Cowlitz Tribe debuts event center as it celebrates casino anniversary

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Spiritual leaders of the Cowlitz Tribe open the Cowlitz Ballroom at ilani in Ridgefield, Washington, on April 5, 2018. Photo: ilani

The Cowlitz Tribe is celebrating the first anniversary of its gaming facility in Washington with the unveiling of new events center.

The Cowlitz Ballroom at ilani features 30,000 square-feet of space for concerts, meetings and other events. The award-winning country group Little Big Town will be the first act to perform there on Thursday.

“This is a gathering place for many tribes,” Chairman Bill Iyall said at the ribbon-cutting last week, The Longview Daily News reported. “We had great prosperity here long before the states and counties were ever created. Now it’s a gathering center again.”

The tribe opened the doors to ilani, whose name comes from the Salish word for sing, on April 24, 2017. The debut came after the tribe defeated a legal challenge that questioned its ability to restore its homelands.

The 156-acre reservation where ilani is located represents the tribe's first official home in 160 years.

Read More on the Story:
Ilani unveils new entertainment and meeting center (The Longview Daily News April 6, 2018)
Cowlitz Tribe excited by new event venue at ilani Casino (Clark County Today April 6, 2018)
Ilani Casino’s concert, convention venue opens (The Columbian April 5, 2018)
Ilani opens up newly expanded area, Cowlitz tribe celebrates historical moment (KATU April 5, 2018)
Cowlitz Flag raised at Ilani for meeting room debut (KOIN April 5, 2018) $P D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon v. Jewell (July 29, 2016)