The Tribal leadership maintains a long standing commitment to doing what is right for the tribe and the community. Considerable efforts have been made to balance and provide economic development for the tribe as well as with partners throughout the area. In 2016, the Tribe commissioned ECO Northwest, a well-respected firm in the Pacific Northwest, to conduct a “net economic benefit analysis” on 2015 figures to determine the impact of tribal businesses and activities on the economy of Douglas County.
The study concluded that the Douglas County economic output was $188.494 million greater due to the jobs and activities provided by Tribal Government.
Further, the Tribal Government provided 1,331 more payroll jobs in Douglas County and paid $72.8 million in total payroll in the county.
Another area analyzed by ECO Northwest was a comparison of all tax-exempt property in Douglas County. The real market and assessed taxable values of these properties is almost $5.2 billion of land, buildings, and other properties that are subject to full or partial property tax exemptions. This includes federal, state and county property as well as properties owned by the cities within the county, school districts, cemeteries, enterprise zones, and specially assessed farm use and forest land properties. Of the total amount of full or partially exempt property in Douglas County, the tax exempt property under Tribal Government ownership accounts for only 3.6 percent of that total.
The study also takes note of tribal philanthropy. The tribe regularly donates money to schools, non-profits, charities, local governments, and other community needs. In 2015 alone, the Cow Creek Tribe donated a cumulative total of $2,014,775 to charitable, non-profit and local government causes in Douglas County and similar entities in neighboring counties.
Visitors and Oregon natives who travel the I-5 interstate corridor cannot miss the presence of a Cow Creek business at Canyonville exits ninety-eight and ninety-nine: Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort.
Not as visible are the other businesses the Tribe owns and operates: Anvil Northwest, Seven Feathers Truck and Travel Center, Umpqua Indian Foods, Canyonville Cubbyholes, Riverside Motel, Seven Feathers RV Resort, Rivers West RV Park, K Bar Ranches, Umpqua Indian Utility Cooperative and Umpqua Indian Development Corporation.
Click here to see more about the Tribe’s businesses.
