January 1, 1999
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Yakama Indians celebrate Nez Perce will expand gaming
grand opening of sawmill
WHITE SWAN, Wash. (AP)
The Yakama Indian Nation has
opened its first sawmill.
The $12 million Yakama Forest
Products Sawmill is the latest at
tempt by the tribe to improve its eco
nomic outlook.
The tribe has made money off tim
ber sales for half a century. Instead
of selling its logs to other mills, the
tribe will now be able to convert
small logs into boards and keep more
timber money at home.
"In the past, I witnessed the trucks ,
going forth loaded with logs, and the
thing that was sad to me was that
they weren't coming here, they were
going to Yakima," said Clifford Moses,
a tribal council member.
"It has always been my dream that
the Yakama Nation should make its
own finished materials, and that
dream has come true," he said.
Proposals to start a sawmill failed
in the Yakama Nation General Coun
cil several times before finally win
ning approval in 1994.
Although individual Yakamas
. have runsmall mills in the past, this
is the first tribally-owned mill and
the first to open on the reservation
since the White Swan Lumber Mill
closed nearly 10 years ago. Ninety
people lost their jobs as a result of
that closure. Tim Vigil was one of
the loggers left hanging when the
mill closed. Now he is one of 65
people, most of them Yakamas, who
works for Yakama Forest Products.
"It was good to get out of the
woods," Vigil said. "It's fewer hours
and that means more time I can
spend with my kids. And I can count
on it the way I couldn't always with
logging."
The mill is expected to have an
annual payroll of $2 million. It is
running just one shift a day, but
could expand to two shifts, adding
another 35 workers. The jobs pay
between $9 and $15 an hour.
The 9,100-member tribe typically
earns between $25 million and $35
million a year from timber sales, said
Tribal Director Delano Saluskin.
Mill officials estimate the facility
will generate $20 million in sales an
nually, bringing in about $2 million
in profits.
, The , mill has been in production
since October.
Circuit court rejects tribal appeal
DA pact from 1965 limits
tribal jurisdiction and
authority on the reservation.
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - The
Nez Perce Tribe is considering pull
ing out of a law enforcement agree
ment that limits its jurisdiction over
non-members on the reservation.
The 1965 pact was the focus of a 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals deci
sion that the tribe had no jurisdic
tion in a case involving Lewis
County sheriff's deputies on the res
ervation. Because the Nez Perce had agreed
to the state's authority, it could not
claim control over minor crimes on
the reservation, the court ruled. -
If the agreement is the "reason why
tribal jurisdiction has been limited, it
seems from the tribe's standpoint that
isn't a desirable result," said Douglas
Nash, tribal chief counsel.
Nash also said the agreement,
which covers a half-dozen misde
meanors, is outdated. Some of the
crimes listed are not in force any
more, such as vagrancy.
The case began in 1986 when
tribal member John Allen was ar
rested at his home on the reserva
tion for disturbing the peace.
The charge was later dismissed in
state court. Allen then sued the
county for false arrest and false im
prisonment. A tribal court jury assessed dam
ages against the county and its of
ficers. But Lewis County convinced
a federal judge to void that order on
grounds the tribe lacked jurisdiction.
The Nez Perce appeal failed.
When the tribe agreed to the state's
involvement, Nash said, there was
one Bureau of Indian Affairs agent
charged with keeping the peace.
Now the Nez Perce have their own
police force.
Still, Nash said, there could be a
gap in law enforcement.
"One possibility that has been dis
cussed is deputization of state,
county and local law enforcement
officers, who would then be in a po
sition to apply tribal law," he said.
Indian officials did find one aspect
of the latest decision pleasing the
opinion included references to the
Nez Perce Reservation.
The North Central Idaho Jurisdic
tional Alliance, a federation of 22
governmental entities, is trying to
break down tribal jurisdiction on the
reservation.
Alliance officials had praised the
latest court ruling. But tribal Chair
man Samuel Penney points out the
circuit court ruling is a major state
ment of the reservation's existence.
