Tulalip News

Eagle Eggs Expected to Hatch in Time for Easter

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

YouTube. Superman settling in for his afternoon shift.

Recently on Santa Catalina Island, California a majestic bald eagle laid three eggs that are scheduled to hatch this Easter weekend!

The Pet Collective’s YouTube page is streaming incredible, live footage featuring lifemates and soon-to-be parents Wray, a 27-year-old female from British Columbia, and K01 (affectionately nicknamed “Superman”), a 13-year-old male hatched at the San Francisco Zoo and released onto Catalina when he was 12 days old.

In late February and early March, Wray laid her three eggs in the pair’s cliffside nest overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Eagle eggs incubate for about 35 days, marking at least one of these beloved eagle chicks to be born over Easter weekend.

Warm, dry weekend: 70 may be in reach

Source: The Seattle Times

Sun, sun and more sun: The Easter weekend forecast is guaranteed to delight many Puget Sounders, with the hint of a 70-degree day on Sunday.

After a few isolated showers Friday, the warmest stretch of the year is expected to kick in, with temperatures building through the weekend.

“Right now, we’re officially forecasting upper 60s, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a few spots hit 70 on Sunday,” said Gary Schneider of the National Weather Service, saying areas east of Lake Washington are likely to be warmer than Seattle

Forecast highs for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are 60 today, 64 on Saturday and 69 on Sunday. On Monday, the forecast calls for temperatures to ease back into the lower 60s, but no rain is expected until a chance of showers arrives on Wednesday.

The last 70-degree day at the airport was Oct. 8 of last year. The highest temperature so far this year has been 62, on Monday and Tuesday this week.

Wood Heat and Your Health: Invitation to Participate in Survey

TULALIP – Fires have a long cultural tradition at Tulalip, and heating a home with wood is both affordable and comfortable. But wet wood, an old stove, a broken seal, or even just cold outside air means our cozy fires can create too much smoke and soot. When this happens, some in our community can be at risk of asthma episodes and even premature heart attacks. For our kids, woodsmoke is one reason they cough, wheeze and get more infections in the wintertime, when we use wood heat more often. For adults with asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, woodsmoke is known to put more of those folks in the hospital. Others at risk include elders, because woodsmoke weakens their body’s ability to fight off infections.

The good news is that there are things we can do to burn cleaner and safer. In fact, there are many solutions, like drying (seasoning) your wood, upgrading to a new wood stove, or using the clean-burning Presto type log. The Tulalip Air and Indoor Environment program wants to know which solutions work best here at Tulalip, so that we can then seek grants and resources. To do this, we’d like to invite those who rely on wood heat (burn more than four times a week), and have a tribal member living in the home, to participate in a survey. It takes about 35-40 minutes and can be done on-line or over the phone. When you are finished, we will send you a $30 gift card. Our goal is to learn more about burning practices, firewood use, and health effects. (All information will be confidential and will be used to help us find programs and funding for cleaner wood heat.)

To find out if you are eligible to participate in the survey, please contact Gillian Mittelstaedt, Tulalip Air and Indoor Environment Program, at (206)512-3293, or by email: gillianmitt@hotmail.com

Easter Bunny visits Montessori students

Photos by Jeannie Briones

Easter may be a few days away, but on March 29th kids at the Tulalip Montessori School got an early visit from the Easter Bunny.

After much smiling, laughing and hugging, the kids made a dash through the playground, hunting for candy and eggs, which they stashed in their own hand-decorated bags.

Tribal member Zakk Boehme — Tribal member Peyton Gobin.

Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project awarded $37,500 grant

NAFSI grant will aid Muckleshoot in their efforts to access more traditional foods

By Monica Brown Tulalip News writer

The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project has been awarded a $37,500 grant from the First Nations Development Institute. The grant will help fund the project s explorations of the Muckleshoot Tribe’s food assets and increase access to local, healthy and traditional foods. Through explorations, participants will gain an understanding of Native foods and build food security throughout the community.

