Tribes ask U.S. interior secretary to deny proposed casino in Medford

Four Oregon and California-based tribes are opposed to a casino proposed by the Coquille Indian Tribe off reservation land in Medford

Four tribes opposed to a proposed tribal casino in Medford are asking U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to stop the project from moving forward.

For 10 years, the Coquille Indian Tribe has been working to turn a bowling alley on land it owns in Medford into a casino, more than 150 miles from the tribe’s reservation near the Oregon Coast. The project would need to be approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is part of the Department of the Interior, and the land would have to be put into a federal trust. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, casinos operated by tribes can be built on reservations, land held in trust by the U.S. for the benefit of a tribe and on land governed by a tribe.

Four tribes in the region oppose the project, which they say would cause them harm. Earlier this month, the chairs of the Karuk Tribe, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Elk Valley Rancheria and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation sent Haaland a letter asking that she visit their homelands in northern California and southern Oregon to hear their concerns. They said approval of the casino would violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and would cause “irreparable harm” to other tribes in the region. They’re also worried that approval of the casino would encourage tribes across the U.S. to also open casinos off reservations, including in urban areas, drawing revenue from existing tribal casinos. In Salem, the Siletz Tribe is also proposing a casino off reservation lands in Salem and seeking federal approval to put it into a trust.

[…]