The Cowlitz case

The Cowlitz Tribe has worked since March 2004 to circumvent the most open and forthright process of acquiring land for a casino: the two-part determination. This process would require the Secretary of the Interior to consult with state and local officials, including nearby tribes, to determine whether gaming would be detrimental to the area. If the Secretary were to decide to allow gaming at the proposed site, the final decision would be made by Washington’s governor.

However, the casino developers cut state and local participation out of the process.

In March 2004 the Cowlitz Tribe applied for “initial reservation” status to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and then in March 2005 it quietly submitted an application for “restored lands” status to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).

No final decision has been made on either application.

On Nov. 23, 2005, the NIGC released an opinion stating that the land where the Cowlitz Tribe wants to develop a casino-resort could qualify as the tribe’s “restored lands.” The opinion gave heavy weighting to materials submitted by the Cowlitz Tribe, which used historical facts in misleading ways. Since then, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has taken the unusual step of assigning an attorney to review that opinion. DOI has the final say over this application.

In past decisions, restored lands designations have required tribes to demonstrate a historical and geographical connection to the land they wish to have taken into trust. However, the lands at the Interstate 5 interchange at La Center, where the Cowlitz Tribe wants a casino, are clearly outside the tribe’s aboriginal homeland. They have been adjudicated by the Indian Claims Commission and confirmed by the BIA in 2002 to have their southernmost point well into Cowlitz County.

Before the Cowlitz Tribe could operate a casino at the La Center junction, the land there would have to be taken into trust by the DOI.

The Cowlitz Tribe’s secretive efforts to obtain land for its proposed casino-resort underscore the need to reform and establish regulations for the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, whose loopholes cut local participation out of the process.

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