Governor Addresses Tribes About Gaming in Oregon
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, speaking at the Government-to-Government Conference at Seven Feathers Convention Center, July 2024
In a letter to Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes, Governor Tina Kotek reaffirmed her stance against expanding gaming in the state, and indicated her support for Tribal economic diversification.
The letter, released on March 12, was addressed to the Tribal Chairs of all nine Oregon Tribes. Kotek wrote: “While my personal reservations about gaming expansion persist, I fully recognize your sovereign right to shape your own economic destiny.”
Kotek also cited her April 2023 letter in which she publicly stated that she and Oregon’s Governors have long supported the practice of “one gaming facility per Tribe on reservation land” (also known as “One-Tribe, One Casino”). She also expressed in that 2023 letter, “I wish to state my opposition to the Coquille Tribe’s Medford Casino Project.”
Yet, in the most recent letter, Kotek added a point of clarification by describing Oregon’s practice as “one Class III gaming facility per Tribe.” The Coquille Indian Tribe’s off-reservation casino in Medford is Class II, as is the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians’ Three Rivers in Coos Bay.
“I voiced caution about significantly expanding gaming facilities, including off-reservation proposals,” Kotek wrote in the March letter. “I have diligently worked to respect each Tribe’s inherent sovereign right to shape its own economic future, in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and respective tribal-state gaming compacts.”
Kotek said that her visits to the Tribal governments of Oregon last year helped her gain a better understanding of Tribal economic diversification that can bring critical funds for expanded services. She said she would like to seek input from Tribal leaders about how Tribes and the State of Oregon can work together on economic developments, including renewable energy, sustainable tourism, and advanced manufacturing, ensuring long-term economic resilience beyond gaming.
Oregon’s Tribal leaders will meet with Governor Kotek in October for the annual Tribal-State Government-to-Government Summit.