Project participants enjoy community engagement through workshops, harvesting and feasts. Hands-on workshops are designed to teach traditional food principles and how to approach preparing them in a more modern way. Project coordinator, Valerie Segrest states

“The Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project is community driven and aims to increase access and revitalize a traditional and local healthy food system.”

Tribal cooks and established community groups are coming together to develop a new policy about food which will focus on a more traditional and nourishing food program. The new policy development is facilitated by professional chefs who are invited to meet with tribal cooks and the community groups during cook retreats. The project participants are working to join tribal kitchens and create a menu program. By creating a reliable menu that can be used throughout tribal kitchens they will be able to assess the food quantities needed for when they are ready to produce their own food. The menu program will also inform the five-year food sovereignty/action plan that is currently being organized.

The project comes from a community based participatory research project which was conducted in partnership with Northwest Indian College and the Burke Museum in 2007. The project operates year round and is open to all community members.

The First Nations Development Institute’s Native American Food System Initiative (NAFSI) grant is intended to help tribes and Native communities build sustainable food systems such as community gardens, food banks, food pantries and/or other agricultural projects related to Native food-systems control. The 31 grants were made possible by the generous support of the AARP Foundation, The Christensen Fund, CHS Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Advocacy and Outreach, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Walmart Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

To read more about the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project please visit their website at

Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project

Spring gardening at Hibulb

Tribal member Malaki Hernandez tranplants

By Monica Brown

TULALIP, Wash. Attendees at the Tulalip Hibulb garden work party gathered together on Friday, March 22 to do some needed garden preparations. Gardeners and gardening volunteers worked together to prepare the garden for the growing season.

Pruning encourages fruit production, so Master Gardeners Frank Sargent and Rob and Richelle Taylor pruned fruit trees located in the orchard on the north side of the Hibulb Museum.

Community gardeners worked in the greenhouse, transplanting over 100 seedlings of cabbage and sowing new seeds. Seedlings are being started and kept warm in the heated greenhouse and soon the plant beds around the museum will be made ready for transplanting.

The community is invited to attend the garden work parties and the Gardening Together as Families events. Gardeners will help tend the beds throughout the season and enjoy the rewards at the end of season harvest. Gardeners will learn about the many aspects of gardening through hands-on experience, working side-by-side with master gardeners.

To learn more about the Hibulb Gardening events please contact Veronica Leahy at 360-716-5642 or vleahy@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Tribal member Malaki Hernandez transplanting a cabbage sprout.

Mytyl Hernandez and son Malaki with transplanted pansies. Photo by Richelle Taylor

Tribal member Marvin Jones and Master Gardener Veronica Leahy transplanting cabbage sprouts.

Pow Wow Weekend Planner

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

It’s officially Spring and pow wow season is in full swing!

We’ve put together a great list of a few pow wows happening all over the nation this weekend just for you!

If one of these events are located in your area, we highly recommend heading over to enjoy some lively dancing and drumming, thrilling musical performances, and delicious, authentic foods!

Hozhoni Days Pow Wow & Pageant, Colorado

When & Where: March 29 – 30 at the Fort Lewis College Whalen Gym in Durango, Colorado.

Dating back to the 1960’s, the Hozhoni Days Pow Wow is Fort Lewis College’s longest-standing student-operated tradition. “Hozhoni” means “beauty” in Navajo which Pow Wow creator Clyde Benally said that “hozhoni” represents the event’s purpose to show and share “our culture with each other, and a way of developing brotherhood and sisterhood with other students who may be from different cultures,” according to FLC’s website. Pow wow festivities began Friday night at 6 p.m. For more information about this event, click here.

Contact: Yvonne Bilinski 970.247.7222; bilinski_y@fortlewis.edu

BYU Cedartree Memorial Competition Pow Wow, Utah

When & Where: March 29 – 30 at the Brigham Young University Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom in Provo, Utah.

