Caswell Gallery in
Troutdale. The limited-edition
pieces are accompanied by a print
of Mercier's rendering of Sands.
Sands, commissioned by SMDC