A Revealing Decision

My decision to join Spirit Mountain Casino’s Board of Directors hasn’t been entirely without comment. The first two written remarks came my way last week while in Warm Springs. They were, unedited:

"Chris,
I was reading the Tilixam Wawa and was thinking about tribal concerns and the current leadership. Thus, I want to thank you for serving another term. I imagine that your efforts are often criticized and unappreciated; however, I believe that you are a very good representative and leader for our tribe. As you know, tribal members lack confidence and trust in many of our leaders. You are one of the few that I trust is strictly focusing on the job you were elected to do. Thank you again for your leadership.

Respectfully,
- (name omitted)"

And,

"Sorry to see that you gave in and joined the casino board. The directors should bring to the Board a wealth of business experience and a track record of good business judgement in a variety of situations "relevant to to the Casino operations." Reyn was a logger, Cheryle in thr health field, you are a writer and jack of all trades. I just hope it will work out.

(name omitted)"

And,

"I should he included Kathleen Tom in my earlier e-mail but her background is empty on the web site.

(name omitted)"


As you can tell, one was fairly encouraging, the other not. I would say that based upon the numerous verbal comments I’ve received, the split in opinions on this is on par with the actual vote itself. That belief was affirmed today as I was approached by a Council member in my office, who revealed that at least one other Tribal member had voiced their disapproval to him. Evidently they thought the presence of Kathy Tom and I at the casino was going to have some chaotic affect.
It reminded me for some reason of the old superstition that a vampire cannot invade your house unless you invite him in. The offended Tribal member, I was told, was very worked up. This had my fellow Council man at a loss. “Aren’t we all on the same team?” he pondered out loud, and besides, what on Earth kind of damage could the two of us do? I told him my own belief that in a democracy like Grand Ronde political parties eventually form, and they are in many cases personality driven; whoever this person was obviously didn’t object to other Council members sitting on SMGI, their problem was they didn’t like me.
But this is all beside the point. In summary the reaction to our decision has been very mild, and I would almost say non-existent. I can only guess why. Maybe with the election over (and won, depending on who you are), the issue no longer matters.
What I do know is that actually getting on the board is a minor undertaking. The Friday following the Council meeting in which the resolution appointing me (for the record an odd event, as the minutes indicate) I received my application for a gaming license. The application is nearly 12 pages long, more if counting the three pages of financial disclosures.
To make a long story short, what the Gaming Commission would like to know before granting me that high-security license is just about every notable event in my life over the past ten years. Being 32, that takes me back to college, which now seems like a dream.
I am twice required to account for the last ten years, one in terms of work history, the other in whereabouts. Do not, they let you know, leave any gaps in timelines. Those are red flags, and suspicious.
Because of my propensity to travel much after college, coming up with addresses is not always easy, especially after moving five or six times as well. Coming up with all my old mailing addresses is made easy by only one thing: my previous gaming license application, since I worked at Spirit Mountain Casino five years ago as a Cage Cashier, another position requiring a high security license. They had the application on file, thankfully, meaning I would only need to account for the last five years. I would have been hard-pressed to find old addresses in Ecuador and Germany.
Knowing all my working addresses, phone numbers, and supervisors over the last ten years is equally troublesome. But once again, the old application saves me.
So thorough this process is at one point I must call my significant other to ask her if she or anybody in her immediate family has any felonies. I must also account for my own legal mistakes, ranging from arrests to lawsuits to any sort of official state/federal investigation, including tax liens or plea bargains in exchange for cooperating with police. I halfway expect them to ask about the biological history of my cats.
Given that confidentiality is taken lightly in Indian Country, and that sadly includes Grand Ronde, I very hesitantly disclose all financial information on the second form. I mean no offense to the Gaming Commission, but listing out my savings account and personal property to anybody but myself, immediate family, or IRS makes me nervous.
Sitting here now, I sound irritated probably. That is due, I suspect, that it took me nearly three hours to fill this application. But being fair, I am relieved that we are a self-regulating tribe, and that we are this thorough.