New California Casino Plans Announced for Sonoma County
Coi Nation, one of the state's federally recognized Native American tribes, announced today that it has selected a 68-acre site in unincorporated Sonoma County to rebuild the tribe's land base. Coi Nation submitted plans to build a resort and casino on the site, exercising its sovereignty under federal law. The property selection will restore the tribe's ability to exercise autonomy and provide the basis for economic development that will maintain the independence of the Koi within a few miles of their ancestral homeland. "The Coi Nation has had to struggle harder than almost any other tribe in California to rebuild our sovereignty," said tribal chairman Darin Beltran. "But despite these treatments, we have endured. It is time to exercise our rights as federally recognized tribes to own our land and control our fate." Koination said it plans to build Shiloh Resort & Casino on its site on 222 E. Shiloh Road. The project will include 2,500 Grade III gaming console facilities, a 200-room hotel, six restaurants and a food service area, a meeting center, and a spa. The design of the lower-floor facility will be integrated with the natural beauty of the site, energy-efficient, respectful of the environment, and match the historical relationship between the land and the tribe. The site will be designated a completely non-smoking area in respect of both the health of customers and workers. Coination will build and operate resorts and casinos under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulation Act (IGRA), and recognized the tribe's unique rights in a friendly ruling by the Federal District Court for Coination v. Zinke (2019). Coination lawyers in Washington, D.C., today filed an application to trust the land to the federal government to play games under the IGRA. The move will begin a period of environmental review and public comment gathering between 60 and 90 days, Beltran said. The property site is just more than 10 miles from the tribe's historic lands within California's Pomo territory. The land invigorates treaty rights negotiated since the 1850s, reversing decades of wretched federal abuse. "This region, which is the historical home of our people, is one of the most expensive places to live in the world today, meaning that 90 percent of our people are part of low-income households," Beltran said. "By exercising our rights under the IGRA, we can build prosperity for our tribe and make a real difference for our children and generations that are yet to come as well as our people today." The profits from the planned resorts and casinos will enable tribal governments to become economically independent and provide a long-term source of income to support the needs of tribal citizens of current and future generations, Beltran added. Economic Power for Tribes and Sonoma Prefectural Neighbors The development of the resort and casino will create hundreds of jobs for construction workers and other skilled workers. Indeed, Casino & Resort will employ more than 1,100 full-time workers and benefit the entire Sonoma community once it is fully operational. KOINATION expects to share some of the resort's revenue with the wider community through support from local organizations and cooperation to address the needs of local government and community members. Coining formed an extensive team of experts, including Michael J. Anderson, a former BIA senior and Clinton administration interior secretary, Alison Saunders, who has extensive experience in tribal governance and economic development, and Dale Partners Architects, an award-winning architecture firm. "Together with this land and Shiloh Resort & Casino, we are taking long overdue steps to preserve our cultural and historical integrity and secure a brighter future for the next generation," Beltran said. "At the same time, our success will also benefit the communities where our people have lived for thousands of years. We are confident that the communities will support us as we seek to restore our independence and exercise our rights as Native Americans."