A rendering of the Coquille Indian Tribe's new casino, which it proposes will be remodeled from a bowling alley in Medford, Ore.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
On Friday, the federal government released an environmental assessment in favor of the Coquille Indian Tribe opening a new casino, but other tribes aren’t happy.
The Coquille Indian Tribe has sought approval to build a casino in Medford, Oregon, for around a decade. For that to happen, the tribe must place just over two acres of property it owns within the city into federal trust. On Friday, the Department of the Interior released a Final Environmental Impact Statement in favor of the plan.
The problem, according to other tribes in the region, is that the Coquille’s reservation is more than 150 miles away, near the Oregon Coast, where they already have a casino.
Lindsay Campman, communications director with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, said the Medford casino would upset Oregon’s informal one-casino-per-tribe policy — which is not technically state law — and draw customers and money away from other tribes.
“With this one decision, this kind of opens the doors for casinos to pop up across Oregon in new cities, in urban places, in neighborhoods. And that is not something that Oregonians want,” Campman said.
Related: Tribes ask US interior secretary to deny proposed casino in Medford
She said the favorable environmental impact statement won’t deter her tribe, which operates a casino in Douglas County, from continuing to challenge the proposal.
“Our leaders are committed to fighting this issue tooth and nail, because we absolutely believe that this legal decision is wrong… and it’s a disgrace to tribal nations across the country,” Campman said.
But Coquille Indian Tribe Chair Brenda Meade said criticism toward her tribe doesn’t take into account its unique situation.
After losing federal designation in the 1950s, the tribe regained its status in 1989 with the Coquille Restoration Act passed in Congress. That law included Jackson County in the tribe’s service area. Meade said purchasing property and placing it in federal trust is how her tribe, scattered across Southwest Oregon after assimilation programs, is able to have a reservation.
“It’s sad to hear another tribe say, ‘Get back to the reservation.’ It’s offensive,” Meade said.
She said the prediction that this latest decision will lead to a proliferation of tribal gaming is overstated. After all, she said, it’s taken the Coquille Indian Tribe more than 10 years to get this far. The proposal began under the Obama administration, was rejected during President Trump’s tenure and revived with President Biden.
“We are celebrating, but we still have a little bit more work to do,” Meade said.
The federal government will now consider public comments on the proposal during a 30-day “waiting period.” Meade said she expects a final decision on the casino this winter.
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