Litigation over Cowlitz Tribe's casino land application drags on

Wednesday, October 17, 2012  

Litigation over the proposed Cowlitz Tribe casino is reaching the two year mark, The Columbian reports.

There have been no major hearings or decisions in the case, which was filed in January 2011 after the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the tribe's land-into-trust application. But there have been some procedural struggles -- at one point government attorneys acknowledged they lost copies of documents submitted by casino opponents.

The major issue is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision restricted the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

The Cowlitz didn't gain federal recognition until 2000. But government attorneys have cited treaty negotiations and interactions with the BIA as proof of the tribe's status in 1934.

The plaintiffs, which include local governments and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in neighboring Oregon, are seeking to overturn the land-into-trust decision.

Get the Story:
La Center files casino brief (The Columbian 10/17)

Obama administration supports Cowlitz Tribe's gaming project (10/9)