Oregon tribe qualified for casino gaming
The land owned by the tribe is qualified to feature a gaming facility.
US.- The Coquille Indian Tribe announced that the Office of Indian Gaming reviewed the land that’s in possession of the tribe and established that according to provisions of the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, they have the right to open a casino.
In order to follow the instructions to open a casino facility, the tribe needs to place its land in a federal trust. According to The News Review, the decision is an interpretation of a federal law. Michael Rondeau, CEO of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, said: “We expected a decision on the legal interpretation as to whether the lands are eligible for gaming, but not at the 11th hour of an administration and not with complete disregard for the opposition of the local community, state leaders and state gaming policies.” Rondeau said that while they disagree with this interpretation of the law and believe this is bad public policy, this is one decision in a complex and multi-step process that ultimately will not meet the rigorous federal standards necessary for it to move forward.
In April 2016, Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown issued her formal opposition to the Coquille Indian Tribe’s project to develop a class II gaming facility in Medford. “I do not believe that an expansion in the number of casinos sited in Oregon is in the best interests of the State or her people,” she had said. The tribe wants to change a bowling alley into a gaming facility, but they still need the approval from the EIS, the Interior Department Bureau of Indian Affairs, and an environmental statement, among other things.
