Raven Speaks: Go-la’-ka Wa-wal-sh
Wendell George | We shall live again
by WENDELL GEORGE Oct. 18, 2016, 12:46 p.m.

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“We have waited too long for the government to fulfill their promises. They have only given us handouts. We want respect which only comes from doing things ourselves. So let’s form a group that can successfully jumpstart economic development on our reservations. It will not be easy as they’ll have to do a lot of travelling and convince government people to work with tribes the Indian Way.”
I paraphrased the speech that Sam Cagey, the well-respected Chairman of the Lummi Tribe, gave at the 1973 National Congress of American Indians spring conference in San Diego, California to create a national Economic Development Board.
The members appointed were:
♦ Colville Business Council member Lucy Covington who later became Council Chair.
♦ Yakama Tribal Council member Mel Sampson who later became Council Chair.
♦ Seminole tribal member James Billie who later became Chairman of the Seminole Tribal Council.
♦ Seneca tribal member Stu Seneca from New York.
♦ Passamaquoddy tribal member Frank Battese from Kansas.
♦ I was selected as a member of the Colville Tribe and later elected to the Colville Business Council.
There were six other members from the SW with similar qualifications.
As directed we met with tribes and Federal agencies in Washington, D.C. and all over the country to determine what tribes needed and what the government could provide. We opened up a lot of opportunities for tribes.
We showed the group the pine and fir forest on our 2,100 square mile Colville Reservation. We didn’t have any enterprises at the time. We concluded the tour at the Spokane Tribes Pow-Wow.
During these activities Frank Battese had a saddle custom made for me and Mel Sampson and I worked on several projects. James Billie wrestled alligators and made news when his alligator got loose in a hotel hallway. Later, as Chairman of the Seminole Tribal Council, he was instrumental in the development of their reservation in Florida. In 1988 Mathew Dick, Jr. and I saw the beginning of it in their large Bingo Hall.
The effort took many years to culminate. The Seminoles are a prime inspirational example as one of the most successful tribes in the nation. They have come a long way from the wars of 1818 through 1858 when Andrew Jackson tried to exterminate them. They never surrendered and, like most tribes, have spent years reconstructing their tribe and reservation. They were modestly successful with bingo and casinos until they purchased the Hard Rock Café franchise from a British firm for $965 million in 2007. Then they expanded their casinos, restaurants and lounges worldwide into a $5 billion business including two hundred hotels, cafes, and casinos in sixty-four countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They are adding New York, Atlanta, London, and Berlin.
They have become a significant influence in Florida. In August they signed an agreement to name the Miami Dolphins football facility the “Hard Rock Stadium”. The 2020 Super Bowl and annual Orange Bowl football games will be played there.
Chairman Cagey would revel in this accomplishment. And according to Paiute Medicine-man Wovoka “Another world is coming, just like a cloud. It will come in a whirlwind out of the west…”

Wendell George writes Go-la’-ka Wa-wal-sh (Raven Speaks). He can be reached via email at wvegeorge@charter.net. His books are available at the local book stores, museums and Amazon.