Gila River

By Marco Ceglie

FADE IN: 1. An opening shot of the Gila River Lands at sunrise or sunset. SFX: soft, meditative GRIC instrumental music. 2. Footage of the flowing water, closeup of the river. NARRATOR: Long before our gaming enterprises, before there even was a Gila River Indian Community there was the land, and there was the river – the Gila River, which flowed westward through the valley of the sun, nurtured the desert, and fed the Huhugam people for over six thousand years 3. More slow pans of early photos of the land, pottery, historic structures. NARRATOR: Huhugam is an O'odham word for all our O'odham ancestors, including those known as the Hohokam. Hohokam tribes in this area built hundreds of miles of canals that turned our Sonoran desert into gardens; they grew cotton for their clothes and rugs, crops of maize, melons, beans and agave, and still feed the valley to this day. Our ancestors were builders, farmers, traders, and artists. 4. Fade to archival pictures of the Tribal members and other artifacts. NARRATOR: Between the 1700s and mid-1840s, the Akimel O’odham offered refuge to the Maricopa tribe, a Yuman tribal people who had been driven eastward from the lower Colorado River area. The Maricopa, who called themselves the “Pee Posh,” remained, and today our community is home to members of both the Akimel O’odham, or Pima, and the Pee-Posh, or Maricopa tribes who share these Gila River lands. 5. Transition to shots of early American pioneers moving west: wagon trains, etc -- NARRATOR: As tens of thousands of Americans migrated westward, many were unprepared for the long journey and passed through our lands starving or near death. Like our ancestors, our community offered rest and recovery. 6. Images of early Congress, formal papers establishing the GRIC. Archival images of GRIC members farming. NARRATOR: Ours was the first reservation established by Congress in 1859. By 1862, our people grew more than one million pounds of wheat for ourselves and for sale. Our future looked bright… 7. Archival footage of newspaper headlines from early valley development, images of food trucks, army delivery trucks SFX: music turns a little darker, dramatic NARRATOR: until others upstream built dams and diverted our ancient river and our lifeblood, wiping out most of our ability to farm. Between 1880 and 1920 we faced mass famine and starvation. The US government, trying to help, shipped in tons of canned and processed foods, but the change in our diets created a different kind of disaster, causing the high rates of obesity and diabetes that our people still fight today. With few jobs available and the loss of our cash crops, our people suffered through poverty and famine. They were the darkest days in our long history. 8. Images of GRIC members strong, proud, and determined. SFX: music turns again, softly more uplifting NARRATOR: But our people are resilient and strong, and despite these many challenges, remained dedicated the idea of self-reliance, building, farming and trading. 9. Slow pans from the casino floor, and tribal member employees smiling. NARRATOR: You can see that resilience all around you, and especially here in our facilities. Through gaming we found a new economic lifeline to once again be, and remain, self- reliant in modern times. This is a new era for our people, one that began in the early ‘90s, when we joined with other tribes and fought for gaming as an exclusive right on Tribal lands in Arizona. 10. Shot of Kenneth Manual, on location in front of the school he attended as a child. Transition to archival images from 40-60 years ago NARRATOR: I am proud to have grown up in the Gila River Indian Community, and I know what life was like for our people before gaming. When I was a boy growing up in ________, I can remember____________ ( To come: Personal story from childhood in interview here 11. Scenes of modern life in the GRIC: the new school with kids walking into class, medical center, and elder care facility with elders sitting at tables, making crafts, talking, etc. SFX: music continues to build in positivity and hopeful, uplifting tempo NARRATOR: Today, the “People of the River” have moved to greater self-reliance; our entertainment facilities feed, house, educate, and care for our people. Gaming revenues pay for our Tribe’s health care, a public safety network of police, EMT and fire professionals, and robust social, child, and elder care services, and our Tribe has concentrated economic developments to increase farming and industrial capacity that diversifies our economic engine. 