Indian Affairs Speeding Ahead with Off-Reservation Casino Approvals as Biden Administration Ends

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement for a casino project by the Koi Nation near Windsor, California on Friday, the latest sign that the department may approve a number of off-reservation tribal casinos in the final months of the Biden administration. 

The issuance of the 321-page document opens a 30-day window for public review, after which BIA can approve or reject the resort casino. 

Koi Nation Casino Faces Local, Statewide Opposition

If approved, BIA would then begin the process of formally transferring the Koi land to trust, a necessary step before construction of a gaming facility on the property.

The Koi Nation purchased 68 acres of land near Windsor three years ago, planning to go through the extensive process for approval of a $600 million resort. They are now just one step away from the last needed approval – though that certainly won’t be the end of the process.

“This is the final administrative determination,” tribal gaming consultant I. Nelson Rose told The Press Democrat. “Then it can go to the courts.”

Everyone involved with the project expects that to happen. The casino has faced significant local opposition, and many prominent officials have come out against the resort as well, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Alex Padilla (D-California), and Representatives Jared Huffman (D-California) and Mike Thompson (D-California). 

Perhaps most significantly, other local tribes – primarily the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, who operate the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park – have come out against the project, taking out full-page ads in major newspapers urging opposition to the “reckless casino projects in Northern California.” 

The tribes say that the Koi Nation has no legitimate ancestral ties to the land they want to develop on, though Koi officials say that they can meet the standards of the “resorted lands” exception in tribal gaming laws.

This isn’t the only Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that BIA will be releasing for a controversial casino project, either. Tribes in Oregon and California have been preparing for the release of the EIS reports and potential approvals since just after the election, as the Biden administration moved to approve an off-reservation casino in Minnesota on November 8. 

Oregon Fears Casino Approval Could Spark Wide Tribal Gaming Expansion

On Wednesday, the Bureau announced its intent to issue another EIS for the Coquille Indian Tribe’s proposed off-reservation casino in Medford, Oregon. While the Coquille Tribe already operates one casino – The Mill – on its reservation, it has been seeking to build a second facility in a more populated area for over a decade. 

That proposal has upset other tribes in Oregon, a state where Native American groups had informally agreed to a “One Tribe, One Casino” rule. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and both Senators in the state are also against the project, as they worry it could lead to escalation from other tribes, potentially upending the state’s entire gaming industry. 

“I am disappointed by the Biden administration’s decision to move the Coquille Indian Tribe’s Medford casino application forward,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) told reporters. “During the coming 30-day comment period, I encourage everyone to share their views.”

The Siletz Tribe is also attempting to build a casino in Salem, Oregon, a goal they have been working towards for more than 30 years. The path to that casino would require both federal and state approval, which would allow Kotek to block it regardless of any federal action. Still, if another tribe – such as the Coquille – were to succeed in open a second casino, then the governor might no longer have a reason to stop the Siletz from getting their second resort as well. That might then encourage other tribes to target Eugene and Portland, as well as pursuing online gambling.

For now, Governor Kotek is holding firm. But her office says she’ll take any federal actions into consideration going forward.

“As the Bureau of Indiana Affairs evaluates applications, the governor is committed to continued dialogue with each of the nine federally recognized sovereign tribes about their plans,” spokesperson Roxy Mayer said, via Willamette Week.