Opposition Growing for Koi Nation Casino
The final days of former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration were all but uneventful, especially for tribal gaming.
Several pending tribal land-into-trust applications were approved in short order, including some for off-reservation projects. These approvals have historically been all but impossible to obtain, but that precedent was seemingly abandoned by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and outgoing secretary Deb Haaland.
Perhaps the most controversial approval was granted to the Koi Nation of Northern California. The tribe has plans to build a $600 million development with a 400-room hotel and a casino with more than 500,000 square feet of gaming space and 2,750 slots on a parcel near Windsor, in Sonoma County. If built, it would become one of the largest tribal casinos in California and in the U.S.
Originally proposed in 2021, the Koi project sought a “restored land” exception from the DOI. This meant that the tribe believed its historical connection to the land justified approval, even though it was outside its existing reservation. Such requests are common for smaller tribes like the Koi who may have been displaced over time or were considered landless.
According to Voice of America, the tribe was first recognized in 1916 under a different name and was granted a parcel of land in Lake County. Much of that land was deemed unusable, however, and most of the tribe relocated to Sonoma County shortly after. In the decades afterward the tribe was forgotten through clerical errors but was restored by a DOI ruling in 2000.
Ultimately, Haaland and the DOI sided with the Koi and approved the trust application on January 13. That ruling has since kicked off an increasingly large amount of pushback, including from the state itself.
Perhaps the biggest and most outspoken opponents of the Koi project are other gaming tribes. The most powerful among them is the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR), operator of Graton Resort and Casino. Graton is the largest casino in the Bay Area and is in close proximity to the Koi site. It embarked on a $1 billion expansion in 2023.
FIGR filed suit against Haaland and the DOI last November before the approval was even granted and then again after the fact in February. The tribe has argued since 2021 that the Koi site infringes on its ancestral lands and circumvents rigorous tribal land-into-trust requirements.
“Their claims of historic connection are flawed and, if accepted by the Department of Interior (DOI), would set a dangerous precedent for all California Indians – in fact, for all Indian Nations – not only creating the reality of a casino on every street corner but, no doubt as a result, also creating a major challenge to what currently constitutes our sovereignty as federally recognised Indian nations,” FIGR Chairman Greg Sarris said in a statement published last July.
In addition to FIGR, three other nearby California tribes – the Dry Creek Rancheria, Cloverdale Rancheria and Lytton Rancheria – filed a separate suit against the DOI in February.
In a somewhat rare occurrence, the state of California and other local officials are joining the mix. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office filed suit against the DOI in May and, like tribes, Newsom and his team took issue with the restored lands exception. As with FIGR, Newsom had called on DOI to reject the proposal last year before it was even official.
“The record on which Interior relied in its decision is insufficient to show that the acquisition of the Shiloh Site constitutes a ‘restoration’ of the Koi Nation’s tribal lands. Interior’s decision is therefore contrary to law and otherwise arbitrary and capricious,” the suit alleges, per Courthouse News Service.
On the local level, two officials have filed briefs in support of the FIGR suit, according to the Press Democrat. They are Lynda Hopkins, on behalf of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, and Windsor Town Manager Jon Davis. Both bodies had previously passed resolutions opposing the bid.
“The project is in an area of the County that does not allow commercial development and that has been subject to devastating wildfires,” Hopkins wrote.
FIGR and other opponents are hopeful that the DOI will rescind the Koi approval just as it has done with another controversial Biden-era approval in California.
In January, the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians also received last-minute approval for an off-reservation casino proposal in Vallejo before it was retracted for further review in late March by current DOI Secretary Doug Burgum. That case features several of the same arguments related to land rights, environmental review processes and federal-state relations.
MN Supreme Court Weighs Legality of Non-Tribal ETG Expansion
The Minnesota Supreme Court will rule on whether electronic table games (ETGs) at non-tribal facilities in the state violates tribes’ exclusivity for Class III gaming, per Courthouse News Service. Running Aces, a track and card room about 40 minutes from the Twin Cities, was approved by the state Racing Commission in 2023 to change its floor plan and add an electronic dealer.
However, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community filed suit in response, alleging that the approval expands the card room past its statutory limit of 80 tables. A lower court ruled that the commission was correct in approving the expansion, but the legality of the ETGs themselves was not mentioned.
“The only real issue before the commission was whether the new floor plan exceeded the statutory limit on the number of tables used for card playing at a card club,”Josh Peterson, an attorney for the commission said, per CNS.
Overall, justices seemed initially unconvinced by the track’s arguments, the outlet said.
New Executives Appointed at Gun Lake
Gun Lake Casino Resort June 4 announced the appointments of Brian Decorah as senior vice president and general manager and Endea Smith as head of human resources. The property recently opened the Wawye Oasis, a massive pool, hotel and spa facility.
“The Gun Lake Tribe is thrilled with the addition of Brian Decorah as our new general manager,” Tribal Chairman Bob Peters said in a statement. “We know that Brian’s values, work ethic and experience will provide the leadership and direction needed at this exciting time of growth and opportunity at Gun Lake Casino Resort.”