12. Transition to archival footage of the original Lone Butte, possible news or newspaper clippings, ribbon cutting video if it exists NARRATOR: The world class resort in which you stay today is so far from the humble beginning of our first casino 30 years ago. We opened the original Lone Butte in June, 1994 with 272 slot machines and 250 employees. 13. Transition to shot of young Kenneth Manual in his original slot attendant uniform, transition to archival footage of the original WHP, VQ and then the new Santan Mountain facilities. Scene then morphs from original buildings into current, modern buildings, pans of world class amenities from advertising footage 14. Shot of casino guests playing craps, having a great time, then slow pans across the smiling faces of casino employees looking up slowly from their various stations: card dealer, craps dealer, food prep, bartender, etc . NARRATOR: I was a slot attendant back then. By 1998 we added the original Wild Horse Pass and Vee Quiva, and, more recently Santan Mountain. Today we employ over 3,500 people and are the largest casino enterprise in Arizona. NARRATOR: We didn’t do this alone, and we couldn’t have done it without you, our guests, and every person that has ever been a member of our team. As a team and as a community, we remain humble but proud of what we have accomplished. 15. Scenes of the modern canals through the desert: Drone shot from above or ground-level at golden hour. NARRATOR: We are also still the same people who cared for westward migrants so long ago, and who taught early American settlers how to farm the land as we have, and expand the canals that our ancestors built, so that today many millions more enjoy the lands we’ve known for millennia. 16. Transition to graphics laying out how gaming revenue shares are allotted using this webpage as a guide; https://gaming.az.gov/tribal-gaming/ tribal-contributions NARRATOR: For our neighbors, 12% of our gaming revenues go directly to cities, towns, and counties and support a wide range of non-profits and community programs. In addition, revenues from Tribal gaming enterprises across the state have given more than two point two billion dollars to the Arizona Benefits Fund. This fund improves the lives of all Arizonans by funding education, trauma and emergency services, protecting wildlife, supporting the department of tourism, and programs that address problem gambling. 17. Back to scenes of the river, and promotional materials from the irrigation project NARRATOR: Gaming is helping us bring back the precious water, too. Our community is in the planning stages of an irrigation project to deliver water from District 1 to the farms of the Pee-Posh in District Seven. It will take years to complete, but in the end our members will once again hear the sweet music of rushing water 18. Images of Tribal Leaders at the first Lone Butte opening, or headshots of revered Tribal Leaders who really pushed for gaming ahead of the compacts. If not, then headlines from news clippings talking about tribal gaming coming to Arizona NARRATOR: Our tribal leaders who fought for tribal gaming were true visionaries, and together our community, our guests, our neighbors, and all Arizonans are reaping the benefits of that vision. 19. Shot of smiling GRIC kids playing in the park / on a playground – slight so motion for greater emotional moment NARRATOR: Not just for today, but future generations to come. 20. Ending shot of Kenneth Manual in his office in a suit and tie standing above the casino floor. As he says “at Gila River”, the camera sweeps over and past him overlooking the active gaming floor, then fades to the Gila River Indian Community crest NARRATOR: This is the difference between us and the corporate casinos elsewhere. At Gila River, this isn’t just gaming, it’s Tribal Gaming and that makes all the difference in the world. It is the Gila Way.

