Shoshone-Paiute tribes have long wanted their own playing operation. After all, they are the only tribe of the Indians in Idaho without one.
This dream is already a step closer to the fruit.
In Grassy Plains, halfway between Boise and Mountain Home, Sho-Pai held a ceremony on Thursday to bless the land where they plan to build their first resort and casino. The plot blocks the lines of Ada and Elmor County near the Interstate 84 about two miles south of the ORCARD Access Road Boise Stage stop.
Shoshone-Paiute tribes participate in a blessing ceremony on Earth.
The place is part of the home of Shi-Pai, an area from which their ancestors were forcibly removed more than a century ago, when Europeans colonize the West and turned them into the reservation of the remote valley at the border of the Idaho-Nevada.
Life at Duck Valley is full of challenges, according to Brian Mason, Chairman of the Tribal Business Council.
“We still have some members of the tribes who live in homes without floors or running water,” Mason said. “We are fighting high unemployment, we do not have access to adequate medical attention, and we cannot attract enough qualified teachers. Tribal games can give us the necessary resources to solve these problems.”
“Whatever is necessary, we will get there,” said Shoshone-Paiute Brade Business Council Chairman Brian Mason. “You can count on this.”
Under the white tents of shades at the end of a long dusty dirt road, hundreds gathered to mark the sign. The tribal leaders wearing feathered hats and other cultural garments led prayers, sang traditional songs and performed in drum circles.
The cars and trucks traveling on the highway were quietly passing the far background.
It was a home return of varieties.
“This is our land to the ancestors, our land, which our people went before,” Mason said at the beginning of the ceremony. “We are back with a playing operation.”
The members of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes ride a horse in place of the first and only proposed resort and casino of the tribes.
This would not be possible without the support of the Coeur d’Aidaho tribe in North Idaho. The tribe bought the property over 500 acres in April to give Sho-Pai for the project. The Coeur d’Alene tribe, whose council members traveled to South Idaho for the blessing event, promised to share their experience with Sho-Pai to obtain the casino through permits and developments.
After the resort works at the beginning, the Coeur d’Alene tribe plans to manage it, at least until Sho-Pai learned the ropes.
“This is not a giving away,” said chief J. Alan, Chairman of the Coor D’Alev tribe of tribe during the ceremony. “These are two nations that work together. We’ll press hard. We need to approve it. We’ll camp in DC if we need to.”
“We are now a family,” said Coeur D’Alene J. Alene’s tribal board chairman. Alan. “We’re 100%.”
Ysabel Bilbao, a SHO-PAI spokesman, said the two tribes are working to apply for land acquisition to acquire a fee at the US Department of Interior by the end of summer.
“We still have a way ahead of us, but it’s much broader,” Bilbao said.
The Indian Game Regulation Law requires the land used for games to be held in confidence, a process in which the internal department acquires the title of the Earth and holds it for the benefit of a tribe. Loose restrictions have allowed the tribes to build casinos further than their reservations.
Derrd Julianto dances during the ceremony.
SHO-PAI does not have a casino in its reservation or elsewhere, but has been working on play plans in the Mountain Home area since the 1990s.
Their proposed resort and casino about 20 miles southeast of Boise will generate approximately tens of millions of dollars a year for Idaho’s economy and create thousands of well -paid jobs, according to tribes. This will attract patrons of over 780,000 people living in the Counts Ada and Canyon and nearly 30,000 living in Elmore County. It will also attract travelers on the route between Boise and Mountain Home.
The tribes are planning to play the latest gaming machines, luxury hotel rooms, spa, entertainment center and exquisite dining restaurants.
The members of the tribes gather for a drum circle.
Sho-Pai promises to give 5% of the revenue from casino games to local schools and educational programs.
“It will give us a stream of revenue so we can take care of our people at home,” Mason said. “This is for our youth. They are our future leaders. And for our elders who are there, we apologize for taking so long.”
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