Celebrating its 32nd year, the Brigham Young University Pow Wow will kick off Friday night at 6 p.m. with a Grand Entry. Attendees will enjoy delicious and authentic Navajo Tacos and Frybread sponsored by the Tribe of Many Feathers Club. Admission is $6 for General Public, $5 for student with their campus ID, and free for seniors and children. For more information about this event, click here.

Contact: Jennifer Langi 801.422.3065, cedartree_powwow@byu.edu

Westwood High School 10th Annual Social Pow Wow, Arizona

When & Where: March 30 at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona.

Festivities at the Westwood High School Pow Wow in Mesa, Arizona begins Saturday at 10 a.m. Grand Entry will be held twice that day at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. There will also be two rounds of incredible Gourd Dancing at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Special performances for the day include Hand Drum, All Ages Jingle Dress, and the ever-adorable Tiny Tots! Your Master of Ceremonies is Taite Honadick. For more information about this event, click here.

Contact: 480.472.4497; vclinton@mpsaz.org

Tutxinmepu Powwow, Idaho

When & Where: March 30 – 31 at the Moscow Junior High Gym in Moscow, Idaho.

Starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, the University of Idaho’s Tuteinmepu Powwow will kick off with a Grand Entry featuring the Nez Pierce Color Guard. The pow wow has been sponsored by the university’s Native American Student Association for the past 14 years and according to their site they, “see the Powwow as a great recruitment and retention tool, as well as, a business and communication skill builder for our Native Students. Non-Native students and community members benefit from attending and volunteering at the Powwow as they see firsthand the strength and vitality of the Native culture.” Festivites for this event include pow wow dancing, arts and crafts vendors, hand drums, and even an Easter egg hunt on Sunday! For more information about this event, click here.

Contact: Steve Martin 208.885.4237

More weekend events and pow wows:

Pawnee Title VII Youth Dance, Oklahoma
When & Where: March 29 at the Pawnee Nation Wellness Center in Pawnee, Oklahoma.
Contact: 918.762.3564

Anadarko Indian Education Spring Honor Pow-Wow, Oklahoma
When & Where: March 29 at the Oklahoma St. Gym in Anadarko, Oklahoma.
Contact: 405.247.2288

Community Engagement & Sustainability Pow Wow, California
When & Where: March 30 at Pomona College’s Walker Beach in Claremont, California.
Contact: Scott Scoggins 909.706.5948; lcovarru@students.pitzer.edu

Moore High School Spring Pow Wow, Oklahoma
When & Where: March 30 in Moore, Oklahoma.
Contact: 405.209.9156; kortnitorralba@mooreschools.com

Southcentral Foundation’s 16th Annual Gathering, Alaska
When & Where: March 30 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska.
Contact: 907.729.4953; scfmediarelations@scf.cc
Website: http://www.southcentralfoundation.com/

Be sure to take a look at our full list of pow wows happening throughout the year on our Pow Wow Listings!

North Korea: Rockets ready “to settle accounts with the U.S.”

South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. North Korea said Wednesday that it had cut off a key military hotline with South Korea that allows cross border travel to a jointly run industrial complex in the North, a move that ratchets up already high tension and possibly jeopardizes the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.Ahn Young-joon — AP Photo — South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. North Korea said Wednesday that it had cut off a key military hotline with South Korea that allows cross border travel to a jointly run industrial complex in the North, a move that ratchets up already high tension and possibly jeopardizes the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
Ahn Young-joon — AP Photo

Published: March 28, 2013

By FOSTER KLUG — Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Friday that his rocket forces were ready “to settle accounts with the U.S.,” unleashing a new round of bellicose rhetoric after U.S. nuclear-capable B-2 bombers dropped dummy munitions in joint military drills with South Korea.

