Tribes

Yesterday morning, I went into Salem to attend the Oregon State Fair. It was work related, because the Western Oregon Tribes were giving a presentation, a demonstration if you will, of our cultures. So you had all the Tribal Chairs, and even a few others, like Council members, Vice-Chairs, etc. For whatever reason, the exhibit was held at 10:00 a.m. which meant it was not as well-attended had it been say, an evening affair.
I number of people attending, in response to a question from Cheryle Kennedy, were members of the respective tribes, with a small minority being Fair-goers who happened by. We tried best we could to do a mini-grand entry, which wasn't very easy given that we had about 50 feet in which to do it. Our march was slow lest because the amount of time it would take to two-step to the stage and the length of a drum song were not congruent. Overall, it didn't seem like we were given a whole lot of space in which to present any sort of exhibit on a tribe, much less five. As a rule of thumb though, we always jump at the opportunity to educate the general public on who we are.
Different Oregon tribes have their respective beefs with eachother. I was told recently by a Coos Tribal member who worked on their restoration effort that the Coquilles opposed them way back when. Why that is didn't seem clear to me, but it was hardly surprising. There appears to be conflicting views of traditional territory amongst many Tribes, much pre-dating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a policy shift that added a new edge to these disputes. Suddenly, this was about money, lots of it. Indian gaming has made Tribes into business competitors. I am not sure we can ever go back.
Right now, we have issues with the Siletz tribe. At the eleventh hour last year they sent a representative before the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Commission to request our new ceremonial hunting rule be postponed until they could work out their own. It didn't make much sense because those kinds of issues would be dealt with individually with Tribes. Maybe they knew that and were just trying to get our goat. They were kind of mean to us too during the hearings of Cascade Locks last year, their Vice-Chair calling us "unreasonable" during his testimony. I can't remember what their Chair said, but I don't remember it being kind. Though I didn't hear the remark, multiple people informed me that during Tribal Information Day at the Oregon State Capitol in May the Siletz Chair referred to Salem and the Willamette Valley as their historic lands. It gets kind of petty, I suppose.
This is funny to me because as being part of the Oregon Tribal Gaming Alliance, we all get along just fine. They are nice to me anyway, at least to my face. For all I know, they are laughing behind my back. I doubt it, but still wonder.
Our issues with Warm Springs are well-known. And Cowlitz. We are cautiously supporting the Chinooks in their recognition effort. I bring all this up because years ago, this idea was put out there of a casino run by all the nine Oregon Tribes. A mega-casino, the first steps of which would be tribes agreeing on a slot-machine leasing model. A tribe like the Burns-Pauite, who are located in the middle of nowhere, could benefit greatly from such a proposal. At one point we were even talking with them, their Chair making the long drive to Grand Ronde to discuss the concept with us. But they have political turmoil as well. We rarely hear from them anymore. Whatever has gone on has paralyzed their ability to work with other tribes. Maybe that will change.
It will be interesting to see if tribes can ever buck their feuds and start working together productively, kind of like we do through the OTGA. But even that might fall apart because some of my co-workers do not see the value, which I take to mean they dislike the ability to completely steer the alliance, lack of authority to completely control something new outside of the Grand Ronde Council bubble.
I will say this for Siletz though. At events like the State Fair, their Council goes all out with the regalia. The Vice-Chair and Secretary led the cultural presentation in traditional garb, namely leather pants and bone and antler chest-pieces. You won't see any of our Tribal Council going shirtless in public.