Cowlitz Tribe optimistic for casino groundbreaking next year

Thursday, July 18, 2013
Filed Under: Casino Stalker | Litigation
More on: carcieri, cowlitz, supreme court, treaties, washington

A rendering of the proposed Cowlitz Casino Resort.

The Cowlitz Tribe of Washington hopes to break ground on its long awaited casino in 2014, Chairman Bill Iyall said.

The tribe has been pushing for the casino ever since gaining federal recognition in 2000. A final decision came in December 2010 but litigation from opponents, including a tribe with an existing gaming facility, has delayed progress on the Cowlitz Casino Resort.

"There could be another appeal," Iyall told The Oregonian, referring to the litigation. "But there is a limit to nonsense, I think, and the federal government could reel that in and make it stick."

The tribe's main hurdle is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934.

Iyall contends the tribe has been under federal jurisdiction since an 1855 treaty.

Get the Story:
Cowlitz Tribe continues push for casino near La Center (The Oregonian 7/17)

Federal Register Notice:
Land Acquisitions; Cowlitz Indian Tribe (May 8, 2013)

Related Stories:
County renews litigation against Cowlitz Tribe's casino plan (06/10)