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Tribe consults with
EPA on water — pg. 11
MAY 1, 2018
Meeting begins
process of updating
community plan
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
A
lmost 60 people showed up
at the Tribal gym to give
their input on the future
of Grand Ronde and their ideas
spanned the gamut from a Tribal
swimming pool to a charter school.
The brainstorming session was a
part of a new community develop-
ment plan kickoff held on Wednes-
day, April 18. Attendees ranging
in age from elementary school to
Elders made their voices heard.
“I am really happy people are
willing to be open about their ideas
and suggestions, and share them
with us,” Tribal Council Vice Chair
Chris Mercier said. “When these
plans are done and done right, they
really benefit the community. This
isn’t about what Tribal Council
wants, this is about you, the gener-
al membership and what you want.
A lot of the stuff you see today was
once a part of a community develop-
ment plan. Don’t be shy about your
ideas and think 10 years ahead.”
Other Tribal Council members in
attendance included Secretary Jon
A. George, Kathleen George, Lisa
Leno and Michael Langley.
Kathleen George thanked those
in attendance for coming out.
“You are investing your time in
the work the Tribe will be doing for
the next 10 years,” she said. “Our
Elders made planning a priority
and worked very hard to provide
what the Tribe needed. We want
to earn the opportunity to follow in
their footsteps and what you tell us
the priorities are, we can turn this
See INPUT
continued on page 15
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Spirit Mountain Casino revenues have remained competitive since the opening of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s
casino, Ilani, one year ago. Ilani is located off Interstate 5, 16 miles north of the Oregon-Washington border.
Spirit Mountain, Tribe have weathered a year of competition well
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
O
n April 24, 2017, Spirit Mountain Casino
relinquished its 21-year title as the closest
casino to the lucrative and heavily populat-
ed Portland-Vancouver gaming market.
After fending off efforts over the last decade by
other Oregon Tribes to open casinos closer to the
Portland-Vancouver market and out-of-state in-
vestors from building a privately owned casino in
Wood Village, the Grand Ronde Tribe finally saw
its geographic advantage disappear when the land-
less Cowlitz Tribe was granted a Reservation from
the U.S. Department of the Interior off Interstate 5
approximately 16 miles north of the Columbia River.
The Cowlitz subsequently opened a casino, Ilani.
Portland-area casino aficionados suddenly had a
drive one-fourth as long as the trek out to Grand
Ronde.
Estimates of what the competition would do to
Spirit Mountain Casino revenue and the dividend
sent to the Grand Ronde Tribe for governmental
operations and important programs such as Elders’
pensions, educational funding and health care were,
at times, dire.
See COMPETITION
continued on pages 12-13
Memorial Day event set for Monday, May 28
12 names being added to West
Valley Veterans Memorial
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
he annual Memorial Day event at
the West Valley Veterans Memorial
on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus
will be highlighted by 12 names being
Smoke Signals file photo
added to the four black granite pillars that
represent the major branches of the U.S.
armed forces.
The event begins at noon with a meal
served in the nearby Tribal Community
Center.
The outdoors ceremony begins at 1 p.m.
See EVENT
continued on page 7
Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr., chairman of the Tribe’s Veterans Special Event Board and a
Marine Corps veteran from the Vietnam War era, will serve as the master of ceremonies at
this year’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 28.