Power in the Telling by Brook Colley

Author:Brook Colley [Colley, Brook]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, American, Native American Studies, Anthropology, General, History, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
ISBN: 9780295743370
Google: p8xYDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 36867861
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2018-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

NEW VISTAS: CHANGING LEADERS AND SHIFTING POLICY

In late May 2002, anticipating upcoming gubernatorial elections and the prospect of a new governor with new views on the tribal casino economy, Warm Springs again turned to their members for a mandate on how to proceed with gaming and the development of a gorge casino. The tribe held a referendum on whether to again pursue a Columbia River location for a new casino. The referendum passed with 76 percent of the votes cast, 724 members in favor and 210 against it.29 Tribal Chair Suppah recalls, “We ended up with a referendum where tribal members were asked, ‘After five years, if you want the casino to continue, where would you want it?’ And by 80 percent to 20 percent, with the biggest voter turnout for a tribal referendum, they said, ‘Build it someplace in the Gorge.’”30 This referendum included language that would allow Warm Springs leaders to pursue the Hood River site. According to an Oregonian article, however, “Rudy Clements, chairman of the tribe’s gaming enterprise, said … [that] the Tribal Council ‘left a little wiggle room’ in the wording of the referendum should the political climate toward Cascade Locks change.”31

This was an uncertain time for Native nations in Oregon. Kitzhaber was still governor, but his second term was coming to an end in 2003, and all of Oregon’s Native nations understood that a new governor might have different perspectives about tribal casinos and could make changes to policies developed by Kitzhaber. When the gubernatorial campaigns began in October 2001, the Oregonian reported that “campaign managers for Ted Kulongoski and Beverly Stein said each candidate supports the governor but would welcome a dialogue with the tribes, leaving open the possibility of a Cascade Locks casino.”32 After a visit from gubernatorial candidate Kulongoski to the Warm Springs Reservation in December 2001, Spilyay Tymoo reporter Dave McMechan wrote, “Unlike Gov. Kitzhaber, Kulongoski indicated his willingness to support a casino at Cascade Locks. However, Kulongoski said he wanted to be sure that approval of a casino at Cascade Locks would not open the door to other Oregon tribes building casinos around Portland.”33 This perspective is perhaps telling of the role that Kulongoski would play in the generation of divisiveness among tribal communities in Oregon concerning off-reservation casinos. Kulongoski’s position on the issue did not remain consistent during his campaign, which left those concerned uncertain about the future.

Reporting on Kulongoski’s views regarding a Cascade Locks casino continued to highlight his uncertainty, although in January 2002 the Oregonian reported that “Kulongoski, a former state Supreme Court justice and attorney general, has opposed allowing a casino in Cascade Locks.”34 But even after Kulongoski became governor-elect, his stance on the question of the Warm Springs proposal to build a casino in Cascade Locks was unclear. Oregonian reporter Janie Har reported three contradictory positions held by the governor-elect and wrote, “Kulongoski has stayed mum on the topic of a Cascade Locks casino proposed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. This, in turn, has upset state Sen.

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