After years of not talking except in the language of litigation, the Clark County Council and the Cowlitz Tribe have opened communication over the tribe’s planned casino in La Center, Washington along Interstate 5.
The council voted unanimously to reverse its previous policy of not working with the tribe. The actual language of the resolution was crafted so as to not offend the tribe, which objected to language about the “environmental degradation” that its casino might cause.
Cowlitz Chairman Bill Iyall thanked the council for the resolution, which he termed “a phenomenal message.” He added, “We have great plans for this community and we really think this is the best step forward we’ve seen in some time. We will build the trust that will build this community.”
Although the council took the action to reopen communications with the tribe, it is still a party to a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision to put land into trust for the Cowlitz reservation. That lawsuit, which also includes card clubs in La Center and a group called Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, is under appeal in the District of Columbia Circuit Court, which is expected to issue a ruling this summer.
Two weeks ago the city of Vancouver city council voted to end its own association with that lawsuit.
