JANUARY 15, 2007
Smoke Signals 7
Grand Ronde Continues Outreach To Warm Springs
By Siobhan Taylor
The Grand Ronde Tribe has con
sistently opposed off-reservation
gaming. The Tribe sees it as bad
policy for all Oregon Tribes and for
all Oregonians. Yet, the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs are
doggedly pursuing building an off
reservation casino in Cascade Locks.
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council has
aggressively pursued opportunities to
work with the Warm Springs Tribe
and give them a viable alternative to
their proposed off-reservation casino
in Cascade Locks. Unfortunately,
the Warm Springs Tribal Council
has declined the Tribe's offer. This
happened even after Governor Kulon
goski got involved and tried to help
bring both Tribes together to work
on the issue.
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council
is deeply concerned that the exclu
sive exception for any Tribe, not just
Warm Springs, to move their casino off
reservation is going to lead to an explo
sion of gaming. Most significantly it
is going to lead to private initiatives
to allow off reservation gaming in
Oregon by private, non-tribal parties.
Oregon could potentially be inundated
by private casinos, competing for what
has traditionally been Tribal dollars.
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council,
dedicated to protecting the resources
of the Tribe, and committed to" help
ing formulate healthy and fair policies
for all Oregonians, is faced wijtji, few
choices. ' -
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council
offered to finance the construction of
a new casino on the Warm Springs
reservation. The financing the Tribe
offered would have given the Warm
Springs Tribal people a new on-res-ervation
casino, off Highway 26 or
Highway 22 that the Grand Ronde
Tribal Council is convinced would be
incredibly successful for the Warm
Springs Tribe. And the CTGR Tribal
Council is convinced that the new ca
sino, instead of the project in Cascade
Locks, would be good for both Tribes
as well as good for all of Oregon.
Grand Ronde offered to share its
research with the Warm Springs
leadership. The study was prepared
by senior staff in Grand Ronde and
outlined the Tribe's proposal. That
overture, one of many made by the
Grand Ronde Tribal Council, was
summarily rejected. Tthe Warm
Springs Council remains unwilling
to share their studies of feasibility to
see how they might contrast with the
work the Grand Ronde senior staff has
done. Conversely, Grand Ronde has
continuously expressed a willingness
to share all research and information
they have gathered on the subject
The Tribal Council is bitterly disap
pointed in Warm Springs dismissal
of all of their work to help the Warm
Springs build a better Tribal economy
for their Tribal people. The Grand
Ronde Tribal Council is faced with
few alternatives in the face of this
rejection. The Tribal council will con
tinue to advocate for a change to this
policy and work with the Governor for
a just solution for all Oregon Tribes,
including the Warm Springs, and all
Oregonians. H
WW
'I lie Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde i oinmunity of Oregon
Tribal Council
I'hone (50.1) H79-2.10I
l ax (50.1) X79-5904
or (800) 422-02.1:
96 1 5 Grand Rondo Kcl.
Grand Hondo, OR 97147
May 9, 2006
Ron Suppah
Tribal Council Chairman
Con fcdcralod Tribes of Warm Springs
1233 Veterans St.
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Dear Chairman Suppah:
On behalf of the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, I'd like to invite
you, your fellow Council members, and senior executives to meet with us. We would be honored
to host the meeting, either here in Grand Ronde or in the Portland area if that is more convenient
for you.
We would like to meet in order to allow Grand Ronde to present to you our proposal to finance
the construction and development of a new casino on the Warm Springs reservation. Grand
Ronde is prepared to finance, on favorable terms, a new on-rescrvation casino - one that is better
situated than Kah-Nee-Ta to take advantage of the rapidly expanding population and economy of
Central Oregon. Our senior staff has prepared a presentation which outlines our proposal.
We believe strongly that a new casino on your reservation off of Highway 26 or Highway 22
would be incredibly successful. The development of this alternative casino, instead of the
proposed project in Cascade Locks, would be good for both our Tribes and for all of Oregon. It
would also avoid an acrimonious fight over off-rcservalion gaining and the casino at Cascade
Locks, allowing you to move forward more quickly to generate jobs and revenue.
I encourage you to give this invitation thoughtful consideration. I will call you next week to
answer any questions you might have about this invitation, and hopefully, to set a time for our
meeting. 1 am optimistic our Tribes can work together for the good of all.
Very truly yours,
CherVlcA. Kennedy
TribarCouncil Chairwoman
Letters exchanged between Grand Ronde and Warm Springs.
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December 1 1, 2006
Chairman Chris Mcrccir
Tribal Council C.'haiinian
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
I5 Grand Hondo Rd.
Grand Ronde, OK 97347
Dear Chairman Mcrccir:
ty'
The Warm Springs Tribal Council is very encouraged by our recent meetings and I personally want to
ihnnk you for the open and frank discussions that we have had. Our Tribal Council firmly believes that it
is in the best interests of all Indian people to work together for the good of every Tribe and that this can
only benefit Indian people everywhere.
As you know, our Tribal Council has been unwilling to provide you with our proprietary and confidential
studies of the feasibility of construction of a new casino within the boundaries of the Warm Springs
Reservation. However, these studies demonstrate that there is no location on the Warm Springs
Reservation that can bring our Tribe the funds necessary to maintain a viable economy on our
Reservation. Furthermore, these studies confirm our judgment that our Tribal Council has chosen the path
forward that best discharges our sovereign responsibilities for the welfare of our tribal families.
We believe that there are opportunities for investors, such as your Tribe, to be a part of our project to
construct a casino at Cascade Locks, Oregon, and that the return to your people would be greater than you
have proposed for financing a casino on the Warm Springs Reservation. We have done some preliminary
calculations of that possibility and it appears that it may well offset any impact of our casino on your
operations.
Accordingly, we would welcome the opportunity for further discussions between our Tribal Councils, to
further explore these possibilities. Let uSprocced in the spirit of cooperation and brotherhood that has
always been the hallmark of our relationship.
Sincerely,
Ron Suppah Sr.
Tribal Council Chairman
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon