Editorial: Last rites for Cowlitz casino agreement

Tuesday, April 7, 2009  

"Clark County commissioners are expected to take yet another step away from a proposed Cowlitz tribal casino Tuesday night when they vote on a rescission of a 2004 memorandum of understanding with the tribe. Two commissioners — Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke — have been critical of the MOU, and they likely will kill the agreement at Tuesday's meeting. (Steve Stuart on Friday declined to discuss the issue).

Local residents should feel bolstered by the MOU's death, especially after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 24, which severely limited the federal government's authority to take land into trust for Indian tribes.

The Cowlitz will continue to point to a gaming ordinance as evidence that the county's best interests are protected. The tribe has enacted the ordinance that was issued for the tribe by the National Indian Gaming Commission in 2005. But this is the second unilateral agreement that we mentioned earlier. The gaming ordinance is not an agreement between the tribe and the county. It is only a list of commitments the tribe has made to the county, a list approved by the federal agency that has "Indian Gaming" in its name. It is uncertain if that ordinance will affect the tribe's pending application for reservation status.

It remains to be seen how high an obstacle has been erected against the casino by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Also unknown is whether Congress will enact legislation that could affect that ruling. A third unknown is how the Obama administration and new Interior Secretary Ken Salazar feel about tribal casinos."

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In our view April 7: Last Rites for MOU (The Columbian 4/7)