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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2003)
FEBRUARY 15, 2003 Smoke Signals 5 Oregon Tribes Closer To Forming An Oregon Gaming Alliance Differences exist but common interests seem to hold. jT , I fid f Tribes Meet In Salem, Talk Issues Warm Spring's Chief Delvis Heath (right) attended the Oregon Tribes meeting in Salem that was hosted by Grand Ronde on Thursday, January 30 and had some strong words for the Grand Ronde Tribe and in particular Tribal member and Intergovernmental Affairs Director Jus tin Martin. Martin responded to Heath's comments by saying that the important issues facing Tribes in Oregon aren't about Tribe vs. Tribe and go beyond gaming. By Ron Karten The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hosted six of nine Oregon Tribes at the end of January in the latest step in an effort "to find ways to better work together," as Tribal member and the Tribe's Inter governmental Affairs Director Justin Martin said. Tribal Council members Ed Larsen and Valorie Sheker-Robertson represented Grand Ronde at the meeting. Impetus for moving forward with the alliance came in part from Terry Springer, Chairman of the Gam ing Commission for the Coquille Indian Tribe, and veteran of the Oregon State Police Department's Criminal Division, who said, "The one thing the state fears the most is that the Tribes work together and share information." "I think it's a real good thing that the Oregon Tribes are talking together about gaming issues," said Sheker-Robertson after the meeting. "When Tribes work together, we get laws passed," said Barbara Sam, secretary of Tribal Council for the Burns Paiute Tribe. Differences continue to threaten to drive a wedge between Tribes. "This is the third or fourth time we've tried to organize," said Joseph Moses, Paiute Chief and Tribal Council member of the Confeder ated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. "I think we need it but I question the extent when we have two Tribes, Grand Ronde and Cow Creek, that are opposing us (on casino issues)." Martin responded to Moses' comments by saying "This is not about Tribe versus Tribe. This is about a policy that affects all nine Tribes and ultimately the future of Indian Gaming in Oregon." For the Burns Paiute, a small Tribe in the rural southeast corner of the state with relatively few machines, Dean Adams, Vice President of the Burns Paiute Tribal Council, said that in four years, the Tribe was earning next to no profit because it was paying the Oregon State Police (OSP) the same as large operations pay for their watchdog functions. On more mundane matters, Jessie Davis, Vice Chairwoman of Confederated Tribes of Siletz, sought an informal framework for the group. Previous ef forts had stalled, she said, by wrangling over by-laws. In the past, the state has taken the operations of one Tribe's gaming efforts and made it a boilerplate for all Indian gaming operations in the state, accord ing to Siletz's Davis. It was important for the group that each Tribe be honored and evaluated based on individual characteristics, including geography and casino size. At the end of the day, however, neither everyday nor lifeblood issues stopped the group from moving forward with the idea. The group sought sample mission statements, by-law documents and informa tion describing possible future public relations cam paigns. Warm Springs' Director of Tribal Relations Rudy Clements pushed for a "philosophy statement" describing the group's "values and beliefs" to keep everybody in "the same spirit." In addition, Tribal representatives will seek resolutions from their re spective Tribal Councils delegating power to those representing the Tribes in the emerging group. Grand Ronde lobbyist Martin voiced a number of possible benefits in forming the association: D a bet ter voice on a regional basis; 2) collaboration between Tribes; 3) information sharing; 4) making prepara tion possible for potential and future problems and conflicts; 5) better prevention efforts through a uni fied voice. The focus, said Martin, could go beyond gaming to economic development in general. The challenge, however, is "how can we be effective without letting personal politics seep in?" Discussion of possible Tribal response to the re cent Time magazine series on Indian gaming foun dered on the news from the Cow Creek Band's lob byist Ted Hughes, who said that the series had failed to stir even a comment in the capitol, whether from legislators, reporters or citizens. Though the authors of the Time articles had con ducted interviews in Oregon for the story, Grand Ronde lobbyist Martin considered it a sign of how well run the Oregon operations are that no mention of Oregon was made in the often negative series. In the end, Burns Paiute's Dean said, "It sounded like we were heard. We're on the right track here." "Like Jessie Davis says, it's going to be a good thing, but we're not going to agree on everything," said Grand Ronde's Larsen. Arkansas Tribal Member Takes Team To State 6'6" senior has sights set on playing college football after stellar high school career. 1 V! Cy- -'f . . "-'; '" "v fTv it - t "V '; " r -y (j -v, -t . fij ' V " f i - r- ; , V r ,'' k i ' 4 ' ' V. . ; , ; ' . - . t , v- " Big Man On Campus - Tribal member Josh Gamel By Ron Karten From almost the opposite corner of the nation, Grand Ronde Tribal member Josh Gamel has been quietly carving out a career for himself. At 6'6", 360 pounds, the "Big Geasy" plays center on the of fensive line for his Batesville Arkansas High School football team. This season,, Gamel made all-district, all-conference and all-state titles at the position. "He's exceptionally gifted for a man of 6'6"," said his coach and the school's athletic director, Dave King. "It's a funny thing to say, but for a guy 360 pounds, he's really light on his feet." Gamel is soft-spoken but pleased about his accom plishments. "I don't think anyone from Batesville has gotten all-state from the line in maybe four years," he said. Two defensive players from the team also got the nod this year as all-state in their positions. The team itself went to the state championships but ended at third in its district. In his spare time, he likes "to hang out with friends, play video games," he said. Older sister Candy initially called Smoke Signals to advise us of her brother's success. "I just know that a lot of kids at school really look up to Josh. He's a big boy, and it's not just because he's my brother, but he's really nice. He doesn't pick on people, and if somebody is, he'll say, you don't need to be doing that. I just think he's great," she said. "He's got a big heart," said his coach. "He's very popular with his teammates. A lot of guys take advantage of their size, but he's a big, loveable kid and others care a lot for him. Real personable." Gamel has been playing football since 7th grade. He has played right tackle and left guard, but moved to the center position last year as a junior, and the team has gone to the state playoffs in both of the years since. "He has to make a lot of line calls and does an outstanding job," said King. He throws the shot and discus for the track team and used to play basketball just for fun, but now "there's not enough time with football practice." When he works out, he does bench press repeti tions with 320-330 pounds. And a lot of his other activities, as you might imagine, revolve around his great strength and agility. He joined a team that won a 70-yard truck push. He was part of a team that won a "Tough Man" championship, a weightlifting and agility event sponsored by the lo cal White River Medical Center. During a game against nearby Newport High School this year, Gamel won a $500 scholarship as "Outstanding Senior" of the game. Gamel also is a serious student. He's looking for ward to a 3.0 grade point average at semester's end. In his future: "just to go to college. I hope to be playing football somewhere." Specifically, he's seek ing a football scholarship from his first choices, Ar kansas Tech and Conway University. The family is originally from Texas. "My mom moved to Arkansas. My grandma (Tribal Elder Shirley Snell) and aunt (Andrea Bickie) and my aunt's kids (Christopher and Jennifer) moved to Or egon McMinnville." he said, which encouraged the Gamel's to make a trip to the Northwest. Although he doesn't see the Northwest end of the family much, (except that Snell recently moved back to Arkansas), Candy said she calls them a couple times a week, and both remember, as Josh said, "We went up there two to three years ago. We went to the restaurant and the casino and then drove down to California to see Disneyland." is a big prospect at 6'6" and 360 lbs., but according to his family and coach, his heart is even bigger. Gamel has his sights set on playing college football now that he has finished his high school career.