Kim’s warning, and the litany of threats that have preceded it, don’t indicate an imminent war. In fact, they’re most likely meant to coerce South Korea into softening its policies, win direct talks and aid from Washington, and strengthen the young leader’s credentials and image at home.

But the threats from North Korea and rising animosity from the rivals that have followed U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang’s Feb. 12 nuclear test do raise worries of a misjudgment leading to a clash.

Kim “convened an urgent operation meeting” of senior generals just after midnight, signed a rocket preparation plan and ordered his forces on standby to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea, Guam and Hawaii, state media reported.

Kim said “the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation,” according to a report by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Later Friday at the main square in Pyongyang, tens of thousands of North Koreans turned out for a 90-minute mass rally in support of Kim’s call to arms. Men and women, many of them in olive drab uniforms, stood in arrow-straight lines, fists raised as they chanted, “Death to the U.S. imperialists.” Placards in the plaza bore harsh words for South Korea as well, including, “Let’s rip the puppet traitors to death!”

Small North Korean warships, including patrol boats, conducted maritime drills off both coasts of North Korea near the border with South Korea on Thursday, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing Friday. He didn’t provide more details.

The spokesman said that South Korea’s military was mindful of the possibility that North Korean drills could lead to an actual provocation. He also said that the South Korean and U.S. militaries are watching closely for any signs of missile launch preparations in North Korea. He didn’t elaborate.

North Korea, which says it considers the U.S.-South Korean military drills preparations for invasion, has pumped out a string of threats in state media. In the most dramatic case, Pyongyang made the highly improbable vow to nuke the United States.

On Friday, state media released a photo of Kim and his senior generals huddled in front of a map showing routes for envisioned strikes against cities on both American coasts. The map bore the title “U.S. Mainland Strike Plan.”

Portions of the photo appeared to be manipulated, though an intriguing detail – a bandage on Kim’s left arm – appeared to be real.

Experts believe the country is years away from developing nuclear-tipped missiles that could strike the United States. Many say they’ve also seen no evidence that Pyongyang has long-range missiles that can hit the U.S. mainland.

Still, there are fears of a localized conflict, such as a naval skirmish in disputed Yellow Sea waters. Such naval clashes have happened three times since 1999. There’s also the danger that such a clash could escalate. Seoul has vowed to hit back hard the next time it is attacked.

North Korea’s threats are also worrisome because of its arsenal of short- and mid-range missiles that can hit targets in South Korea and Japan. Seoul is only a short drive from the heavily armed border separating the Koreas.”

The North can fire 500,000 rounds of artillery on Seoul in the first hour of a conflict,” analysts Victor Cha and David Kang wrote recently for Foreign Policy magazine. They also note that North Korea has a history of testing new South Korean leaders; President Park Geun-hye took office late last month. “Since 1992, the North has welcomed these five new leaders by disturbing the peace,” they wrote.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters Thursday that the decision to send B-2 bombers to join the military drills was part of normal exercises and not intended to provoke North Korea. Hagel acknowledged, however, that North Korea’s belligerent tones and actions in recent weeks have ratcheted up the danger in the region, “and we have to understand that reality.”

U.S. Forces Korea said the B-2 stealth bombers flew from a U.S. air base in Missouri and dropped dummy munitions on an uninhabited South Korean island range on Thursday before returning home. The Pentagon said this was the first time a B-2 had dropped dummy munitions over South Korea, and later added that it was unclear whether there had ever been any B-2 flights there at all.

The statement follows an earlier U.S. announcement that nuclear-capable B-52 bombers participated in the joint military drills.

Pyongyang uses the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a justification for its own push for nuclear weapons. It claims that U.S. nuclear firepower is a threat to its existence and provocation.

The two Missouri-based stealth bombers used in the South Korean drills probably weren’t nuclear-armed, but experts say they’re the aircraft that would likely be sent if Washington ever decides it does want to drop nuclear bombs on North Korea. The United States doesn’t forward-deploy nuclear weapons in South Korea, Okinawa, Guam or Hawaii.”