Story Content

An opening shot of the Gila River Lands at sunrise or sunset. SFX: soft, meditative GRIC instrumental music. 2. Footage of the flowing water, closeup of the river. NARRATOR: Long before our gaming enterprises, before there even was a Gila River Indian Community there was the land, and there was the river – the Gila River, which flowed westward through the valley of the sun, nurtured the desert, and fed the Huhugam people for over six thousand years 3. More slow pans of early photos of the land, pottery, historic structures. NARRATOR: Huhugam is an O'odham word for all our O'odham ancestors, including those known as the Hohokam. Hohokam tribes in this area built hundreds of miles of canals that turned our Sonoran desert into gardens; they grew cotton for their clothes and rugs, crops of maize, melons, beans and agave, and still feed the valley to this day. Our ancestors were builders, farmers, traders, and artists. 4. Fade to archival pictures of the Tribal members and other artifacts. NARRATOR: Between the 1700s and mid-1840s, the Akimel O’odham offered refuge to the Maricopa tribe, a Yuman tribal people who had been driven eastward from the lower Colorado River area. The Maricopa, who called themselves the “Pee Posh,” remained, and today our community is home to members of both the Akimel O’odham, or Pima, and the Pee-Posh, or Maricopa tribes who share these Gila River lands. 5. Transition to shots of early American pioneers moving west: wagon trains, etc -- NARRATOR: As tens of thousands of Americans migrated westward, many were unprepared for the long journey and passed through our lands starving or near death. Like our ancestors, our community offered rest and recovery. 6. Images of early Congress, formal papers establishing the GRIC. Archival images of GRIC members farming. NARRATOR: Ours was the first reservation established by Congress in 1859. By 1862, our people grew more than one million pounds of wheat for ourselves and for sale. Our future looked bright… 7. Archival footage of newspaper headlines from early valley development, images of food trucks, army delivery trucks SFX: music turns a little darker, dramatic NARRATOR: until others upstream built dams and diverted our ancient river and our lifeblood, wiping out most of our ability to farm. Between 1880 and 1920 we faced mass famine and starvation. The US government, trying to help, shipped in tons of canned and processed foods, but the change in our diets created a different kind of disaster, causing the high rates of obesity and diabetes that our people still fight today. With few jobs available and the loss of our cash crops, our people suffered through poverty and famine. They were the darkest days in our long history. 8. Images of GRIC members strong, proud, and determined. SFX: music turns again, softly more uplifting NARRATOR: But our people are resilient and strong, and despite these many challenges, remained dedicated the idea of self-reliance, building, farming and trading. 9. Slow pans from the casino floor, and tribal member employees smiling. NARRATOR: You can see that resilience all around you, and especially here in our facilities. Through gaming we found a new economic lifeline to once again be, and remain, self- reliant in modern times. This is a new era for our people, one that began in the early ‘90s, when we joined with other tribes and fought for gaming as an exclusive right on Tribal lands in Arizona. 10. Shot of Kenneth Manual, on location in front of the school he attended as a child. Transition to archival images from 40-60 years ago NARRATOR: I am proud to have grown up in the Gila River Indian Community, and I know what life was like for our people before gaming. When I was a boy growing up in ________, I can remember____________ ( To come: Personal story from childhood in interview here 11. Scenes of modern life in the GRIC: the new school with kids walking into class, medical center, and elder care facility with elders sitting at tables, making crafts, talking, etc. SFX: music continues to build in positivity and hopeful, uplifting tempo NARRATOR: Today, the “People of the River” have moved to greater self-reliance; our entertainment facilities feed, house, educate, and care for our people. Gaming revenues pay for our Tribe’s health care, a public safety network of police, EMT and fire professionals, and robust social, child, and elder care services, and our Tribe has concentrated economic developments to increase farming and industrial capacity that diversifies our economic engine. 12. Transition to archival footage of the original Lone Butte, possible news or newspaper clippings, ribbon cutting video if it exists NARRATOR: The world class resort in which you stay today is so far from the humble beginning of our first casino 30 years ago. We opened the original Lone Butte in June, 1994 with 272 slot machines and 250 employees. 13. Transition to shot of young Kenneth Manual in his original slot attendant uniform, transition to archival footage of the original WHP, VQ and then the new Santan Mountain facilities. Scene then morphs from original buildings into current, modern buildings, pans of world class amenities from advertising footage 14. Shot of casino guests playing craps, having a great time, then slow pans across the smiling faces of casino employees looking up slowly from their various stations: card dealer, craps dealer, food prep, bartender, etc . NARRATOR: I was a slot attendant back then. By 1998 we added the original Wild Horse Pass and Vee Quiva, and, more recently Santan Mountain. Today we employ over 3,500 people and are the largest casino enterprise in Arizona. NARRATOR: We didn’t do this alone, and we couldn’t have done it without you, our guests, and every person that has ever been a member of our team. As a team and as a community, we remain humble but proud of what we have accomplished. 15. Scenes of the modern canals through the desert: Drone shot from above or ground-level at golden hour. NARRATOR: We are also still the same people who cared for westward migrants so long ago, and who taught early American settlers how to farm the land as we have, and expand the canals that our ancestors built, so that today many millions more enjoy the lands we’ve known for millennia. 16. Transition to graphics laying out how gaming revenue shares are allotted using this webpage as a guide; https://gaming.az.gov/tribal-gaming/ tribal-contributions NARRATOR: For our neighbors, 12% of our gaming revenues go directly to cities, towns, and counties and support a wide range of non-profits and community programs. In addition, revenues from Tribal gaming enterprises across the state have given more than two point two billion dollars to the Arizona Benefits Fund. This fund improves the lives of all Arizonans by funding education, trauma and emergency services, protecting wildlife, supporting the department of tourism, and programs that address problem gambling. 17. Back to scenes of the river, and promotional materials from the irrigation project NARRATOR: Gaming is helping us bring back the precious water, too. Our community is in the planning stages of an irrigation project to deliver water from District 1 to the farms of the Pee-Posh in District Seven. It will take years to complete, but in the end our members will once again hear the sweet music of rushing water 18. Images of Tribal Leaders at the first Lone Butte opening, or headshots of revered Tribal Leaders who really pushed for gaming ahead of the compacts. If not, then headlines from news clippings talking about tribal gaming coming to Arizona NARRATOR: Our tribal leaders who fought for tribal gaming were true visionaries, and together our community, our guests, our neighbors, and all Arizonans are reaping the benefits of that vision. 19. Shot of smiling GRIC kids playing in the park / on a playground – slight so motion for greater emotional moment NARRATOR: Not just for today, but future generations to come. 20. Ending shot of Kenneth Manual in his office in a suit and tie standing above the casino floor. As he says “at Gila River”, the camera sweeps over and past him overlooking the active gaming floor, then fades to the Gila River Indian Community crest NARRATOR: This is the difference between us and the corporate casinos elsewhere. At Gila River, this isn’t just gaming, it’s Tribal Gaming and that makes all the difference in the world. It is the Gila Way.

