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Oregon Official Seeks Clarity in Casino Decision

VANCOUVER, Oregon – As reported by the Oregonian: "Sometime next year or the year after, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected to announce whether the Cowlitz Indian Tribe can build a casino on property near the La Center-Interstate 5 junction.

"Or will the National Indian Gaming Commission make the decision? And what about the Office of Indian Gaming Management?

"'I've been following this process closely for a year to a year and half,' said U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, 'and every time I think I've gotten it figured out, something else comes along.'

"That's why Baird wrote a letter last week to Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton asking her agency to sponsor a public meeting in the region to clarify 'inconsistencies and provide the residents of Southwest Washington with complete and accurate information they deserve.'

"Baird wants these agencies -- the Washington, D.C., Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Northwest office, the Office of the Solicitor at the Department of the Interior, the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Office of Indian Gaming Management -- to hash out in public their understandings of gaming laws and how they affect the Cowlitz plans…"

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