{"id":4090,"date":"2024-12-04T23:19:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T00:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/?p=4090"},"modified":"2024-12-26T13:37:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T13:37:34","slug":"graton-rancheria-sues-doi-to-block-koi-nation-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/2024\/12\/04\/graton-rancheria-sues-doi-to-block-koi-nation-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"Graton Rancheria Sues DOI to Block Koi Nation Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s Graton Rancheria tribe (FIGR) has filed a lawsuit that seeks to torpedo the Koi Nation\u2019s efforts<\/a> to build a casino in Sonoma County in the heart of the state\u2019s wine country.<\/p>\n

\"Koi
An artist\u2019s rendering of the proposed casino in Sonoma County. The Graton Rancheria claim the Koi Nation has no ancestral ties to the land, and that the Interior Department didn\u2019t do its homework. (Image: Koi Nation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FIGR is also based in Sonoma County where it operates the Graton Hotel & Casino<\/a> in Rohnert Park, just 15 miles away from the proposed Koi Nation site. FIGR has long opposed the Nation\u2019s application to the federal government to have the land taken into trust for the casino project, and has accused the tribe of \u201creservation shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking land into trust describes the process by which the federal government converts land into tribal territory, partially removing it from the jurisdiction of the state, which is a requirement for tribal gaming.<\/p>\n

One Step from Approval<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Two weeks ago, the US Interior Department\u2019s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) completed its final environmental impact study (FEIS) for the Koi Nation project. That means the casino is one step away from approval, with a decision expected soon after December 23.<\/p>\n

The Graton Rancheria\u2019s complaint argues the Koi Nation has no ancestral ties to the land. It claims the BIA failed to do its due diligence when it looked into the tribe\u2019s history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the conditions of the land in trust process is that a tribe should be able to demonstrate a historical connection to the land. According to the lawsuit, the plot in Sonoma County is \u201coutside of the Koi Nation\u2019s aboriginal territory and historic rancheria, which are located over 50 miles to the north.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The Tribe and other Southern Pomo tribes in Sonoma County remain inextricably connected to and protective of their culture and history in the area of Windsor and the Project Site in Sonoma County,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe Southern Pomo language and culture are distinct from that of other Pomo tribes, such as the Southeastern Pomo Koi Nation, and these linguistic, cultural, and territorial boundaries have persisted over millennia,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n

Bad Faith<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a written statement to SFGATE<\/em> this week, Koi Nation spokesperson Sam Singer called the lawsuit \u201cmeritless,\u201d adding it was filed in \u201cbad faith\u201d as \u201can effort at gamesmanship to circumvent the BIA\u2019s legal and regulatory process to advance Graton\u2019s own economic interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit names Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, as well as several officials within the BIA and other federal agencies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It asks the court to enjoin the defendants from making any final decision on the land until they complete a \u201clegally adequate\u201d consultation process with FIGR and other culturally affiliated tribes.<\/p>\n

The post Graton Rancheria Sues DOI to Block Koi Nation Casino<\/a> appeared first on Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California\u2019s Graton Rancheria tribe (FIGR) has filed a lawsuit that seeks to torpedo the Koi Nation\u2019s efforts to build a casino in Sonoma County in the heart of the state\u2019s wine country. An artist\u2019s rendering of the proposed casino in Sonoma County. The Graton Rancheria claim the Koi Nation has no ancestral ties to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4090"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4093,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4090\/revisions\/4093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/restaurace-pohoda.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}