Although the Nooksack Tribe has closed its Nooksack Northwood Casino under the order of the National Indian Gaming Commission due to the fact that its tribal council isn’t recognized as legitimate by the federal government, customers of the customer who have slot tickets can still redeem them.
The casino is honoring the tickets for four hours each day. Tickets expire within 30 days of being issued.
The tribe has yet to comment on closing the casino, which happened two weeks ago. The problem arose when the tribal council ruled last November that 289 members were no longer enrolled because they did not have strong enough blood ties to the tribe.
The BIA has said that it won’t recognize actions taken by the tribe since March 2016 since no election was held to replace members whose terms expired. The council has attempted to run the tribe with those four members, but, according to the BIA, the council lacks a quorum. The tribe has challenged this ruling but a federal judge ruled that it didn’t have standing to sue.
The NIGC ruled that the tribe has violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
