Opinion | Public Relations

Editorial: Oregon governor takes unusual stance on tribal gaming

Monday, April 25, 2016

Explorers Lewis and Clark "discover" gaming machines but not much else in a campaign for the Oregon Lottery. Still image from RWestMarketing / YouTube

Why is Gov. Kate Brown (D) opposing a new Class II facility for the Coquille Tribe while the Oregon Lottery boasts of its new gaming terminals? The Coos Bay World sees more than just insensitivity in a Lewis and Clark-themed advertising campaign from the state:

We’re more surprised that others haven’t also raised a voice of displeasure — like history buffs, Lewis and Clark aficionados (of which Oregon is richly endowed) and all who prefer good taste over cliché.
Yes, it’s cheesy, and we’re guessing the ad campaign’s crafters don’t think the caricature should be taken too seriously.
Then again, we aren’t the indigenous people who were the original inhabitants of this piece of the country. You’d think Lewis and Clark just found video gaming machines as they trekked to the Pacific, not other people and culture, too.
And we weren’t the ones who, earlier this month, heard from our governor that she didn’t think we should be building any more gambling establishments, enterprises that constitute the basis for our ability to generate income.
If you’re a business owner, you’d also be upset if the state began operating a business similar to yours, and then began telling you that your business is too big.

Get the Story:
Editorial: Lewis and Clark discovered — video gambling? (The Coos Bay World 4/21)

Federal Register Notice:
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Coquille Indian Tribe Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, City of Medford, Jackson County, Oregon (January 15, 2015)