Gila River

Gila River

Marco Ceglie

An opening shot of the Gila River Lands at sunrise or sunset. SFX: soft, meditative GRIC instrumental music. 2.

Footage of the flowing water, closeup of the river. NARRATOR: Long before our gaming enterprises, before there even was a Gila River Indian Community there was the land, and there was the river – the Gila River, which flowed westward through the valley of the sun, nurtured the desert, and fed the Huhugam people for over six thousand years 3.

More slow pans of early photos of the land, pottery, historic structures. NARRATOR: Huhugam is an O'odham word for all our O'odham ancestors, including those known as the Hohokam. Hohokam tribes in this area built hundreds of miles of canals that turned our Sonoran desert into gardens; they grew cotton for their clothes and rugs, crops of maize, melons, beans and agave, and still feed the valley to this day. Our ancestors were builders, farmers, traders, and artists. 4.

Fade to archival pictures of the Tribal members and other artifacts. NARRATOR: Between the 1700s and mid-1840s, the Akimel O’odham offered refuge to the Maricopa tribe, a Yuman tribal people who had been driven eastward from the lower Colorado River area. The Maricopa, who called themselves the “Pee Posh,” remained, and today our community is home to members of both the Akimel O’odham, or Pima, and the Pee-Posh, or Maricopa tribes who share these Gila River lands. 5.

Transition to shots of early American pioneers moving west: wagon trains, etc -- NARRATOR: As tens of thousands of Americans migrated westward, many were unprepared for the long journey and passed through our lands starving or near death. Like our ancestors, our community offered rest and recovery. 6.

Images of early Congress, formal papers establishing the GRIC. Archival images of GRIC members farming. NARRATOR: Ours was the first reservation established by Congress in 1859. By 1862, our people grew more than one million pounds of wheat for ourselves and for sale. Our future looked bright… 7.

Archival footage of newspaper headlines from early valley development, images of food trucks, army delivery trucks SFX: music turns a little darker, dramatic NARRATOR: until others upstream built dams and diverted our ancient river and our lifeblood, wiping out most of our ability to farm. Between 1880 and 1920 we faced mass famine and starvation. The US government, trying to help, shipped in tons of canned and processed foods, but the change in our diets created a different kind of disaster, causing the high rates of obesity and diabetes that our people still fight today. With few jobs available and the loss of our cash crops, our people suffered through poverty and famine. They were the darkest days in our long history. 8.

Images of GRIC members strong, proud, and determined. SFX: music turns again, softly more uplifting NARRATOR: But our people are resilient and strong, and despite these many challenges, remained dedicated the idea of self-reliance, building, farming and trading. 9.

Slow pans from the casino floor, and tribal member employees smiling. NARRATOR: You can see that resilience all around you, and especially here in our facilities. Through gaming we found a new economic lifeline to once again be, and remain, self- reliant in modern times. This is a new era for our people, one that began in the early ‘90s, when we joined with other tribes and fought for gaming as an exclusive right on Tribal lands in Arizona. 10.

