The Cowlitz Tribe of Washington state plans to hire about 1,000 construction workers for its 0 million Cowlitz Casino Project. Most will be hired from the local La Center community. Tribal members will get first priority.
The tribe, which is largely centered around the Puget Sound region, has about 3,900 members. It was recognized by the federal government in 2002. The casino’s projected opening date is “late spring of 2017.” Cowlitz County has a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the state. Workers are expected to reside locally since housing costs are generally lower also.
However the Cowlitz tribal members are widely dispersed and have been for more than a century. Some members live thousands of miles away. Some have lost their tribal identify through assimilation.
According to Cowlitz Chairman Bill Iyall, quoted by the Columbian, said, “We’ve been scattered, so our families have been established in other towns. … To relocate for a job at the casino, if you’re equally employed elsewhere, that would be an issue.” He says the casino jobs will pay living wages with full benefits.
The Cowlitz casino will be managed and partially financed by the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut, owners of the Mohegan Sun.
It will join 28 tribal casinos owned by 22 tribes.
A 2002 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that tribal casinos contribute to job growth and a lower mortality in the counties where they locate.
In Oregon, where the Spirit Mountain Casino opened two decades ago in Grand Ronde, Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope told the Columbian that the casino contributed to economic growth in the county and the tribe.
Pope said, “If it weren’t for the casino operations, the tribal community would not be what it is today. That has made a monster impact on their quality of life as a community.”
