"When officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Indian Affairs appear at public meetings in Clark County Wednesday and Thursday, there is one thing that should not happen and one thing that should.

The meetings at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Prairie High School and 7 p.m. Thursday at Fort Vancouver High School should not be confrontational, either between supporters and opponents of a proposed casino on Interstate 5 at the La Center junction, or between the audience and the officials. They will be here at public expense to answer questions from the public.

What should happen is that information should break out.

The meetings will be a waste of money and everyone's time if the public doesn't ask and get answers to precise questions. At the same time, the officials should come mentally prepared for the possibility of hearing suggestions or concerns from either side that would not otherwise have been part of their thinking.

Likewise, time ought not be spent debating the fact that the Cowlitz, like most Northwest tribes, got a bad deal a century and a half ago when treaties were being signed and reservations were being carved out. "

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In Our View - Let's Get Answers (The Columbian 2/14)