Shot of Kenneth Manual, on location in front of the school he attended as a child. Transition to archival images from 40-60 years ago NARRATOR: I am proud to have grown up in the Gila River Indian Community, and I know what life was like for our people before gaming. When I was a boy growing up in ________, I can remember____________ ( To come: Personal story from childhood in interview here 11.

Scenes of modern life in the GRIC: the new school with kids walking into class, medical center, and elder care facility with elders sitting at tables, making crafts, talking, etc. SFX: music continues to build in positivity and hopeful, uplifting tempo NARRATOR: Today, the “People of the River” have moved to greater self-reliance; our entertainment facilities feed, house, educate, and care for our people. Gaming revenues pay for our Tribe’s health care, a public safety network of police, EMT and fire professionals, and robust social, child, and elder care services, and our Tribe has concentrated economic developments to increase farming and industrial capacity that diversifies our economic engine. 12.

Transition to archival footage of the original Lone Butte, possible news or newspaper clippings, ribbon cutting video if it exists NARRATOR: The world class resort in which you stay today is so far from the humble beginning of our first casino 30 years ago. We opened the original Lone Butte in June, 1994 with 272 slot machines and 250 employees. 13.

Transition to shot of young Kenneth Manual in his original slot attendant uniform, transition to archival footage of the original WHP, VQ and then the new Santan Mountain facilities. Scene then morphs from original buildings into current, modern buildings, pans of world class amenities from advertising footage 14.

Shot of casino guests playing craps, having a great time, then slow pans across the smiling faces of casino employees looking up slowly from their various stations: card dealer, craps dealer, food prep, bartender, etc . NARRATOR: I was a slot attendant back then. By 1998 we added the original Wild Horse Pass and Vee Quiva, and, more recently Santan Mountain. Today we employ over 3,500 people and are the largest casino enterprise in Arizona. NARRATOR: We didn’t do this alone, and we couldn’t have done it without you, our guests, and every person that has ever been a member of our team. As a team and as a community, we remain humble but proud of what we have accomplished. 15.

Scenes of the modern canals through the desert: Drone shot from above or ground-level at golden hour. NARRATOR: We are also still the same people who cared for westward migrants so long ago, and who taught early American settlers how to farm the land as we have, and expand the canals that our ancestors built, so that today many millions more enjoy the lands we’ve known for millennia. 16.

Transition to graphics laying out how gaming revenue shares are allotted using this webpage as a guide; https://gaming.az.gov/tribal-gaming/ tribal-contributions NARRATOR: For our neighbors, 12% of our gaming revenues go directly to cities, towns, and counties and support a wide range of non-profits and community programs. In addition, revenues from Tribal gaming enterprises across the state have given more than two point two billion dollars to the Arizona Benefits Fund. This fund improves the lives of all Arizonans by funding education, trauma and emergency services, protecting wildlife, supporting the department of tourism, and programs that address problem gambling. 17.

Back to scenes of the river, and promotional materials from the irrigation project NARRATOR: Gaming is helping us bring back the precious water, too. Our community is in the planning stages of an irrigation project to deliver water from District 1 to the farms of the Pee-Posh in District Seven. It will take years to complete, but in the end our members will once again hear the sweet music of rushing water 18.

Images of Tribal Leaders at the first Lone Butte opening, or headshots of revered Tribal Leaders who really pushed for gaming ahead of the compacts. If not, then headlines from news clippings talking about tribal gaming coming to Arizona NARRATOR: Our tribal leaders who fought for tribal gaming were true visionaries, and together our community, our guests, our neighbors, and all Arizonans are reaping the benefits of that vision. 19.

Shot of smiling GRIC kids playing in the park / on a playground – slight so motion for greater emotional moment NARRATOR: Not just for today, but future generations to come. 20.

Ending shot of Kenneth Manual in his office in a suit and tie standing above the casino floor. As he says “at Gila River”, the camera sweeps over and past him overlooking the active gaming floor, then fades to the Gila River Indian Community crest NARRATOR: This is the difference between us and the corporate casinos elsewhere. At Gila River, this isn’t just gaming, it’s Tribal Gaming and that makes all the difference in the world. It is the Gila Way.