Opinion: Off-reservation casino support dwindling

Monday, April 14, 2008  

"F or almost a decade, a debate has raged over whether state and federal governments should approve Oregon's first off-reservation casino, resort and parking lot in the Columbia River Gorge. And with each year, The Oregonian's logic to justify the casino becomes more tortured. What becomes clearer each year is that the more Oregonians debate a gorge casino, the less they support it. That's because the current policy that allows each Oregon tribe one casino on reservation lands is fair, treats all tribes equally and limits casinos.

Approving a gorge casino is a radical policy change, will damage the environment of Oregon's greatest natural treasure and will open the door to more off-reservation and private casinos across the state.

What's more, in response to rising national concerns about the explosion of off-reservation casinos, the Department of Interior recently issued new guidelines that say new off-reservation casinos should be within a reasonable daily commute of Indian reservations to prevent "reservation shopping" and to ensure that tribal members who live on reservations enjoy most of the jobs and benefits of tribal casinos.

The proposed Cascade Locks casino is a 218-mile round-trip daily drive from the town of Warm Springs, where most tribal members live. A daily 218-mile round-trip commute is unreasonable, unsafe and unnecessary when an on-reservation alternative is available and would employ more tribal members. The border of the Warm Springs reservation may be 40 miles "as the crow flies" to Cascade Locks, but it is a 218-mile round trip drive from where most tribal members actually reside. Depending on the weather and road conditions, that's a two-to-three hour, potentially dangerous, daily commute."

Get the Story:
Kevin Gorman, Bill Perry and Nick Graham: Casino at Cascade Locks (The Oregonian 4/14)