'Location Is Everything' In Tribal Casino Dispute

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe in Southwest Washington State is trying to build a casino. The key word is trying because we're about to hear a story of how tough it can be to break into that lucrative business. Local governments have sued the tribe, so have rival gambling interests. A federal judge ruled in favor of the Cowlitz, but then there's a neighboring tribe, which doesn't like the casino project either. Here's Oregon Public Broadcasting's Conrad Wilson.

CONRAD WILSON, BYLINE: Fewer than 20 miles north of Portland off Interstate 5, there's a grassy field surrounded by trees. This 150 acres was once a dairy farm before it was purchased for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe by a developer more than a decade ago. From here, you can easily see a stream of cars and trucks and hear a steady high-pitched hum of traffic.

BILL IYALL: You know, it's not predominate, but you can hear the freeway.

WILSON: Bill Iyall is the Cowlitz tribal chairman. He hopes the property will soon become the new home of the Cowlitz, complete with tribal offices and a casino.

IYALL: It will be a good attraction for the whole community here, drawing thousands of people daily but also providing thousands of jobs.

WILSON: The Cowlitz Tribe has been trying to establish this site for more than a decade, but those efforts have been stalled in court by another tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Late last year, a District Court judge ruled in favor of the Cowlitz, clearing the way for them to start construction. But the Grand Ronde appealed that decision. Despite the litigation, the Department of Interior took the 150-acre field into trust for the Cowlitz in March. The Grand Ronde argue the Cowlitz shouldn't be allowed to build their proposed casino there because they say it's outside of the Cowlitz's historical lands.

ROB GREENE: You can't take history and transport it to someplace else and then call it your own. And that's the difference here.

WILSON: Rob Greene is the attorney for the Grand Ronde.

GREENE: If they were doing this up along the Cowlitz River, we would be completely supportive of that.

HEIDI MCNEIL STAUDENMAIER: In the case of a successful casino, location, location, location is everything.

WILSON: Attorney Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier is a tribal law expert. She's not involved in the dispute between the Cowlitz and the Grand Ronde tribes. But she says in order for the Cowlitz to establish this area as reservation land, they had to show some historical claim on the property.

STAUDENMAIER: They simply can't just ask to have land designated in the middle of New York City or downtown Los Angeles without there being some sort of connection.

WILSON: And that's what this dispute comes down to. If built, the Cowlitz casino would just be 20 miles from Portland, right off a major interstate. The Grand Ronde's casino is 70 miles away on a two-lane highway. Staudenmaier says there are tensions across the country between tribes with gaming on long-established reservations and newer tribes with plans for casinos of their own. The Cowlitz got federal recognition in 2002, more than a decade after Congress authorized tribal casinos. Staudenamier says that gives them the advantage of being able to select their reservation based in part on whether it would be conveniently located for people looking to gamble. Back in Southwest Washington State, it's clear the Cowlitz location will be good for business. But tribal chairman Bill Iyall says there's also a meaningful link to this place.

IYALL: We're here in our homeland, and so this is where we belong.

WILSON: Iyall says the tribe is pursuing design work on the casino, but construction can't begin until the litigation is resolved. The case is before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. For NPR News, I'm Conrad Wilson in Vancouver, Wash. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.