The Chin'an Gaming Hall is in a doublewide trailer off the Birchwood exit on the outskirts of Anchorage, a far cry from a Las Vegas style casino, but there are often long lines of people waiting to get inside. Since it opened in January, its 85 electronic bingo machines stay busy.
This picture could change if the state is successful in its bid to shut down the gambling operation. On Wednesday, the Alaska Attorney General asked a federal court in Washington, D.C. to issue a preliminary injunction against it.
This latest motion follows a lawsuit the state filed in February, after the federal government approved the project in the final days of the Biden administration.
The outgoing assistant secretary of Interior, Bryan Newland, gave the Eklutna Tribe final approval for the gambling operation on Jan. 16, one of his last acts before the Trump administration took the reins of power.
The tribe immediately went to work. In four-and-a-half days, it bolted together several modular buildings and opened its doors to limited gambling operations. The building, it said, was temporary and would eventually be replaced by a permanent gaming hall with about 700 machines and restaurants.
The project had been on the fast track since February 2024, when the U.S. Interior Department's solicitor, Bob Anderson, issued a new opinion on the legal status of Native allotments in Alaska.
Anderson's opinion upended previous court decisions on Native allotments in Alaska. He said under certain conditions Alaska tribes could operate gambling establishments, just as tribes do on Lower 48 Indian reservations.
After the new legal interpretation, the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Bureau of Indian Affairs green-lighted the Eklutna tribe's proposed gaming hall. Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance also endorsed the project in her comments in a federal environmental review, despite a lawsuit filed by a group of neighboring property owners to block the gaming hall.
The neighbors claim it will change the rural character of their community and force them to pick up the costs of the new development, such as increased public safety services and road upgrades, because Native allotments are not subject to state and local taxes.
The tribe has promoted its gaming hall has a boon to the region, that could eventually bring 400 jobs and 70 million dollars in economic activity on an annual basis.
In a statement, Aaron Leggett, president of the Native Village of Eklutna, called this latest court filing against his tribe disheartening, a sign that Governor Mike Dunleavy is escalating his attack on tribal sovereignty.
"If Governor Dunleavy and Attorney General Treg Taylor are successful in their quest to preempt the Native Village of Eklutna's tribal sovereignty and self-determination, it could mean an end to the Chin'an Gaming Hall and the permanent facility that the Tribe intends to develop," Leggett said. "It will undoubtedly discourage other Tribes across our state in our communities."
The Chin'an Gaming Hall sits on about eight acres of Native allotment land near the Birchwood Airport. Although it's a tiny sliver of the 1.5. million acres of Native allotments in Alaska, it has become a huge test case for the state.
In a statement, Deputy Attorney General Cori Mills said the state's jurisdiction over these lands is at stake.
"We are asking a court to reaffirm what it has already said—the State maintains primary jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments. A solicitor's opinion cannot convert them into Indian reservations," Mills said. "We are asking for the court to make sure the issues can be resolved before further development occurs—we believe keeping the status quo best protects all parties involved. Once the litigation is completed, then everyone will know where their lane is."
For now, the Native Village of Eklutna is staying in its lane and will continue to operate the gaming hall. The profits will be used to fund tribal health programs and create jobs for its members. Leggett said the tribe has struggled in the past to help its members but calls its gambling establishment an "incredible success."
Copyright 2025 KNBA