The Koi Nation has announced that it plans to build a $600 million casino resort, to be called Shiloh Resort & Casino, on 68 acres of vineyard land that it purchased between Santa Rosa and Windsor, California for $12.3 million.
It sent the plans to the Department of the Interior and asked it to put the land into trust for the tribe.
The announcement has opened a possible hornet’s nest of opposition. Although the announcement was unexpected in many quarters, tribal leaders fully expect pushback from local residents and possibly from fellow gaming tribes.
The 90-member tribe is descended from Pomo Indians.
The proposed casino would have 2,500 slots, a 200-room hotel, six restaurants, meeting center and spa. The Koi hope to begin construction within two years on the facility that will employ an estimated 1,100 full-time workers.
This would be the third casino in Sonoma County, which hosts the largest tribal casino in Northern California, the Graton Rancheria Resort and Casino, which is about a 20 minute drive from the proposed site of the new casino.
That tribe announced its opposition to the project. Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said in a statement: “This is an egregious attempt at reservation shopping outside the Koi Nation’s traditional territory and within the territory of other federally recognized tribes.”
Sarris added that the Koi have never been associated “linguistically or culturally, as a people indigenous to its landscape.” He continued, “Sonoma County is indigenous to the Southern and Southwestern Pomo language groups.” The Koi Nation is a Southeastern Pomo tribe, he said.
Koi Nation spokesman Sam Singer bristled at the term “reservation shopping.” He said the tribe has lived in the region for thousands of years. “The Koi people are clearly within their tribal territory and will continue their quest to build the resort and casino.”
The Koi became a landless tribe in the 1950s when the federal government sold its reservation land. The land was used for an airport.
The surprise announcement caught U.S. Rep Jared Huffman, who represents the area, off-guard: “I’m a little bit gobsmacked that something this big and this controversial would just be dropped like this … . I’m not saying there may not be a path to some economic development in Sonoma County, but you can’t put the cart before the horse.”
State Senator Mike McGuire told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, “We are just learning about the details of this project. Based off of its initial description, the size and scope is deeply concerning. Sonoma County doesn’t need another casino and I oppose any new gaming outlets. While I honor and respect tribal sovereignty, this is not the right plan for the north county.”
Windsor Mayor Sam Salmon was more open to the proposal. “We have to recognize that tribal governments are different and there is the motivation by the federal government to provide land in trust and provide economic development incentives to Native Americans,” she told the paper. “There’s historic reasons to try to provide some sense of fairness.’’
Windsor Councilwoman Deb Fudge said, “I understand land was taken away from them in a very horrible manner and we all owe them something. It’s just very disappointing that they’re proposing a casino and hotel at the edge of Windsor …”
The Koi previously tried to put land into trust at a decommissioned naval base at Mare Island, where it hoped to build a 3,000 slot machine casino.
An unusual feature of the proposed casino resort is that it would be completely smoke-free. This would contrast with the Graton Resort & Casino, which has created smoke-free sections but not taken it beyond that.
Tribal casinos in California are among the last public facilities in the Golden State where smoking isn’t completely prohibited. Even parking garages are smoke free. They remain—like most of Las Vegas—a smoker’s paradise. Only three tribal casinos out of 69 are totally smokeless.
Tribes, being sovereign, are not required to abide by California state law. Most of them do cooperate with anti-smoking programs. But in general they don’t take it to the point of doing something that they believe will make a major cut in their revenue.
Despite being the director of California’s Clean Air Project, whose goal is the elimination of smoke from all casinos, Narinder Dhaliwal sympathizes. She told the San Francisco Chronicle, “These are businesses, and even though smoking is a public health issue near and dear to our hearts, we also have to remember that they have to consider the economic impact on the tribe.”
