Indian Gaming > Cowlitz Tribe weighs impact of land-into-trust decision

February 26, 2009

Cowlitz Tribe weighs impact of land-into-trust decision

The newly recognized Cowlitz Tribe of Washington is "confident" its casino will win federal approval despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The tribe wasn't recognized in 1934, the date of the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act. But if it can demonstrate it was "under federal jurisdiction" at the time, the tribe should be able to benefit from the land-into-trust process.

”We're confident it's going to happen,” Harju told The New London Day of the tribe's $510 million Cowlitz Casino Resort.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs published a final environmental impact statement on the project last summer.

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Mohegans reviewing annexation court ruling (The New London Day 2/26)