The U.S. federal government is challenging a California tribe’s effort to prevent the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) from approving a casino project on the tribe’s historic lands. The government argues that the tribe has failed to demonstrate any irreparable harm that would justify a temporary restraining order (TRO).
On Tuesday, the DOI asked a Northern California federal district court to dismiss the motion filed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR). The government asserts that the alleged harm the tribe claims is speculative, as the DOI has not made a final decision on taking land into trust for the casino project. The government also argues that any potential harm is not irreparable.
In its lawsuit, filed last month, the FIGR accused the DOI, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of failing to meet the consultation requirements set forth by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The tribe claims this failure has occurred in relation to a proposed casino project by the Koi Nation of Northern California. The proposed project site, located in Sonoma County, is near Windsor, California, and the tribe says the land is culturally and historically significant to it and other Southern Pomo tribes.
