Spokanes’ proposal a promising picture
It is a new day for the Spokane Tribe of Indians and for Eastern Washington. The Spokane Tribe and Washington State Gambling Commission negotiating representatives have recently reached an agreement on a proposed gaming compact. The proposed compact sets limits for the size and scope of gaming for our tribe and integrates its gaming operations within a comprehensive and cooperative tribal, federal and state regulatory framework.
This agreement will result in new investments by the Spokane Tribe to create high-quality entertainment venues, helping the economy of our reservation and surrounding communities.
The Spokane Tribe will work with local governments to make commitments they can count on to address impacts of our proposed entertainment operations. The Spokane Tribe will assist in funding essential services such as law enforcement, fire safety, judicial services and contribute to local charities.
This new agreement follows a request by Gov. Chris Gregoire to renegotiate a compact agreement reached in the latter part of 2005. The current proposed compact contains a significant reduction of the size and scope of gaming from the original. With mutual respect and consideration for the issues important to both the Spokane Tribe and the state, and with the positive leadership of Gov. Gregoire and the Gambling Commission, we constructed a new agreement, which will serve the best interests of the state, our region and the Spokane Tribe.
To reach this agreement, our tribe has negotiated and waged legal battles over gaming issues with the United States and the state of Washington for more than 15 years. The fight to obtain a fair compact has been a long, difficult dispute, but it was always our hope to work for a positive result. The two governments have now reached a tentative agreement on all issues, reflecting a new and positive relationship with the state of Washington.
With the additional funds from gaming, the Spokane Tribal Business Council hopes to improve health care to our tribal members, provide a higher education for our children and build an infrastructure to improve our reservation for generations to come. Additional employment opportunities from future facilities will benefit both tribal members and non-members alike.
The Spokane Tribal Business Council and I are aware there may be concerns with any new entertainment development which results from this compact, including a possible facility on our land near the city of Airway Heights.
However, further federal and state approval is required for the Airway Heights site to be developed. As part of that process, we look forward to rigorous federal and public scrutiny of future plans.
We are reaching out to work with our neighbors to ensure that impacts from our gaming operations will be mitigated. In Airway Heights we have agreed to a process which will allow for annexation of our lands. Our land there is held in trust by the federal government. It is also clearly within our ancestral homelands and is within the planned growth area for the region. It currently is designated by the federal government for industrial use and accepted for such use by Spokane County and Airway Heights.
Our planned commercial use will be less intense than many potential industrial uses.
The Spokane Tribe’s ancestral lands once extended over 3 million acres in and around the Spokane area. Those lands once generated enough resources to provide for our people and trade for goods from other tribes. Gaming and entertainment are modern enterprises which will create opportunities for our people while improving the economy of our region.
The Spokane Tribal Council and I believe we have a sacred responsibility to guide the affairs of our tribe and fight for its future. We fulfill our task understanding we have a responsibility for our tribal members today and for our future generations. We work within our traditional values of respect, honor and integrity. The Spokane Tribe’s long-term vision seeks true sovereignty and self-sufficiency, while remaining good neighbors.
Spokane in Salish, our native language, refers to the Children of the Sun. We are confident that this new agreement with the state will provide for a new day of opportunity for our people. By competing fairly in the Indian gaming market in Eastern Washington, we will create a tribal economy that will endure and that will shine brightly for the Children of the Sun and for our neighbors as well.