In this article, packed with information regarding The Flying Lark's history and IGRA violations, Deenie and Sean explore the situations that the entertainment-enjoying millionaire, Travis Boersma, has created for Grants Pass and Indigenous tribes across Oregon as a whole.
IGRA stands for the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This act was passed on Oct. 17, 1988. It started with a Supreme Court case called California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which took place from 1986 - 1987. According to Oyez, a resource for supreme court cases, this case involved two federally recognized Indian tribes in Riverside County, California. The two tribes, Cabazon and Morongo Bands of Mission Indians, had reservation land where they conducted bingo and card games open to non-Indians. For these tribes, this was a major source of income and it provided tribal members with employment. According to Oyez, "The State of California wanted to apply state gambling laws to reservation gaming and Riverside County wanted to apply local ordinances." The local ordinances that Riverside County proposed would ban card games and put "charitable organizations in charge of bingo games."
The two tribes involved in this claimed that these laws violated their sovereignty and a case was opened against the state of California and Riverside County in the Federal District. The district court ruled that the state and the county had no authority to regulate gambling on reservation land on Feb. 25, 1987 .
Grants Pass Downs became a well-renowned racing track in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1968 after Don Jackson, one of the most prominent horse trainers and racers in Oregon, enlisted his 5-year-old thoroughbred, Flying Lark (and his foals), in 1,545 races. Out of those races, Jackson accumulated 6.7 million dollars in the Flying Lark’s wins.
More recently, the Grants Pass Downs had been on slight probation, and even considered closing doors in early 2019 when the interest in horse racing drastically decreased in the past decade, leading to a spread of disinterest toward horse racing across the northern and central parts of Oregon. Portland Meadows, another horse racing track, permanently shut down in 2019 for these same reasons. The historical venue, built in the mid-1940’s, was demolished, leading many others to do the same.
The decline of the sport led to a deficit in funds, adding difficulty for horse racing to continue in Southern Oregon. However, in 2019, in order to revive the essence of the Grants Pass Downs, Travis Boersma, founder and current owner of Dutch Bros. Coffee, bought and implemented 250 HHR (Historic Horse Racing) slot machines that he plans to install in a large family-oriented entertainment center.
This entertainment center is called The Flying Lark, bearing the same name as the famous race horse from the late 1960’s. While still under construction, The Flying Lark’s website states,
“The speed, power and beauty of horses have captivated people for thousands of years. Named after the most famous horse to come out of the state of Oregon, The Flying Lark is Southern Oregon’s premier gaming, entertainment and dining destination. Escape with friends and family for a one-of-a-kind experience at our incredible facility which celebrates the magic and beauty of horses and the positive impact they’ve had on our communities.”
This text accounts for the entire message posted on their website, not including the small pieces of information on the hiring process, which is the hoop they are currently jumping through. Because of Boersma’s efforts, daily wagers at the Grants Pass Downs have seen a slight incline in the past two years.
The Flying Lark has already been given plenty of attention and traction throughout the community in the past few months, which will most likely lead to a large turnout of interaction with the HHR slot machines, installed for the use of one to bet on horses to likely win. Increasing the gambling dollars in the state, tribal casinos are also met with competition against Boersma, as The Flying Lark has not yet been approved by the IGRA (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act).
Six native tribes in Oregon have requested a review of the IGRA in order to truly consider the ethical and legal factors of Boersma’s HHR slot machine installation. These tribes include Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw, Tribes of Grand Ronde, Tribes of Siletz Indians, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians, and The Klamath Tribes. They have made the following accusations, which have been here taken word-for-word from their request letter to Governor Kate Brown:
• HHR machines are not pari-mutuel.
• HHR machines are nothing other than slot machines from a player perspective.
• There is no evidence HHR machines expand live horse racing.
• Oregon’s effective tax rate on HHRs is the lowest in the United States and no revenue goes to the General Fund.
• The impact of 250 machines installed in Grants Pass will reduce lottery revenues for schools, economic development and parks by $13 million in the first year and reduce tribal gaming revenues by $6 million.
• If HHR machines are expanded to all tracks, these figures grow to $64 million reduction to lottery and $31 million to tribes.
HHR machines are considered slot machines because of their extremely close relation to them and the fact that their revenue goes towards state gambling dollars. According to Smoke Signals, an independent tribal media source, this situation is quite familiar, like ”when the new historic racing machines were installed at Derby City Gaming in Louisville, Ky., in 2018, the nearby Caesars Southern Indiana casino saw a 12 percent decline in annual net slot revenue. When 902 of the machines were installed at Red Mile Gaming & Racing in Lexington, Ky., the Belterra Casino Resort 90 minutes away saw a 7 percent decrease in net slot revenue over a 10-month period.”
In Oct. 2021, Oregon celebrated Indigenous People’s Day for the first time ever. A bill was passed earlier this year in Salem to “make Indigenous Peoples’ Day a state holiday and recognize the history and contributions of indigenous people,” according to KATU2. The bill was passed by the house with a 50-5 vote in favor of making Indigenous Peoples’ Day a recognized holiday in the state of Oregon. It was then sent to the Senate where it was decided upon with a vote of 22-7 also in favor of making this holiday a recognized holiday. It was finally approved by the governor. Now, for the first time ever, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a recognized holiday. On Oct. 11, 2021, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Kate Brown stated to Willamette Week, “No matter where you are in Oregon today, remember, you are on Indigenous land.” Although this statement acknowledges that Oregonians reside on Indigenous land, Kate Brown continues to allow for the Flying Lark to continue its construction in Grants Pass.
Regarding the Flying Lark, Laney Myers, a representative of the Native American Student Union (NASU) at GPHS, stated, “While it is true that we, as a people, are attempting to move towards a more equitable world, building casinos that will reduce our [Indigenous tribes] liveable wages and giving us nothing in return is anything but equitable.”
It is said when these two worlds collide, Indigenous people have continuously received the short end of the stick. By keeping casinos strictly within Indigenous reservations, tribes are able to provide running water, electricity, and food for their communities. The outcome of building the casino in Grants Pass will be that tribes of the Northwest will lose funds that are necessary for survival. These communities will go back to a state of poverty that they experienced not too long ago.
Personally experiencing these effects, Myers added that, “What started out as a form of entertainment for our tribes has now turned into our way of providing a good life for our communities and it is something we cannot afford to lose, being that it is one of the last things we still have to our names. Building this casino is a threat to our livelihoods and to our culture.”
In summary, further interaction with the HHR machines in Grants Pass without approval from these tribes will violate the IGRA and throw a hard hit at the Indigeinous communities that are already suffering from the low, declining tribal gaming funds.
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