The B-2 can reach targets from North Korea to Iran directly from Missouri, which is what the United States did in the early stages of operations against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq,” analyst Jeffrey Lewis wrote in a post on ArmsControlWonk.com earlier this month.

AP writers Jon Chol Jin in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sam Kim in Seoul and Eric Talmadge in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Cherokee Nation To Fund $100 Million Overhaul of Tribal Health Care System

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker announces a copy00 million investment in the tribe's health care system. (Cherokee Nation) — Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker announces a copy00 million investment in the tribe’s health care system. (Cherokee Nation)

The Cherokee Nation runs the country’s largest tribally operated health care system. And now it is investing copy00 million from its business holdings to improve it.

“This is exactly what our businesses were designed to do,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker in a press release. “Our financial success belongs to the Cherokee people. For the first time ever, we are taking a substantial amount of money directly from our businesses and putting it where it counts the most—health care for our citizens. Using our businesses to invest in and improve our health care system is the right thing to do, and it will literally save Cherokee lives.”

The tribe plans to replace or renovate four health centers and build a new hospital over the next two to three years. Cherokee Nation Businesses’ construction division will manage the entire project, hiring dozens of Cherokee subcontractors certified by the Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO), which will help boost the local economy.

A major component of the health system expansion is a new 100-bed hospital, which replaces the current W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Built as an Indian Health Services facility in 1984, the hospital was constructed to serve 65,000 outpatient visits each year. Today, the facility is serving more than 400,000 patient visits per year. The new $53.1 million hospital allows the current hospital to become an outpatient center.

The expansion projects also include a new 28,000-square-foot health center near Ochelata and a 42,000-square-foot health center in Jay. The Redbird Smith Health Center in Sallisaw will see a 30,000-square-foot expansion and 11,000 square feet of renovations. In Stillwell, 28,000 square feet will be added to the Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center.

The CNB board of directors unanimously approved the investment. Under current Cherokee law, an annual dividend totaling 35 percent of CNB’s profits is deposited in the Cherokee Nation’s general fund. The Cherokee Nation general fund supports a variety of services, including housing, education, social services, health care and more. Last year, that dividend payment totaled $57 million.

“The needs of the Cherokee people are so diverse that the dividend payment helps us get closer to where we need to be on health care, but very slowly,” Baker said. “This infusion of copy00 million, solely to health care infrastructure, helps us impact the health outcomes of Cherokees so much quicker. Our businesses have become so successful in recent years that it just makes sense and, quite frankly, is the right thing to do.”

“This is a great opportunity to show the Cherokee people why our casinos are here,” said Shawn Slaton, CEO of CNB. “Our goal is to create jobs, grow businesses and provide funding to the Cherokee Nation for services to the Cherokee people. We are proud to be in a position where we can make such a huge contribution to the health and well-being of Cherokee citizens.”

Aside from annual dividends, this is the first major investment the tribe’s businesses have made directly to tribal infrastructure. CNB will pay for the construction of the facilities and lease them back to the tribe for operation. One of CNB’s subsidiaries, Cherokee Nation Construction Resources, will serve as the prime contractor and construction manager of the project.

“By managing this project in-house, our construction division grows in its capabilities and gains an important past performance résumé, which they can use to win contracts from the federal government and private developers,” Slaton said. “This is a real win-win for CNB and the Cherokee Nation.”

Cherokee Nation Construction Resources, a division of CNB’s environmental and construction portfolio, is managing the construction of the health system expansion. The company is using this as an opportunity to perform work for the tribe and earn past performance credit, which is a valuable credential in both government and commercial contracting.

