Alaska officials have sued the Native Village of Eklutna, the US Department of the Interior, and the National Indian Gaming Commission. The Alaska gaming lawsuit filed Tuesday argues that Eklutna’s Chin’an Gaming Hall operates on land improperly classified as a Native allotment.
The legal action follows a Monday media tour of the gaming hall recently opened to the public. The state claims federal agencies wrongly granted Eklutna control over the land, violating long-standing legal interpretations.
Attorney General Treg Taylor insists the case is about land jurisdiction, not gambling operations. The complaint states that for 30 years, the US Department of the Interior acknowledged that Alaska tribes lacked territorial jurisdiction over Native Allotment.
In 2016, the agency denied Eklutna’s request to classify its allotment under tribal control, making it ineligible for gaming operations. Eklutna contested this ruling, but in 2021, federal courts reaffirmed that the tribe lacked authority over the land.
However, in February 2024, the Interior Department issued a new opinion reversing its stance. This opinion stated that Alaska tribes should be presumed to have jurisdiction over Native Allotments owned by their members.
Following this decision, the National Gaming Commission and the Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled that Eklutna’s land met gaming eligibility requirements. The state contends that these agencies acted beyond their authority, disregarding legal precedent.
Eklutna Tribal President Eklutna Aaron Leggett criticized the Alaska gaming lawsuit, saying it imposed financial hardship on the tribe and the local community. He expressed disappointment with the state’s decision, arguing that the gaming hall provides economic benefits to tribal members.
“We had hoped we might go forward together with optimism and a future where we are finally able to provide resources for education, housing and healthcare, and so much more. We will stand up to this challenge as we always have, knowing our case is strong and our resilience and resolve as a people are even stronger,” Leggett stated.
This news article was originally published by Alaska’s News Source.
