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All nine Tribes were represe
NOVEMBER 15, 2003
By Ron Karten
Tribal leaders from the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde had hoped for a sign from
the Governor at the Sixth Annual State
Tribal Government-to-Government Summit.
Despite the words shared by the Governor in
his address, Tribal officials were still left won
dering how those words would play out in his
actions in the future.
At the conference, Governor Ted Kulongoski
said about Tribal sovereignty issues, that state
law now requires the state to "not just deal - but
deal fairly. Deal consistently. And deal respect
fully" with the nine federally recognized Tribes
in Oregon.
"The law will be enforced," he said. "The letter
of the law. And the spirit of the law. We're
going to talk straight to each other. We are go
ing to listen carefully to each other. We are go
ing to make decisions together. And then we
are going to act on those decisions."
"I believe it is critical that those representing
state government understand and acknowledge
your unique histories, languages and cultures,"
he said.
Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairwoman
Cheryle Kennedy told the gathering, "Together
we can accomplish great things. Together we
can be respectful of each other. To establish a
relationship, we have to keep an open mind."
Tribal Council Liaison Charles Haller II won
dered if the Governor's use of the word, 'unique,'
in relation to Tribal-state relationships foreshad
owed different policies for different Tribes, or
more specifically, a foundation for allowing a
Warm Springs casino in Cascade Locks while
disallowing one in Portland for the Grand Ronde
Tribe. And by way of comparison, Haller pointed
to Kennedy's emphasis on keeping 'an open
mind.'
"I do believe he has misinformation and per
haps has already made commitments he can't
undo," said Kennedy after the conference. "Per
haps he has his mind made up."
On the surface, however, the state and Tribes
stalked a lot of common ground.
Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw Tribal Chair
Ron Brainard said that his Tribe was "thankful
for what we've accomplished and hopeful for the
future."
Coquille Tribal Chair Ed Metcalf called the
session, "a remarkable forum. The rest of the
world could learn from our professionalism."
Umatilla Tribal Chair
Gary Burke named
salmon restoration, and
economic development as
"issues of mutual con
cern" and said that "to
make life better for the
next generation - I
beicve that's why we're
all here."
"Warm Springs Tribal
Chair Garland Brunoe
said that "in a few short
months, we have cemented the sovereign rela
tionship of the Tribe with the state." He praised
the Governor for signing SB 180, which he said
recognizes Tribes as primary providers of Trans
portation, ending the "era of begging counties
for services."
At the same time, he expressed disappointment
with the Governor's appointments to the Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Siletz Vice-Chair Jessie Davis expressed con
cern about the time it takes to put land in Trust
for Tribes.
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Head Of State Governor Ted Kulongoski addressed more than 200 at the Government-To-Government Summit.
He pledged to work in a fair, consistent and respectful way with Oregon's nine federally recognized Tribes. Leaders of
the nine sovereign nations described successes and challenges ahead in their dealings with the state of Oregon.
"The Burns Paiute seemed to be a Tribe in
another country," said Burns Paiute Tribal
Chair Dean Adams of the Tribal-state relation
ship in recent years. "Our people have
struggled and struggled. Now, it's time to turn
that over."
Klamath Tribes Vice-Chair Joe Hobbs noted
that "the path of progress is seldom smooth,"
but asked, "Are we not made better for the ef-
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fort and the sacrifice?"
Breakout sessions covered broad legal, cultural
and economic development issues.
"I especially liked the points in legal," said
Tribal Council member Jan D. Reibach. "The
Department of Justice is looking at us as equal
to any other government. That made me feel
good, and well we should be."
However, Tribal Attorney Rob Greene noted
that dealing government-to-government is of
ten more of a political question than a legal one.
"We still need to educate the state about Tribal
law," he said.
It became clear during the session that laws
addressing Tribal interests are passed without
teeth and that state agencies need continued
vigilance to maintain the integrity of cultural
sites.
In that regard, the state Department of Trans
portation presented a video describing the im
portance of consulting Tribes when dealing with
important cultural sites.
In the Economic Develop
ment session, the Cow Creek
Band of Umpqua Indians
Chief Executive Officer Sue
Shaffer described the Tribe's
diversified collection of eco
nomic development successes.
From Umpqua Indian Foods to
printing and telecommunica
tions projects, from real estate
development to the Seven
Feathers Casino, the Tribe employees 1,300 pro
viding an average wage of $9.79 an hour plus
benefits for a $33 million payroll.
"Amazing stuff is going on in Indian Coun
try," said Brady Scott, Chief Executive Officer
for the Coquille Economic Development Corpo
ration of the Coquille Indian Tribe, now the sec
ond largest employer in Coos County.
As with other Tribes, the casino - in this case
the Mill Casino - is "the engine that generates
development," according to Scott. This Tribe's
mix of projects includes an assisted-living, resi
dential community specializing in Alzheimers
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