8 MARCH 15, 2002
Smoke Signals
Tribe Plans $200 million Casino Complex Near 1-5
TACOMA, WA. (AP) - The
Puyallup Tribe of Indians is plan
ning a $200 million casino complex
- with waterfalls, a 250-room hotel,
shopping arcades and a man-made
lake - on Tribal land near Interstate
5 just east of the city.
The Tribe has chosen Nevada
based Morris & Brown Architects to
design the complex, which will re
place its Emerald Queen Casino on
the Tide flats.
"This will be the biggest and the
best," said Frank Wright, Manager
of the Emerald Queen and coordi
nator of the new project. "It will be
like nothing anybody has seen in
this area."
The casino complex with a
3,000-seat entertainment arena,
health spas and half-dozen restau
rants - will be built on land now oc
cupied by the Tribal headquarters
and bingo hall.
"This is not going to be some big,
eg
mum.
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gaudy casino," said Tribal spokes
man John Weymer. "It's going to
be more like a village."
When completed, the complex will
employ about 3,500 people, said
Weymer, more than triple the num
ber at the Emerald Queen.
"The overall economic impact on
the region will be in the hundreds
of millions of dollars," he said when
the project was announced.
City officials reacted cautiously.
"Obviously, if it's a project of con
siderable size and scope, it will ne
cessitate a close relationship with
the city," said Mayor Bill Baarsma.
"There is obviously a range of is
sues that need to be discussed and
resolved regarding the impact of
such a project: utility issues, trans
portation issues, impacts on adjoin
ing pieces of property."
City Councilman Mike Lonergan
said he had concerns about dis
counted food and lodging at the ca
sino undercutting other local busi
ness. "They say that's not their plan
here," said Lonergan. "As long as
it's not having a negative impact
on other businesses, I say more
power to them."
Because of the Tribe's sovereign
status and because the project is on
trust land, the Tribe does not need
city, county or state approval to pro
ceed.
The Tribe will have to comply
with national environmental laws,
however. And some casino specif
ics - the numbers of gambling tables
and electronic machines, for ex
ample - will have to be negotiated
with the state as required by the
federal Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act.
Construction may not begin for a
year or more.
Wright said he expects profits to
far surpass those at the more out-of-the-way
Emerald Queen, which
sources put at about $4 million a
month. Daily traffic flow on 1-5 past
the new site averages about 180,000
cars a day, according to the state
Department of Transportation.
The Emerald Queen, which
opened four years ago, will likely
to be sold and the property turned
into a Tribally operated deep-water
port facility, he said.
Feds Still Considering Tribe's Bid For Recognition
SEATTLE, WA. (AP)
Washington's two U.S. senators
and a congressman are pressing the
government to make a decision on
federal recognition for the Chinook
Tribe, whose members helped the
Lewis and Clark expedition
through their winter on the North
west coast nearly 200 years ago.
A decision has been expected, but
Assistant Interior Secretary Neal
McCaleb last week requested an
other four months to consider the
matter.
Chinook Chairman Gary
Johnson said he learned the re
quest had been granted.
"Saying we're frustrated doesn't
tell the story," said Johnson.
"There's just not a reasonable ex
planation of why we have these
delays," he said. "The issues could
be resolved in a matter of days if
someone would do their job and just
go to work on it."
The Chinooks were recognized
until about 30 years ago and have
been fighting to regain that status
since the early 1980s. Recognition
provides benefits such as a reser
vation, money for schools, cultural
activities, medical care and social
services.
It's not clear why the Chinook
were knocked off the list of feder
ally recognized Tribes. Tribal his
torian Stephen Dow Beckham, a
professor at Lewis and Clark Col
lege in Portland, has said there was
no act or document terminating the
recognition.
In a letter to Interior Secretary
Gale Norton, the three Democratic
legislators Senators Maria
Cantwell and Patty Murray and
Rep. Brian Baird said they
"would like to see this arduous,
lengthy process come to an end."
As the nation prepares to cel
ebrate the 200th anniversary of the
Lewis and Clark expedition, "it
would be a tragedy... if the very
Tribe who... helped save the Corps
of Discovery were not recognized
officially," said Baird.
"After more than 20 years fight
ing for recognition, the Chinook
Tribe clearly deserves closure," said
Murray.
Dennis Whittlesey, the attorney
representing the Chinook, also
wrote to Norton, saying there is no
justification for a further delay.
"The Chinooks have waited long
enough," said Whittlesey.
The Tribe was granted recogni
tion in the last days of the Clinton
administration. That decision was
appealed to an administrative
judge, who upheld it but referred
several questions to Norton for re
consideration. She passed the mat
ter on to McCaleb, giving him four
months to evaluate the case. In
February, he requested another
four months.
"I think it sets a troublesome pre
cedent when a former assistant sec
retary made a determination, the
Tribe was given to believe that they
were granted recognition and now
the rug is pulled out from under
them," said Baird.
"I would ask the Bureau of Indi
ans Affairs... what message we will
send to the world if the Chinook are
not officially recognized when the
Lewis and Clark commemoration
proceeds."
The Lewis and Clark expedition
took about three years, from 1804
to 1806.
Want Columbia Basin Dams Run More Like A River
PORTLAND, OR. (AP) - With
last summer's drought gone, Co
lumbia River Indian Tribes recently
called on the federal government to
increase efforts to help salmon by
running dams on the Columbia and
Snake rivers more like a river.
Low water and hydropower emer
gencies last year combined to pro
duce a "salmon slaughter," said Don
Sampson, Executive Director of the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission, which represents Co
lumbia River Tribes with treaty
fishing rights.
With 95 percent of average run
off predicted this year, the finan
cial problems of the Bonneville
Power Administration should no
longer be grounds for denying wa
ter to salmon, the commission's pro
posal said.
The proposal added that the Army
Corps of Engineers should go even
further, operating the dams more
in line with natural flows that are
higher in spring and gradually
taper off through the summer.
The Tribes suggested that more
water should be held back to boost
flows this summer, flows should be
changed to reduce the harm to
young fish in Washington's
Hanford Reach of the Columbia
and the entire spill program should
be increased to save more young
fish from going through turbines.
"The Columbia River will give us
more flexibility this year to make up
for significant impacts to last year's
migrants," said Jay Minthorn,
Chairman of the commission.
Spilling water over dams to help
young salmon migrate to the ocean
is required under a federal fish re
covery plan. But BPA, which mar
kets low-cost electricity generated
at 29 Northwest dams, twice de
clared power emergencies last year
and got permission to waive the re
quirement. A coalition of environmental
groups sued the National Marine
Fisheries Service over its decision
to waive the requirements. Parties
in that lawsuit are in mediation.
Cindy Henriksen, Chief of the
corps' reservoir control center, said
she had not read the proposal yet,
but it is likely to be discussed when
agencies involved in operating the
dams hold their regular meeting of
the Emergency Management Team.