The high-stakes fight over a Bay Area casino is escalating as two federally recognized tribes dispute who has claim over the land. In a lawsuit filed last week, attorneys for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria allege the Koi Nation’s proposed Sonoma County casino will “irreparably harm” Graton Rancheria’s “tribal sovereignty, its rights over Southern Pomo ancestors and sacred objects” on the construction site.
From the start, the Shiloh Resort and Casino proposal has been controversial. The project is the brainchild of the Koi Nation people, who have roots in Sonoma and Lake counties dating back around 17,000 years. When colonists moved into California in the 1800s, they forcibly removed the Koi Nation people from their homes, and most resettled in the Russian River Valley and Santa Rosa.
