Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current, August 15, 2023, Page 8, Image 8

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AUGUST 15, 2023
Smoke Signals
Tribal member launches counseling business
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal member and former Trib-
al employee Nicole Hewitt has
launched her own therapy practice.
Hewitt, who is a licensed mar-
riage and family therapist, is call-
ing her new business Sevengen
Counseling, built on the concept
that navigating past and present
struggles in a mindful way will
help clients heal the next seven
generations to come.
“That is the instrument to heal-
ing” Hewitt said. “And it wouldn’t
be that name if I had never worked
for the Tribe.”
Most recently, Hewitt served as
a clinical supervisor and mental
health therapist for the Tribe,
and also has worked as the Youth
Empowerment and Prevention
Program manager and as a senior
mental health counselor. In total,
she was employed by the Tribe for
eight years and has been a thera-
pist for 18 years.
Hewitt decided to branch out on
her own so she could spend more
time with her family, especially her
7-year-old daughter, Sanaa.
“I love and am honored to have
given back to our Tribal communi-
ty, but I wanted to be home more
with my daughter and make my
own hours,” she said. “I had the
goal of doing this for a while, and
now that we have two wonderful
therapists for youth (at the Tribe),
I felt comfortable doing this.”
Hewitt will treat clients virtually
and in-person, depending on their
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Nicole Hewitt recently started her own therapy practice,
Sevengen Counseling. Hewitt is a licensed marriage and family therapist
and before launching Sevengen she held several positions within the Tribe
including Youth Mental Health and Chemical Dependency counselor, mental
health therapist, clinical supervisor and Youth Empowerment and Prevention
Program manager.
location. She is licensed in both
California and Oregon. In-person
services will be available to those
living in Washington and Yamhill
counties.
Currently, Hewitt accepts some
private insurance providers, but is
not yet able to take Tribal health
insurance.
In addition to one-on-one therapy
sessions, Hewitt also offers a Girl
Strong Group, which focuses on in-
creasing feelings of empowerment,
self-confidence and connections.
The group meets 60 minutes a week
for six weeks, with a maximum of
six participants per group.
“It will help them with commu-
nication skills, time management
and self-esteem,” she said. “It’s
also a lot more cost effective than
one-on-one therapy. I have offered
to do this in the Tribal community
as well and would love to offer that
to our youth here.”
Hewitt grew up in Southern
California and has a bachelor of
arts in psychology from Cal State
Northridge, and a master of arts in
psychology from Phillips Graduate
University. She wanted to be a
therapist from the time she was in
high school.
“I had lots of friends with family is-
sues and they would talk to me about
it,” she said. “I just always knew I
wanted to help people since then.”
Growing up in California, Hewitt
didn’t have the opportunity to regu-
larly attend Tribal events, although
her family traveled to Grand Ronde
almost every year for the Tribe’s
Contest Powwow in August. Living
in Sherwood, an hour away, gives
her daughter much more opportu-
nity to do so.
“I love that my daughter is grow-
ing up involved in cultural activities
and connections with the Tribe that
I didn’t have the opportunity to do,”
she said. “I am also grateful to be
able to do things with the Tribe and
our culture.”
Hewitt moved from California to
Oregon in 2012 when she was re-
cruited to fill a Youth Mental Health
and Chemical Dependency counselor.
“I had a dream to give back to the
Tribe and serve our community, so
when the call came, I took the op-
portunity and moved here,” she said.
Hewitt can be reached at 971-
979-0790 or sevengencounseling@
gmail.com. For more information on
her counseling services, visit www.
sevengencounseling.com.
Racing Commission audit faults ambiguous gaming laws in Oregon
By Dean Rhodes
Publications coordinator
SALEM – An audit of the state
Racing Commission released
Wednesday, Aug. 9, by the Oregon
Secretary of State Audits Division
faults “ambiguous” state gaming
laws that pose a risk to the state’s
economic interests and sovereign
Tribal nations.
“As technology changes, laws and
rules need to be updated to minimize
conflicts between existing statutes
authorizing gambling on horse races
with Oregon’s constitutional prohi-
bition of casinos and limitation of
lotteries,” the audit states.
In February 2022, the Oregon
Racing Commission voted unani-
mously to deny TMB Racing 225 slot
machine-like historic horse racing
machines at the planned Flying
Lark entertainment complex adjoin-
ing the racetrack at the Josephine
County Fairgrounds in Grants Pass.
The decision was largely based on
an opinion by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Justice that categorically
stated that TMB Racing’s plan
violates the Oregon constitutional
prohibition against casinos.
TMB Racing, a company formed by
Dutch Bros Coffee co-founder Travis
Boersma, drew opposition from the
state’s Native American Tribes,
including the Grand Ronde Tribe,
which argued that allowing his-
toric horse racing machines at the
Flying Lark would be unfair since
only Tribes are allowed to operate
casinos in Oregon. Their approval,
Tribes contended, would hurt not
only Tribal casino revenues, but the
Oregon Lottery as well.
After receiving a letter from Ore-
gon Tribal representatives objecting
to the racing machines, then-Gov.
Kate Brown told Oregon Racing
Commission members that they had
a “statutory obligation” to consult
with the Tribes. She also suggested
that the commission seek a formal
legal opinion from the Oregon De-
partment of Justice on the legality
of Boersma’s plans.
Boersma originally hoped to open
the Flying Lark by October 2021
and then rescheduled to February
2022. With the Department of Jus-
tice ruling part of his business plan
unconstitutional, he withdrew his
business proposal.
Former Oregon Secretary of State
Shemia Fagan announced in Feb-
ruary 2022 that an audit of racing
oversight and regulation by the
Oregon Racing Commission would
be in her office’s 2022-23 audit plan.
The Racing Commission collected
approximately $7.8 million in rev-
enues and more than $1.4 million
went into the state’s general fund
in the 2019-21 biennium.
“The controversy around the Fly-
ing Lark’s request … highlighted the
contention among the state, Tribes
and private industry, revealing
various concerns and complexity
around constitutional allowability
and regulation authority over such
gambling,” the audit states.
The audit recommended that the
Oregon Legislature should consider,
with stakeholder and Tribal input,
providing additional clarity around
the definition of a casino in state stat-
utes. It also suggested the Legislature
set specific limitations on user inter-
faces and player experiences for online
and physical gambling products.
The audit also found delays in
filling and replacing Racing Com-
mission commissioners, ways to
increase oversight and transparency
of funds allocated to support the
horse racing industry and limited
documentation maintained of the
commission’s reviews of historical
horse racing machines.
“Everyone benefits when our laws
are clear and fair,” said Secretary of
State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. “The
audit points out important areas of
ambiguity that the Racing Commis-
sion, legislators and the governor’s
office can address to ensure we have
clarity, a fully staffed oversight com-
mission and appropriate stakehold-
er input in our gambling statutes
and enforcement.”
To read the full audit, visit the Or-
egon Secretary of State’s website.