Cowlitz Tribe Reservation established

Posted

Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Director Stanley Speaks signed the final documents Monday that formally establishes the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and allows the Tribe to take nearly 152 acres of land near the La Center I-5 junction into trust.

A press release from the Cowlitz Tribe first revealed the news, which was made possible by a Dec. 12, 2014 decision by United States District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein, who dismissed the appeal by the Tribe’s opponents and reaffirmed the federal government’s decision to take the land into trust.

“After 160 years of longing for a Reserve within our aboriginal lands, I welcome all Cowlitz people to come home,’’ said Bill Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe. “We are no longer a landless tribe. The injustices done to the Cowlitz people and the lack of federal services afforded other federally recognized tribes will be ending soon.



“The Cowlitz Reservation offers new opportunities in our aboriginal land and the community which the Tribe will deliver for generations to come,’’ Iyall said.

The Tribe has plans to build a casino on the property near the La Center I-5 junction. The casino project is still opposed in federal court by neighboring landowners, Clark County, the city of Vancouver and others. That federal case will likely begin later this year.