Letter: Native Village of Eklutna is acting within its rights on gaming hall

By Jessie Lavoie & YWCA Alaska Advocacy Committee

We have watched with dismay as the discussion around the Native Village of Eklutna’s gaming hall has escalated to levels of fervor incongruous with the issue at hand. The facts are readily available to the public. The Native Village of Eklutna, acting completely within its rights as a sovereign tribal nation, is seeking to open a facility providing “Class II games” such as bingo or lotto. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) allows for tribes to conduct these games if they are already allowed by state law. A quick drive through Anchorage will reveal no shortage of bingo halls. The tribe is seeking to use proceeds from the facility to fund tribal operations, provide for the general welfare of tribal members, promote economic development, donate to charitable organizations or fund municipal government, consistent with the uses allowed in the IGRA.

Click here to be taken to the opinion piece!

Featured image: A construction crew removes trees from the future site of a tribal gaming casino on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 near the Birchwood airport in Chugiak. (Loren Holmes / ADN)