Two Washington tribes seek to open casinos in the Tri-Cities area of the state. They are in a race to see which one opens first.
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put land in Pasco into trust. This is the first of 16 steps toward opening a casino there.
At the same time the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation also want to place their second casino in the Tri-Cities. The Nation is looking for locations in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, according to a report by the Tri-City Herald.
The Colville tribes have been working on the application since 2019, reports the Tribal Tribune. They seek to put 184 acres near Pasco’s King City Truck Stop into trust.
Colville Business Council Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson said, “We are pleased to announce this important milestone in our efforts to enhance economic development for the Colville Tribes.” He added, “We are confident that a new, state-of-the-art gaming enterprise on Colville land in Pasco will provide additional resources to our tribal government to provide much-needed services to our tribal membership. The project will also bring new jobs to the Pasco area and increase tourism to the region. This will be a win-win for the Tribes and the Tri-Cities area.”
He continued, “The process of gaining approval for the fee-to-trust process will require significant time, effort, and coordination with Department staff, but we are confident of a positive outcome.”
Gerald Lewis, chairman of the 11,000-member Yakama Nation, objects.
He told the Herald, “The Colvilles have three casinos. We only have one. This is the big issue we are having.” He recently wrote a letter to the Herald that declared that while the Yakama Nation signed an 1855 treaty with the U.S. government, the Colville tribes did not.
“Because Colville’s rights don’t extend to Pasco, this means they do not have the tribal right to open a casino in Pasco, and they never will,” he wrote.
The 9,5000-member Colvilles, which consist of 12 tribes, consider all of Eastern Washington and parts of Canada to be in their territory. They operate three casinos in Chelan, Grand Coulee and Omak.
The Tri-Cities region both tribes are competing over has commercial casinos. The closest tribal casinos are more than an hour’s drive away.
