About - Medford Wins | Respecting Tribal Sovereignty, Cedars at Bear Creek

History

In 2012, the Coquille Indian Tribe requested the Department of the Interior place land into trust within the City of Medford in Jackson County, Oregon, pursuant to the Coquille Restoration Act. The Tribe also requested that the Department affirm that the land in Medford is eligible for gaming under the “Restored Lands Exception” of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”).

This process of a tribe pursuing economic development under the terms of a congressionally approved restoration act should be a simple matter of exercising sovereignty. Instead, twelve years later there is no resolution in sight, and the Tribe awaits the Biden Administration’s final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) so that the project can move forward and provide benefits for the community.

Coquille’s Responsibility

As with many tribes, the Coquille’s story is one of seeking to overcome tremendous harm inflicted by centuries of removal and relocation. The 1954 Western Oregon Termination Act completely divested the Coquille Tribe of all lands, disrupted social and economic lifeways and forced many Coquille people to relocate. In 1989, Congress restored federal recognition with passage of the Coquille Restoration Act, which empowers the Tribe to achieve self-sufficiency and serve a dispersed population with employment, supportive services, and reservation lands in the places where they live.

Today, the Coquille Tribe has more than 1,100 members who primarily reside within the Tribe’s congressionally designated service area, including Jackson County. The Tribe provides community investment through education assistance, health care, and elder services while contributing substantially to the surrounding community’s economy. 100 percent of gaming revenue is dedicated towards these services.

In order to meet the growing needs of the Coquille citizens and their families, the Tribe’s Medford facility would generate additional revenue for the Coquille Tribal Community Fund, whose annual grants support critical services from organizations in Jackson County and across the five-county service area.

The Coquille Restoration Act in Jackson County

Through the Coquille Restoration Act, Congress gave the Tribe the authority to exercise its sovereignty and take land into trust for economic development in five specific counties, including Jackson County. Under this mandate, the Tribe has continuously worked to use gaming resources to support its community, citizens, and neighbors.

The regulations for the Restored Lands Exception of IGRA authorize gaming on a parcel when:

Congress both terminated and restored the requesting tribe;
the requesting tribe’s restoration act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take lands into trust for the tribe within a specific geographic area; and
the proposed gaming parcel is within that area. The Coquille Tribe’s application squarely satisfies all three criteria.

Coquille’s Links to Medford

Federal assimilation and termination policies scattered the Coquille people throughout Southwestern Oregon. So, Congress looked to where Coquille families lived and recognized Jackson County, then home to the second largest concentration of Tribal members, as a place where Coquille reservation land may be restored. When the Coquille Tribe’s land in Medford is taken into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior, it automatically is considered ‘reservation’ land according to the Restoration Act.

Coquille citizens and their families continue to live in the area and conveniently access services in Medford, where the Tribe currently funds and provides a variety of services. For over a decade, the Tribe has worked closely with local partners to ensure the project’s benefits would extend not only to resources for the Tribe but to those throughout the region. The Tribe is proud of the support from the Medford community for the casino, as well as from the city’s elected leadership, which can be attributed to years of working closely with local partners.

Key Background and Statistics

The Cedars at Bear Creek is expected to create approximately 233 full time jobs filled by both citizens and non-citizens, with payroll and benefit costs estimated at $9.65 million per year.
The Cedars will generate an estimated $13.51 million in additional payments to other workers, producing an estimated total of $23.16 million in direct and indirect wages and benefits.
The Tribe has developed a strong track record of supporting local businesses in Jackson County. Spending on local products and services are estimated to exceed $6.1 million in the first year of operation.
The Tribe has also developed a strong track record of supporting local organizations and nonprofits within Jackson County, donating over $500,000 to Jackson County organizations through the Coquille Tribe Community Trust Fund since 2004.

Waiting on the Biden Administration to Act

November 2012: Coquille Tribe files application to place 2.4 acres of land in Medford into trust for gaming.
January 2015: Department of the Interior (“DOI”) publishes a Notice of Intent to prepare a NEPA environmental impact statement.
February 2015: DOI holds public NEPA scoping hearing.
June 2015: DOI publishes Scoping Report.
January 2017: DOI Attorneys conclude that the Medford Parcel is eligible for tribal gaming as IGRA Restored Lands
May 2020: DOI (Trump Administration) abruptly declines Coquille Tribe’s application.
September 2020: DOI officially cancels the NEPA process (Federal Register notice)
December 2021: DOI (Biden Administration) withdraws previous denial of the application and resumes processing of the application.
November 2022: DOI publishes Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”).
December 2022: DOI holds public hearing on DEIS and extends public comment period.
January 2023: DOI holds second public hearing on DEIS.
February 2023: DOI public comment period ends.

After reversing the Trump Administration’s abrupt 2020 denial of the Tribe’s application, the Department of Interior published and held public hearings and comment periods on the project’s EIS. The public comment period ended over a year ago – the Tribe now continues to await the final EIS, having faced over a decade of uncertainty. Some project opponents claim that the State of Oregon prohibits tribes from having more than one casino. No such policy exists nor could it preempt federal law which carefully balances state, federal and tribal interests. The 2022 Oregon Legislature Joint Interim Committee on Gambling Regulation researched this issue and determined that no sort of “one casino” policy exists. Regardless, political opponents of the project continue to use this misinformation in an effort to delay the Biden Administration’s approval, which would be in line with respect for both congressional authority and tribal sovereignty.

The State’s Role

Some Oregon officials, including the governor, have claimed that there is a “One Casino Per Tribe” policy that prohibits Oregon tribes from exercising their sovereignty – even if that is permitted under congressionally approved treaties or restoration acts.

This is entirely false. This policy would not only run counter to constitutional principles – there is concrete evidence it does not exist, and there are already Oregon tribes with more than one gaming facility.

A 2022 report from the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Interim Committee on Gambling Regulation found that “[There is] no evidence that any ‘One Tribe, One Casino’ policy by the Federal Government or State of Oregon has been formally adopted or exists in any written form.”