Eight Birchwood residents are challenging a federal agency’s approval of a planned Eklutna tribal casino on the outskirts of Anchorage.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, the plaintiffs argue the development could see increased traffic and noise in a quiet neighborhood in the Birchwood Spur Road area, and that the project could damage the Peters Creek salmon watershed.
The 34-page lawsuit goes further, challenging the Native Village of Eklutna’s authority to operate as a federally recognized tribe, which the tribe rejects.
For decades, village representatives have sought to build a casino on eight acres of Native land, known as the Ondola allotment.
