Bill Iyall, Chairman
Cowlitz Indian Tribe
ilani Casino Resort – Ridgefield, WA
ilaniresort.com / cowlitz.org
BENEFITS OF GAMING: The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is committed to preserving and honoring the legacy of our elders and ancestors by empowering our tribal members and community neighbors. The gaming revenue generated by ilani, our resort casino which opened in 2017, has allowed us to carry out that mission in more concrete and impactful ways than ever. Through our gaming revenue, we have been able to offer tuition reimbursement for tribal members seeking degrees from colleges, universities, and vocational institutions. In the 2023-24 academic year alone, this program benefited over 250 Cowlitz tribal members. Another example of how we use gaming revenues to benefit our people is the support and care we provide to Cowlitz tribal elders through health and wellness assistance, housing assistance, and other forms of critical financial support. Beyond the many ways in which the tribe uses gaming revenue for our members, we are also dedicated to uplifting our community neighbors in Clark County and throughout the State of Washington. The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation’s philanthropic efforts topped nearly $6 million in 2023, supporting the distribution of meaningful grants to 132 non-profits in Washington in areas ranging from food access, housing, natural resources, and everything in between.
GOALS & INITIATIVES: The success of ilani over the last several years has completely transformed the future of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. Since the casino’s opening, we have also been able to open a world-class hotel and have transformed our reservation into an entertainment and recreation gateway for Southwest Washington. We hope that the coming years will continue to further these results and the economic success that we have achieved for our tribe, members, and partners. We are currently on a path towards self-management and view that as a defining goal for our tribe, as it frees additional resources to put back into our tribe and communities.
The Cowlitz Tribe recently announced our Cowlitz Enterprise Authority, which will oversee all the present and future economic enterprises of the tribe. As it is important for us to ensure that Cowlitz gaming is on a sustainable path, we believe that it is equally as important for the tribe to diversify our economic enterprises so that we are not entirely dependent on gaming revenue. The Cowlitz Enterprise Authority plans to explore expansion into retail, clean energy, and other enterprises that will leverage the success of ilani and diversify the tribe’s economic base, thereby setting the tribe on a sustainable path to care for and protect future generations of tribal members, and the greater community.
LEGISLATIVE: One of our top priorities is a clean legislative “fix” for the Supreme Court’s 2009 decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. This case narrowly interpreted the Indian Reorganization Act to require federally recognized tribes to demonstrate they were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934 to benefit from the Act’s provisions, including the acquisition of land in trust. Congress must enact legislation to “fix” the Carcieri ruling so that all federally recognized tribes are treated equally under the most foundational federal statute that empowers Indian Country. It is a tragedy that it has taken this long, and we are grateful for those in Congress working to enact legislation to finally address this issue.