My Testimony

Not many, but a few people have asked what I said in Hood River as part of the Cascade Locks DEIS. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to speak, so I submitted my comments to a court reporter and transcriber. Admittedly, my comments touched on the technical aspects of the DEIS as much, or loosely, as the majority of the various testimonies. Meaning, not much at all. If anybody is interested, here is what I said:




Cascade Locks testimony

"This is the third hearing I've come to regarding the Cascade Locks DEIS. I must admit that I am somewhat surprised at how they have been carried out. The tone and atmosphere at all these hearings could best be described as tense. More often than not I feel like these are pep rallies and contests to see how public opinion can be swayed. As a Grand Ronde Tribal leader, I haven't exactly felt welcome at any of these hearings.
Those of you who might have done your research would know that I am one of the Grand Ronde Tribal Council members who at one point voted against spending the money we have in opposing the Cascade Locks casino. I want to be up front about that. However, in saying that I've objected at times to how we've engaged in this debate does not necessarily mean that I am ready to endorse the proposal that we are all here to testify on. I am here to offer my own comments because I feel that this discussion has become oversimplified and some have lost sight of the larger picture and issues that are all a part of this decision.
I personally would love to see the people of Warm Springs prosper and improve their lot. I dislike the manner in which the Grand Ronde tribe has been demonized and characterized as greedy and selfish with nothing but financial motives in opposing this project. None of my co-workers, much less fellow members, are taking any sort of delight in this increasingly ugly debate. We are not rubbing our hands in private and cackling evilly and wishing for eternal poverty and starvation for the Warm Springs. We aren't monsters, we are human beings the same as all of you.
I want people to know that when you become a leader in Indian Country you care deeply about your people. As you interact with more tribes, join various alliances and organizations, and develop friendships with fellow Tribal leaders, you learn to care about them and their people too. You meet with them more often, at conferences and such, you learn of the numerous parallels in experiences and tribulations that all tribes face. Many of us have been virtually landless at one point, in addition to struggling with alcoholism, loss of cultural identity, and what probably ties everything together, poverty. You wouldn't think so from coming to these hearings, but yes Grand Ronde was once very poor, and worse, terminated. And many of us are aware that Warm Springs provided aid during our own Restoration. We haven't forgotten that.
On a personal level, I have come to care for the people of Oregon's tribes. I have no reason to not believe the Warm Springs people when they tell their stories of being poor and disadvantaged. Come to think of it, tribes like Warm Springs are probably who some of our national leaders had in mind when they passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 20 years ago. However, I don't believe the way the Cascade Locks casino issue has been presented is what they had in mind though either.
I believe that the Cascade Locks casino proposal is not the best decision for Warm Springs. I've learned to avoid using the word never, so let me say that I really believe that this project is highly unlikely to happen. I hate to see Warm Springs spend more time and money towards this effort.
There are a number of factors which make this casino improbable. For one, on a national level you are seeing more efforts to tighten the restrictions on Indian gaming. Two, and I have heard very little mention of this at these hearings, people seem to have forgotten that this is a presidential election year. If BIA does not make a decision on this soon, and they are under no obligation to do so, then one year from now a lot of the discussion here will be irrelevant. One of the presidential candidates has been a huge opponent of the expansion of Indian gaming, so already that to me means a roughly 50% chance that this project will be delayed another five years. Lastly, given how increasingly high stake and occasionally nasty this issue is becoming, I would not be at all surprised to see this end up in court. So I look at Cascade Locks and think "if" it ever happens, it will be years away. That is why it saddens me to see such blind optimism around here. After 10 years and $20 million, I don't think these public hearings are much to show. Warm Springs could have been breaking ground on a new expansion somewhere else. Instead, they haven't even broke ground here, much less bought the land yet.
I believe there is a better way to handle all this. What that is, well, people have already mentioned alternatives numerous times. On the present course, I see growing animosity between tribes, resentment amongst those who would see a casino in the gorge and those who would not. Most importantly of all, with more attempts to open up the gaming industry to non-Tribal entities, I see the effort to sway public opinion towards acceptance of off-reservation gaming as a move that would ultimately backfire, hurting all tribes."