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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2008)
MARCH 1,2008 Smoke Signals 3 Tnrnlb(S-p)p)ssDrffl(s!ln(caB dhisiDHgj MEETINGS continued from front page Walala people had many village sites in the Gorge near present-day Cascade Locks and the Walala were included in the 1855 Willamette Val ley Treaty, which also included the Clackamas Chinook. Policywise, the Grand Ronde Tribe argues that allowing the Warm Springs Tribe to go off-reservation to build a casino closer to the Portland area is unfair to other Oregon Tribes that have invested significantly in casinos built on Tribal lands. The Cascade Locks site is about 35 miles away from the northwestern boundary of the Warm Springs Res ervation, but more than 100 driving miles away from population center in Warm Springs. "Allowing the first off-reservation casino in the Columbia River Gorge is a radical change from the historic state policy that treats all Tribes equally, limiting each Tribe to one casino on reservation lands," said Tribal lobbyist and member Justin Martin during the Feb. 10 General Council meeting regarding the Tribe's opposition to off-reservation gaming. "With on-reservation alternatives available, it just doesn't make any sense." The Grand Ronde Tribe has of fered to help the Warm Springs Tribe build a new casino on reser vation land, making it more con venient to the burgeoning central Oregon population centers of Bend, Redmond and Madras. The Warm Springs declined the offer, opting to spend millions of dollars on the 10-year-old Gorge casino effort. Tribal projections estimate that if the Warm Springs build a casino along Interstate 84 in the Gorge, it would single-handedly decrease Spirit Mountain Casino's dividend to the Tribe by 34.6 percent because it would be closer and more convenient to Portland-area residents than driv ing to Spirit Mountain Casino. Grand Ronde Tribal estimates pre dict that the Cascade Locks casino proposal, if it is eventually approved by the Secretary of Interior, will not open for business until late 2013. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is not the only entity opposed to the Warm Springs Gorge casino proposal and a potential change in state policy regarding off-reservation gaming. The Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Oregon Restaurant Associa tion and Oregon Family Council are among 15 groups that have come out in opposition to the proposal. Following the five hearings on the draft environmental impact statement, it will return to the Department of Interior, which will write a final environmental impact statement and then send it to the desk of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for a record of decision. Kempthorne opposed off-reservation casinos when he was governor of Idaho and has shown no signs that he will OK the Warm Springs proposal or others the Interior De partment lists as pending. In early January, the Depart ment of Interior issued new guide lines for off-reservation casinos that give more consideration to the environmental compatibility of a project, as well as "reasonable, regular" commuting distances be tween reservation residents and a new casino's location. Most Warm Springs Reservation residents live more than 100 miles away near the Kah-Nee-Ta Desert Resort and Casino in Warm Springs near Madras, a distance many critics think is not a "reasonable, regular" commute for Tribal members be cause even the quickest route would require Tribal employees spend at least two hours traveling one-way. The Warm Springs also have announced they plan on building residences near the Gorge casino for Tribal employees. Critics say that it will be detrimental to res ervation life to have adult parents away from home five days a week. The intent of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was to fos ter strong reservation economies. Long commutes that lure Tribal residents away from residing on their reservation do not accomplish the act's goal, Interior said when issuing the new guidelines. Other critics have expressed concern about a proposed new In terstate 84 interchange that would lead travelers directly into the re sort and casino property and have potentially detrimental effects on other local businesses. The wild card in the entire process is the current presidential election. If a decision is not made before Jan. 20, 2009, it is possible that Kemp thorne, a Bush appointee, will be out as Interior Secretary and both the Grand Ronde and Warm Springs Tribes will have to await a new ap pointee with unknown attitudes about off-reservation gaming. People who cannot attend any of the five meetings can submit com ments by using the project Web site, www.gorgecasinoeis.comco commentform.html or mail or hand-deliver comments to Stanley Speaks, Northwest Regional Direc tor of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Portland, Ore. 97232, or fax 503-231-2275. Comments must be received by May 15 to be considered during the preparation of the final environ mental impact statement, which is expected to be completed late in the year. B 6 UU fr dO II ( TO TO H Li l (? (? ( l) (& & Li $ T & c4l ( q d) Li In) (? (f u fln jx C : a 9 to co mi uy G0ac?& SS0 800 0 o d)(fl o Q o o ro a 0 0 ooqaqD QSJOOOOOOQIMJOOQ (f i m i I I EwGGPyQOD w do odd 8 " 4 . . Mi- . r .(. i-iA- (i linn HIM Ad created by George Valdez
