Tlingit-Haida tribe will get federal approval for Douglas Island gaming facility

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has acquired federal authorization to develop a gaming facility on Douglas Island, positioning the tribe to open what could be solely the second tribally operated casino-like venue at present working within the state.

On Aug. 23, the National Indian Gaming Commission approved an amended tribal gaming ordinance. The ordinance designates a 20-acre lot, referred to as the Jimmie George allotment after its unique allottee, as the positioning of a future on line casino undertaking.

Tlingit and Haida spokesperson Dixie Hutchinson confirmed to native radio station KTOO that the tribe plans to supply Class II gaming, resembling bingo and slot machines, on the new facility. The improvement might additionally embody a lodge, restaurant, present store, enterprise enterprises and tribal authorities workplaces.

For Tlingit and Haida, the NIGC ruling represents each a authorized milestone and an financial alternative. The tribe, one among Alaska’s largest federally acknowledged entities with greater than 37,000 enrolled residents, plans to reinvest gaming revenues into core companies.

“The plan aligns with Tlingit and Haida’s broader mission to expand revenue-generating opportunities that support essential programs and services for tribal citizens,” Hutchinson wrote in an email to KTOO.

Construction is already underway on the Douglas Island web site, although no public opening date has been introduced. The Douglas Island approval follows a February 2024 opinion from U.S. Department of the Interior Solicitor Robert Anderson that acknowledged Alaska Native allotments as falling underneath the identical jurisdictional rules as allotments within the Lower 48.

That change cleared the way in which for the NIGC’s approval of an identical gaming corridor operated by the Native Village of Eklutna — a call at present being challenged in federal court docket.

After the village opened Chin’an Gaming Hall in January this yr, close by residents sued to cease the corridor from working of their neighborhood, adopted shortly by a state go well with to reverse the BIA solicitor’s opinion and shut the on line casino. Both fits are ongoing.