“When we do a project, we always know that the revenue it is generating helps the Cherokee people, but normally that’s through providing jobs and via the dividend payment,” said Cheryl Cohenour, executive general manager of Cherokee Nation Construction Resources. “But this project is so much more meaningful to us. For the first time, our work will directly affect citizens in ways the 35 percent dividend or job creation cannot. There is so much pride in knowing that as a Cherokee Nation, tribally owned business, we have something tangible to show our businesses’ commitment to making change for the Cherokee people. These new, updated health facilities are going to be a source of pride for our company, as well as the entire Cherokee Nation.”

The Cherokee Nation’s health system supports 1.2 million patient visits annually. It consists of eight health centers throughout the Cherokee Nation and W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah. Most Cherokee Nation health centers offer medical, dental, lab, radiology, public health, WIC, nutrition, contract health, pharmacy, behavioral health, optometry, community health service and mammography, or a combination of those services.

The Cherokee Nation also has future plans to make renovations at the Three Rivers Health Center in Muskogee and build a new Jack Brown Center in Tahlequah. The Jack Brown Center serves Cherokee citizens who may be struggling with an alcohol or drug dependency.

“I promised to make the health of our people a main priority,” said Baker. “This is a major step in the right direction.”

Casino Battle: Why the Opposition to Spokane Tribe’s Anti-Poverty Plan?

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a final report in February endorsing a large, off-reservation casino and hotel development for the Spokane Tribe in eastern Washington, but observers of Indian gaming say this doesn’t quite mean the tribe can start up the earth-movers.

The project requires both federal and state approval, and only five tribes across the U.S.—including the neighboring Kalispel Tribe, which is opposing the Spokane on this project—have been granted such two-part permission for off-reservation gaming in the 25 years under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

In addition, the Spokane’s quest to build a casino close to the city of Spokane, which has nearly 500,000 people in its greater metro area, has encountered strong opposition from groups that say what’s good for the Spokane would be bad for them. This includes the Kalispel, whose Northern Quest Resort & Casino is less than four miles away on trust land, and local business groups that fear the new casino could destroy the regional economy if it endangers the area’s largest employer, Fairchild Air Force Base. The Spokane Tribe’s property is about two miles from the base, which has raised concerns about encroachment of flight paths, potentially making Fairchild vulnerable to a future round of base closures by the federal government.

The BIA, in its final environmental impact statement, gives lengthy rebuttals to the encroachment issue, noting that Fairchild officials—as well as the United States Air Force—participated in joint land-use planning efforts and concluded the Spokane’s casino and hotel development does not pose a significant safety threat to the base. In addition, Spokane Tribal Chairman Rudy Peone and others say Fairchild is short-listed as one of the bases that could house the new Boeing KC-46 military aerial refueling and strategic transport aircraft. Supporters of the Spokane’s casino see this as a vote of confidence against closure.

Opponents of the proposed casino in Spokane County government and regional business say the BIA has not fully addressed the encroachment concerns and plan to keep fighting, likely lobbying new Washington Governor Jay Inslee or the Department of Interior’s Secretary-nominee Sally Jewell, who is the chief executive officer of the Seattle-based outdoor gear retailer, REI. They say 5,000 jobs at Fairchild are too significant to the local economy to risk for a casino project. “Communication now is really critical for people who want to get their voice heard,” says Rich Hadley, president and CEO of the pro-business group, Greater Spokane, Inc., which opposes the Spokane’s

The project would include retail space.

proposal. Hadley and Spokane County officials previously stated that the 30-day comment period on the Final environmental impact statement, which ended March 4, was too brief. After a request from Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (R-Washington), writing on behalf of the county, the BIA has extended the comment period to May 1. The Spokane Tribe wrote the agency to say it did not oppose the extension.

Still, Hadley said opponents will likely focus their attention on Jewell (if appointed) and Inslee. So, “when you think about who do you communicate with, you are probably naming them,” Hadley adds.

Ben Stuckart, president of the Spokane City Council, counters, “I really think a lot of the opposition boils down to economic encroachment. I don’t think that’s ever a reason to oppose a project that will bring jobs and alleviate poverty.” The city council split four to three to oppose a new casino. Spokane’s mayor, David A. Condon, is also an opponent.