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) The
Nez Perce Indian Tribe is planning
to expand its gaming operations to
include a new casino building and
off-track betting, despite a drop in
revenues.
The tribe has hired a new gaming
manager with expansion experience
to help.
Bob Lee recently arrived in
Lewiston from Iowa, where he help
ed add a casino to a racetrack. Be
fore that, he helped open a racetrack
in Houston, Texas, and the Coeur
d'Alene Greyhound Park in Post
Falls.
By the first of the year, racetrack
enthusiasts will be able to take part
in off-track betting at the Clear-water
River Casino just east of Lewis
ton. And in six months, bidding will
begin for construction of a new
building for the It'se Ye Ye Tribal
Bingo and Casino in Kamiah.
Plans will also be finalized this
spring for the construction of a per
manent building for the Clearwater
River Casino, which will likely be
built in the year 2000.
"We struck quickly in gaming, and
now it's time to elevate our services,"
Nez Perce Tribal Executive Commit
tee Treasurer Jaime Pinkham said.
"We've been successful and we're
ready to take it to the next step."
In fiscal year 1998, the two casi
nos made $2.7 million after operat
ing expenses. About 90 percent of
that came from the Clearwater River
Casino.
This year's net revenue marked a
drop from 1997, the first year of op
eration for the Clearwater casino,
when gaming pulled in $4 million.
"When you open, you have a
phase where you are new and excit
ing, the new kid on the block," said
Lee, "and typically you'll soon get to
a point where business levels off."
Lee and Pinkham said operating ex
penses went up this year mainly due
to a rise in employee salaries and
benefits.
"We think that creating employee
benefits will help lift morale and we'll
be able to recapture some of those
revenues down the road," Lee said.
Idaho leaders mull NW Salmon Plan
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The gov
ernor of Montana apparently will
not join Oregon and Washington in
the so-called "three sovereigns" pro
cess for salmon recovery, The Orego
nian reported recently.
And six of 13 Indian tribes all
considered critical to any successful
salmon recovery strategy also are
uncertain about participating. But
both retiring Gov. Phil Batt and Gov.
elect Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho are
easing back on their original oppo
sition, leaving open the possibility
that Idaho could still agree to the
proposition.
Kempthorne said he has discussed
the issue with Batt, who reiterated
his belief that changes have been
made to the proposal that address
at least some of his initial concerns
about ceding state's rights and other
matters.
"I concurred with Governor Batt
then, and some changes have been
made," Kempthorne said.
"I'm being brought up to speed
now," he said. 'That's a project that's
still in working order. I don't know
what the outcome will be yet."
The opposition of Montana Gov.
Marc Racicot and second thoughts
by some of the tribes were seen as a
setback for Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber's efforts to break a dead
lock over salmon recovery with a re
gional problem-solving approach.
That means ho quick end to dis
putes among the states, tribes and
federal agencies over salmon recov
ery that has cost over $3 billion dur
ing the past 15 years without pro
ducing any marked results.
The governors, federal officials
and tribal leaders representing
three sovereigns are scheduled to
meet in Portland to commit to sign
ing a memorandum of agreement
outlining a new form of regional gov
ernance called the Columbia Basin
Forum.
But several problems have devel
oped: The Montana governor has
called the forum an expensive du
plication of other salmon recovery
panels, like the Northwest Power
Planning Council. The council has
two governor-appointed representa
tives from the four Northwest states,
but lacks federal or tribal represen
tation. Batt, Kempthorne and
Racicot have made public in the past
their concerns about losing control
over reservoirs used for agricultural
irrigation and recreational boating.
Industrial users of the river say they
fear a new system that might dis
rupt their interests.
Some tribal leaders say recent ac
tions by the Oregon Attorney
General's office have raised their sus
picions. Advocates of the new forum, in
cluding Kitzhaber aides and top fed
eral officials, contend it is still alive
and that skepticism on the part of
the states and tribes could moder
ate. "My attitude is, let's leave the
door open," said Danny Consenstein,
Columbia River Coordinator for the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
"I haven't given up on them."