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ROGUE RIVER I
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
December 1, 1999
Members gather to celebrate Restoration
By Tracy Dugan
More than 200 tribal members and
family came to the Grand Ronde El
ementary School on November 21 to
celebrate the anniversary of Grand
Ronde Restoration. This year, the
Tribe celebrated 16 years of being
federally recognized. The Grand
Ronde Royalty Committee and the
Royalty participants hosted the celebration.
Signed by President Reagan on
November 22, 1983, the Grand
Ronde Restoration Act allowed the
Tribe to be recog-
sovereign na
function as its
ernment, as
allow tribal
in
A)
nized as a
tion, and
own gov-
well as
a mem-
,: ' V ff' : 1 1 ,
bers to receive benefits from federal
Native programs such as Indian
Health Service and the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. After federal recog
nition, the Tribe received 9,811
acres of reservation land in Grand
Ronde.
At the celebration, Council Chair
Kathryn Harrison thanked the
people who were involved in the res
toration effort during the early
years.
"We should thank those people
who worked so hard for all of us,"
said Harrison. "Not just today, but
anytime of the year."
Harrison said that although we
can be proud of what we have now,
we should not forget the hard
times.
"This is the Thanksgiving season.
It's a good time to reflect on how far
we've come," she said. "Here we are,
with our buildings, our land, and re
sources at our disposal. Let's thank
those people who started this effort."
Merle Leno was the announcer for
the celebration. Before the feast was
served, some prizes were given to
tribal members who came to the
event. Ila Dowd received a prize for
being the eldest woman at the cel
ebration; Leonard Vivette received
a prize for being the eldest man.
Leonard also won the prize given
out for the tribal member who trav
eled the greatest distance to be at the
celebration. He lives in Yakima.
Stan Speaks, Area Director for the
Continued on page 2
Royalty princesses Andrea Childers, (left) and Ashley Bedortha
celebrate with family members Angie Ellis (Ashley's mom) and
grandma Candy Robertson. Photo by Tracy Dugan
mum wsnmmw mm
liters encouraged
to apply for housing
By Brent Merrill
The dream of having a place for tribal Elders to live in the heart of the
Grand Ronde community will soon come true for many. An area near
the current tribal governance center has been cleared and construction
is under way, and is scheduled for completion in August of 2000.
The Elders' housing project is a 38 unit rental development, which is
receiving funding from the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
The units will be made up of 900 square foot duplexes, triplexes and
four-plexes. Each unit will have two bedrooms, one bathroom, front porch
and patio and a carport with storage. Gas ranges, refrigerators, dish
washers, washers and dryers, gas forced air heating and air condition
ing are featured in each unit.
Units will be handicapped accessible and can be fitted for wheelchairs
inside as well.
The housing complex will have walking paths around it.
Tribal Occupancy Specialist Bryan Langley said the process for Elders
Continued on page 2
Bl (BflD ami, GSpS1
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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Smoke signals
Spirit Mountain to develop,
manage Spokane casino
for Kalispel Tribe
Spirit Mountain Casino will serve
as the primary management con
sultant to the Kalispel Tribe in de
veloping the Kalispel's Northern
Quest Casino north of Spokane.
Spirit Mountain will help provide
equity and other financing to build
the casino. It will oversee construc
tion and operation of the casino for
five years.
"Spirit Mountain has helped turn
things around for the Grand Ronde
people," said Kathryn Harrison,
chairwoman of the Tribal Council.
"We are happy to be helping another
tribe work toward self-sufficiency."
"The management team at Spirit
Mountain has a firsthand under
standing of the economic develop
ment and self-sufficiency goals of the
Kalispel Tribe," said Glen Nenema,
Chairman of the Kalispel Tribal Busi
ness Council. "They are a good fit."
The Kalispel Tribe plans to open
its casino next fall. It is expected to
employ 500 people, with a payroll of
$12 million. Revenue from the ca
sino will fund tribal education and
their Camas Institute, developed in
association with Dartmouth College
and Gonzaga University to provide
educational and employment oppor
tunities for the general public and
other Native Americans living near
the Kalispel reservation. The casino
also will provide employment oppor
tunities for the greater eastern
Washington community.
"It is unique for a tribe to step in to
help out another tribe " said Bruce
Thomas, Spirit Mountain CEO. "This
is a great opportunity for us to share
our experience and expertise with
other Native people."
Typically, Indian tribes contract
with Nevada or New Jersey firms to
oversee casino development. This is
one of the first times that an Indian
tribe has chosen to contract with
another tribe for casino development
and management services.
The Kalispel Tribe also considered
management proposals from the
Mille Lacs of Minnesota and the
Oneida Tribe of New York.
"Spirit Mountain has shown that
it can build a first-class casino and
operate it in a socially responsible
way," said Dave Bonga of the
Kalispel Tribe'.
Spirit Mountain is the largest and
most successful casino in the North
west. It is Oregon's number one at
traction, drawing more than 3 mil
lion visitors a year. The casino em
ploys 1,500 people. Spirit Mountain
is one of eight Indian casinos in Or
egon. Grand Ronde was the only Or
egon tribe to build and operate a ca
sino without the help of an outside
management firm. Instead, the
Tribe put together its own financing
package and management team to
oversee building and operating the
$50 million casino.