Yesteryears - June 1, 2025

2020 — Spirit Mountain Casino reopened with limited hours on June 1, after 2.5 months of being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional safety measures included age restrictions and requiring masks at all table games. The Tribe’s roughly 500 employees were also back in the office, with new protocols, including daily screening and temperature checks.

2015 — Silviculture and Fire Protection Program Manager Jeff Nepstad retired from the Natural Resources Department, after serving the Tribe for nearly half his life, to spend more time with his family.

2010 — The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians held its mid-year conference at Spirit Mountain Casino, giving Tribal members a first-hand look at the process of determining which ideas would be pitched to Congress to potentially become law. Successful ideas would move forward to the National Congress of American Indians a few weeks later.

2005 — Native American novelist, poet and comedian Sherman Alexie (Spokane) entertained the crowd at Oregon State University’s LaSells Stewart Center and granted an interview with Smoke Signals.

2000 — The Willamette Restoration Initiative was seeking to protect the remains of the Willamette River Basin. The board of directors included representatives of local businesses, local government, utilities, Tribes, academics, watershed groups, soil and water conservation districts, agriculture, forestry, environmental groups and state and federal government. Board members included Tribal Council Chair Kathryn Harrison and Tribal Environmental Specialist Kathleen Feehan. The board presented its recommendations to Gov. John Kitzhaber in May 2000.

1995 — Spirit Mountain Casino, a few months away from opening, was still under construction. Meanwhile, officials were hiring management staff, beginning to advertise for general staff and financing improvements to Highway 18.   

1990 — Gubernatorial candidate Barbara Roberts, who grew up in Sheridan and attended school with Tribal members, met with Oregon Tribal representatives in mid-May, along with her opponent, State Attorney General Dave Fronhmayer and congressional candidate Mike Kopetski. Frohnmayer said he was the one who had formed the state’s Indian Affairs working group. Roberts defeated Frohnmayer six months later.

1985 — The powwow committee was seeking financial donations and raffle items for the summer powwow. It also was asking for volunteers to help make fry bread to help raise funds for the powwow.

Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.