Koi Nation of Northern California Casino Plan Meets Requirements of Indian Gaming Laws

Local paper of record and largest Native American publication in the U.S. published opinion pieces that support Tribe’s pursuit of the Shiloh Resort & Casino through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s “Restored Lands Provision”

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Koi Nation of Northern California is in full compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s “Restored Lands Provision” in the tribe’s pursuit of the Shiloh Resort & Casino project in unincorporated Sonoma County, California.

“The promise of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s ‘restored lands provision’ was to remedy the tragic history of forced removal and relocation by allowing restored lands to be utilized for tribal gaming,” said Darin Beltran, Chair of the Koi Nation of Northern California’s Tribal Council. “Like it or not, a rigid set of rules exists to qualify for this provision of federal law — and we’ve dutifully met them all.”

The Koi Nation’s ancestors relocated to Sonoma County after rejecting the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ offer of a Rancheria in neighboring Lake County in 1916 that the agency itself deemed uninhabitable. This tragic series of events rendered the Koi Nation landless and led to the improper termination of its federal recognition status, ending its ability to pursue gaming through the same rights afforded to all other federally recognized tribes.

The Koi Nation’s federal recognition status was finally restored in 2000, and a 2019 ruling in a case overseen by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, Beryl A. Howell, recognized the tribe’s ability to pursue gaming through the “restored lands provision”.

“This unique provision of federal law allows tribes restored to federal recognition status, such as the Koi Nation, to pursue gaming according to strict statutory and regulatory requirements,” Beltran said.

These requirements include the demonstration of a “significant historical connection” to the site of proposed gaming projects.

In its filing for a restored lands opinion, the Koi Nation methodically details the tribe’s deep ties to Sonoma County. These include their ancestors’ well-regarded roles as Sonoma County Native American political leaders who advocated for 1928 federal native claims legislation, Native American social rights and community organization with other Pomo tribes, and voters for the tribe’s organization under President Franklin Roosevelt’s Indian Reorganization Act of 1935.

“Since that time, the center of Koi Pomo life – and death – has been in Sonoma County,” said Dino Beltran, Vice Chair of the Koi Nation of Northern California’s Tribal Council. “Our application is in full compliance with Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s restored lands provision.”

The Koi Nation’s strong historical connection to Sonoma County was recently supported by an opinion piece published by the project site’s local paper of record, the Press Democrat.

Additionally, the largest native American news publication in the United States, Indian Country Today, published an opinion piece supporting the Koi Nation’s utilization of the restored land provision in the face of recent opposition.

The publication of these two pieces demonstrates that the opinions contained therein are significant not just in the region surrounding the proposed Shiloh Resort & Casino project, but for all of Indian country throughout the United States.

About the Koi Nation
The Koi Nation’s mission is to empower our people to achieve a better way of life and to maintain tribal integrity and honor through responsive government. We are committed to protecting and exercising our inherent sovereign rights as a federally recognized tribe to their fullest extent, including obtaining land to re-establish a permanent land base for our people who have lived in this region for thousands of years, and creating self-sustaining economic activity to support the tribal government and its people, and to benefit the entire community of Sonoma County. For more information visit www.KoiNationSonoma.com.

Contact: Sam Singer or Noah Starr

Singer Associates Public Relations

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Cell: 415.336.4949

SOURCE Koi Nation