The government of Oregon’s Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde has not taken an official stand on a casino planned by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. But some members are opposed to the proposal, which would bring a new gaming hall to North Salem.
Twenty acres is held in trust by the Siletz Tribe. It is slightly more than 30 miles from the Grand Ronde’s Spirit Mountain Casino—too close, say some members.
The Siletz tribe proposes a casino with 56,600 square feet of gaming space, restaurants, retail shopping, an events center and a 500-room hotel.
Grand Ronde Tribal Council Secretary Michael Langley commented, “We have made ongoing investments to our property based on the premise of one casino per tribe, especially since we do not have a natural draw to our area.” He added, “Siletz still has an amazing opportunity to be successful at Chinook Winds. They are not empty-handed.”
Another member, Lisa Leno, commented, “We cannot support projects that take money out of one tribe’s pocket and place it in another, especially when it would have devastating impacts.”
Leno continued, “Siletz already has a class three casino located on the beautiful Oregon coast, one of the most traveled to locations in the state of Oregon. It is not right to take our livelihood away so that another may benefit.”
Siletz Tribal Chairman Dee Pigsley countered with this statement: “We are disappointed with the Grande Ronde’s opposition to our Salem Casino Project and their false narrative about how the Casino will deter revenue from existing Oregon casinos and hurt other Tribes. These statements are simply untrue. The mission of The Siletz Casino Project is just the opposite. We intend to share revenue of the property with all Oregon Tribes.”
She added that the Grand Ronde had also opposed the Ilani Casino in Washington. She also noted that over half of the Siletz tribe are within commuting distance of the proposed casino.
