Apr. 10—The Dunleavy administration filed a motion in a federal case on Wednesday that could shut down a tribal gaming hall that opened in Anchorage in January.
The Chin’an Gaming Hall, near the Birchwood Airport at the northern end of the municipality, has drawn one lawsuit from several Birchwood residents and another lawsuit from the state of Alaska.
The Native Village of Eklutna has said its tribal gaming hall could provide important revenue for the tribe while generating more than $67 million in overall economic activity plus more than 400 jobs, when fully built. The hall launched with limited operations but a tribal proposal has said it could grow to 1,000 gaming machines and two restaurants.
The filing by Attorney General Treg Taylor came as part of the federal case the state brought in February to protect state authority over 17,000-plus Alaska Native allotments.
“This case is about jurisdiction over lands,” said Cori Mills, deputy attorney general, in a prepared statement. “We are asking a court to reaffirm what it has already said — the state maintains primary jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments.”
If approved, an order would close down the hall, threatening tribal sovereignty and a promising economic development project, the Native Village of Eklutna said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
“We were extremely disheartened to learn that Governor (Mike) Dunleavy has decided to escalate his continual attack on tribal sovereignty and local economic growth by requesting a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against the Native Village of Eklutna that would close down the Chin’an Gaming Hall our tribe opened earlier this year,” said Aaron Leggett, president of the tribe.
The gaming hall is the only tribal casino in Southcentral Alaska. It’s only the third in the state.
The state’s case is before Senior Judge Paul L. Friedman, appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The state’s lawsuit challenges the series of federal decisions leading to the casino’s approval, including last summer from the National Indian Gaming Commission, before the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved it.
The state wants the judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would stop the Eklutna tribe from taking “any action” authorized by those federal decisions.
The tribe opened the gaming hall on Jan. 20, as the Biden administration that had supported it was leaving office.
A key target in the state’s case is a decision made in 2024 by Interior Solicitor Robert Anderson, when he issued a new opinion on the legal status of Alaska Native allotments.
He found that Native allotments are presumed to fall under tribal jurisdiction unless the land is owned by a non-tribal member or geographically removed from the tribal community. A tribal community includes lands customarily and traditionally used by tribal members for subsistence activities, the opinion says.
The gaming hall was built on an Alaska Native allotment owned by a tribal member and is not geographically removed from the tribal community, two favorable factors in the decision.
Anderson’s solicitor opinion withdrew portions of a 1993 Interior solicitor opinion that concluded that Alaska tribes do not have territorial jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments.
In a 2021 ruling, the D.C. District Court upheld that 1993 opinion, ruling that Alaska tribes lack territorial jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments, the state said in its filing Wednesday. That case was brought by the Eklutna tribal government, and the ruling halted the gaming hall project at the time.
Mills, with the state, asserted in the statement Thursday that a solicitor’s opinion cannot convert Alaska Native allotments into Indian reservations.
“We are asking for the court to make sure the issues can be resolved before further development occurs — we believe keeping the status quo best protects all parties involved,” Mills said. “Once the litigation is completed, then everyone will know where their lane is.”
Leggett, with the tribe, said in his statement that the gaming hall has been an “incredible success.” He said it employs tribal and community members, and is attracting people eager for new entertainment options in Anchorage.
He said the state’s lawsuit could hurt the gaming hall and discourage other Alaska tribes from pursuing economic opportunities that benefit tribes and communities.
“Rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that Governor Mike Dunleavy and Attorney General Treg Taylor do not prevail,” Leggett said.
Friedman, the judge in the case, issued an order Thursday saying he will take oral arguments on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction on April 28.