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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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In Our View: Casino Action Defies Logic

Feds' decision to put land near La Center into trust for tribe is indefensible

The Columbian
Published:

When it comes to a proposed Cowlitz Tribe casino near La Center, the hope is that logic and reason eventually will prevail.

Not that such traits were in evidence last week. Not that the federal government is demonstrating any modicum of thoughtfulness or foresight with its latest step regarding the issue. The Department of the Interior has informed Cowlitz Tribe officials that the feds will place 152 acres west of La Center into trust for the tribe by January — or within 30 days of a federal court ruling in the tribe’s favor, whichever comes first.

Therein lies the problem. The issue is locked up in a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with briefs being filed months ago but a court date yet to be scheduled. That didn’t prevent Cowlitz officials from hailing last week’s announcement as a victory, with Tribal Chairman William Iyall saying, “We have pressed on for 12 years in an effort to fully service tribal members with services and programs only available on trust land. … This is a significant moment in Cowlitz history.”

Such declarations, however, ignore the paper-thin arguments in support of the Cowlitz’s right to build a casino in Clark County. Fact: The tribe’s headquarters are in Longview in Cowlitz County, far from Clark County. Fact: A tribal housing center is even further north, in Lewis County. Fact: Numerous historical documents describe tribal homelands as being north of Clark County. Fact: A 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling stated that the government could put land into trust only for tribes that were under federal jurisdiction in 1934; the Cowlitz were federally recognized in 2000, and the court ruling was reaffirmed in 2002.

On multiple levels, the Cowlitz Tribe’s push to build a casino in Clark County fails the tests of logic and reason, and last week’s decision by the Department of the Interior is an egregious violation of those simple standards of debate. Throughout the process, Cowlitz leaders have attempted to alter their tribe’s own history for the purpose of placing a casino as close to Portland as possible, hoping to prove that economics and greed can, indeed, override the facts.

In that regard, we can’t blame them. If officials believe that placing a casino within 20 miles of the Portland market will benefit tribal members, it is in the best interest of the Cowlitz to make such an effort. But the complicity of the federal government in this case is outrageous, and the latest move of placing the land into trust ahead of any court ruling is an indefensible case of jumping the gun.

As The Columbian long has argued editorially, the question for local residents isn’t about expanding entertainment opportunities in the region or appeasing a tribe that professes to have historical ties to Clark County. Instead, the issue revolves around the quality of life in the region and what is best for local residents and their communities. The net negative impact on public education resources, local law enforcement, social services and infrastructure would grossly outweigh the benefits provided by jobs and economic activity at the casino.

Logically, no argument can be presented that suggests the casino would benefit local communities. Reasonably, the legal arguments in support of the Cowlitz Tribe’s position are transparent and fail to hold up under scrutiny. Considering such failure on both counts, the federal government’s latest action in support of the Cowlitz casino is impossible to defend.

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