Examination of the proposal—for which gaming would grow to 2,500 electronic gaming machines, 50 table games and 10 poker rooms—now goes to the BIA’s Office of Indian Gaming and, ultimately, to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs at the Department of Interior, before the feds release a Record of Decision, an open-ended review process which is expected to take months. The proposal is for more than just a casino. The Spokane Tribe Economic Project also includes a 300-room hotel, several restaurants ranging from fast food to fine dining, a standalone big-box retail site along with a shopping mall, a 10,000-square-foot tribal cultural center and a tribal police and fire station.

The big issue for the BIA will be weighing benefits to the Spokane against harm to the Kalispel, several observers of Indian gaming say. On the benefit side, the casino will rescue the tribe’s economy, says Peone, citing roughly 50 percent unemployment in recent years and reduced funding to tribal services as once-robust timber contracts have shriveled. So has income from two small casinos—among the first in Washington—in the decade since Northern Quest has opened on the outskirts of Spokane. The Spokane Tribe’s two casinos are each an hour’s drive or more from the city. “It’s a no-brainer,” Peone says of gamblers going to Northern Quest. “So we really had a lot of cuts.”

On the harm side, the Kalispel have risen from dire poverty thanks to Northern Quest, which has recently undergone a $210 million expansion. The tribe, which has closed its enrollment at roughly 425 members since the casino opened, has constructed a wellness center and helps members with housing, health care and education. It also is robustly funding language preservation and other initiatives.

The Spokane Tribe, “should be encouraged,” that the BIA endorsed the full Class III gaming-plus-hotel-plus-retail option in the final environmental impact statement, says Ron Allen, longtime chairman of Washington’s Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and chairman of the board of the Washington Indian Gaming Association. But, he adds, “When a tribe already has a casino and they want another location, a better location, the bureau takes that into serious consideration.” Also, Allen says, protection of a gaming tribe’s debt load is a significant and fairly new consideration for the BIA when weighing the risks of another tribe’s entry into the market.

The Kalispel Tribe, which did not agree to interviews for this story, has made protection of its revenue stream from Northern Quest a central argument against the Spokane Tribe’s proposal.

In a prepared statement, the Kalispel cite the conclusions of two third-party market-analysis firms: “[If] the Spokane Tribe is allowed to move forward with their proposal, it would devastate our tribe’s ability to provide services, such as health care and education, to our members, and we submitted comments to the BIA demonstrating that harm.”

Northern Quest is the Kalispel’s only method of funding tribal services, Chairman Glen Nenema has pointed out in letters to the BIA. He and others note the Kalispel reservation is small, remote and that much of it is a floodplain, severely restricting commercial opportunities.

Patrick D. Rushing is mayor of the city of Airway Heights, located between the Kalispel’s Northern Quest and the Spokane Tribe’s 145-acre site. He is enthusiastic about both projects. He says he’s optimistic about the chances of a new casino, citing a December 11 and 12 visit by Interior’s Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, Kevin Washburn. “He went out and looked at the Kalispel Tribe’s reservation and all of the improvements that were made and went through Northern Quest and saw all this nice stuff. The next day, he went out to Two Rivers and Wellpinit [on the Spokane reservation] and on to the Chewelah casino and could see the vast difference,” Rushing recalls.

In its impact statement, the BIA devoted an appendix to addressing the Kalispel contentions that a new casino will reduce its revenues by as much as 50 percent and will not expand the market. A report by the New Orleans–based Innovation Group in the final Environmental impact statement disputes this, offering many examples around the country of a new casino entering a market and all casinos seeing increased revenue.

Peone vows that the Spokane will develop the site with or without gaming. “We recently had our 132nd year since we’ve been placed on the reservation. I view that as survival. We’ve been here for thousands and thousands of years and we will remain. We will survive.”