Delores Pigsley, Chairman
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Chinook Winds Casino Resort – Lincoln City, OR
chinookwindscasino.com / ctsi.nsn.us
BENEFITS OF GAMING: Gaming revenue has been a blessing to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Our tribe was restored to federal recognition in November 1977 after having been terminated in 1954. Restoration of the tribe provided few resources as most were lost at termination. It was extremely difficult and costly to get land in trust for gaming at our current location as we had no funds or land that met the definition of trust land for gaming.
Because we are a restored tribe, gaming has helped to return historical lands to tribal ownership to increase the tribe’s land base. Our original reservation was more than one million acres. Gaming provides educational support for all tribal members to attend college or vocational training and for educational incentives. It provides housing support and economic development funds and allows us to support the local school district. We were able to reintroduce language and culture classes and also provide natural resource management and habitat restoration. We recently regained our hunting, fishing and gathering rights but have no funding for fisheries or water resources.Through charitable funds provided by the casino, the tribe is able to provide support to other tribes’ needy programs, to local charitable organizations and to our own charities. It allows us to fully participate in all governmental activities in the State of Oregon and in the nation.
GOALS & INITIATIVES: The tribe’s current casino revenues supplement tribal and government services, however, we are in a challenging location on the Oregon Coast. We do have existing plans to develop a new casino, but this means going through the two-part determination that must be acted on by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
LEGISLATIVE: There are many issues we face in our future because we are a restored tribe and did not receive our former reservation land at restoration. We must buy back land suitable for housing, economic development and other purposes, then have it taken into trust. For gaming purposes, as stated, we are currently in that process.
The tribe lacks adequate funds for law enforcement, housing, land buy back, funds for natural resource development and protection, and many other necessary functions to provide services to our membership of more than 5,500 individuals. Siletz has had to rebuild its government from 1977 to where we are today. We must face water and climate issues that affect our whole nation.
