US Department of Interior Approves Coquille Indian Tribe Reservation Restoration Project

Following Decade-Long Delays, Tribe Can Move Forward With Economic Development and New Gaming Facility in Medford, OR

January 10, 2025 – Today the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a Record of Decision (ROD)
approving the Coquille Indian Tribe’s request to transfer land into trust in Medford, Oregon, within the
Tribe’s five-county reservation restoration area. Brenda Meade, Chair of the Coquille Indian Tribe,
shared the following statement:

“Today the Biden Administration sent a clear message: it stands with Indian Country and intends
to honor its commitments to tribal sovereignty. Waiting almost 13 years for an environmental
review process to review two acres was a ridiculous weaponization of the federal NEPA process
used to punish the Coquille Tribe for taking a legal course of action to provide for its own
citizens after termination. Fueled by a fierce fear of competition from several casino operators
near the site, the project NEPA process languished over 12 years. Two Tribal Chiefs, several
Tribal Council members and many of our elders walked on without seeing their vision to care for
our people come to fruition. My hope is that this decision will spur the federal government to
never do this to another Tribe. No tribe should go through the anguish and expense that the
Coquille Tribe has endured. The decision finally offers heartening sign to all tribal advocates who
have pushed for the government to meet its responsibilities and trust obligations to Tribes.

More than a decade ago, our tribe submitted an application to take land into trust in Medford in
order to promote economic development in the region, generate economic benefit in our
community and generate revenue to provide for our citizens, their families and the communities
in which we do business. Through every step of this process, we have sought to meet our
obligations under the law and Congress’s requirements in the Coquille Restoration Act, which
established a specific area within Oregon – including Medford – where our citizens live and
where we could restore our reservation.

I’m grateful that the White House and Secretary Haaland are honoring Congress’s vision, and for
the years of advocacy from my fellow Coquille citizens. As this project now moves ahead, I am
thrilled by the tremendous opportunities in front of us to support our people and our
communities. Our thoughts go out to other Tribes such as the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz
Indians and KOI Nation who continue to wait on the Department of Interior to honor their legal
rights to provide for their people and complete the federal NEPA process for their land into trust
applications.”

The Coquille Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1989, created a five-county reservation restoration
area in which the Tribe is authorized to take land into trust for economic development and build back
from the harm inflicted on our people by centuries of termination and removal. Congress specifically
included Jackson County, home to Medford, in the area, given the number of Coquille citizens and their
families who lived and continue to live there, and the Tribe’s ancestral links to the region. To meet the
growing needs of the Coquille citizens and their families, the Medford facility would generate additional
revenue for the Coquille Tribal Potlatch Fund, whose annual grants support critical services provided by
organizations in Jackson County.

Medford leaders also expressed support for the decision. Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine stated:

“I am thrilled to see a project that will create jobs and new economic opportunities in Medford
finally moving forward. The Coquille Tribe has been a fantastic partner for our community, and
we look forward to our continued work together.”