The decision of the US Department of the Interior comes after 13 years of waiting for the Coquille Indian Tribe
There are more than 500 tribal casinos across the United States, data from the American Gaming Association suggests. Such establishments allow sovereign nations to generate proceeds and create jobs, effectively supporting their communities.
In Oregon, there are a total of nine federally recognized tribes. One tribe that has been waiting for approval for a new casino project is now one step closer, after waiting more than a decade.
Department of Interior Greenlights the Project After 13 Years
That is the case of the Coquille Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe that has lived in the southwestern part of Oregon for thousands of years. After purchasing more than two acres of land in Medford, the Tribe filed an application back in 2012 in an attempt to build a new casino.
Usually, tribes are not required to request approval from a federal authority due to their sovereign status. However, in this case, the Coquille Tribe had to take this land “into trust,” thus requiring approval from the Department of the Interior.
Back in 2020, nearly a decade after the application was submitted, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is under the Department of the Interior, rejected the Tribe’s application proposing a casino in Medford. However, last week, the process took an unexpected turn.
As announced by Willamette Week, the Coquille Tribe received approval from the US Department of Interior regarding the project. This landmark decision came after 13 years of waiting by the Tribe and represented a major milestone for its casino project in Medford.
Coquille Tribe Is Happy with the Approval, Opponents Disagree
Despite the landmark decision, not everyone agrees with the proposed casino project. The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, along with two other tribes, argued that a new casino in Medford would negatively impact them. After the decision by the Department of the Interior, the tribes immediately asked for a temporary restraining order. If that order is permitted, the Coquille Tribe may be barred from proceeding with the project.
Carla Keene, the Cow Creek Tribe’s chair, said on the matter: “We cannot stand passively and allow this decision to stand uncontested given the harm it will cause across Indian Country in our progress toward the full restoration of our rights as sovereign nations—which is directly tied to our ancestral homelands.”
“Waiting almost 13 years for an environmental review process to review two acres was a ridiculous weaponization of the federal National Environmental Policy Act process used to punish the Coquille Tribe for taking a legal course of action to provide for its own citizens after termination,“
Brenda Meade, chair of the Coquille Indian Tribe
Unlike the opponents of the Medford casino project, the Coquille Tribe is excited with the outcome of the review of its application, regardless that the green light came after 13 years. Brenda Meade, the Coquille Tribe’s chair, spoke about the importance of the new decision that came under Biden’s administration.
The Tribe’s chair criticized the years-long process that saw an environmental review take 13 years. Meade thanked all tribal members who did not give up on the project, despite the lengthy process. Finally, the Coquille Tribe’s chair argued that no other tribe should go through the same hassle ever again.
