The Koi Nation, a Pomo Indian tribe in Sonoma County, announced Sept. 15 their plans to build a 68-acre casino in unincorporated land between Windsor and Larkfield-Wikiup along Old Redwood Highway.
The Shiloh Resort and Casino will be constructed at 222 East Shiloh Road, 10 miles from the tribe’s historic lands, according to a press release. The casino will feature at 200-room hotel, six restaurant and food service areas, a meeting center, a spa and a 2,500-machine gaming facility.
Tribal representatives said the casino will utilize a low-rise facility to integrate with the site’s “natural beauty,” that buildings will be energy efficient out of respect for the environment and the entire complex will be non-smoking.
They also said the casino’s development will create hundreds of jobs for workers in construction and other trades, and once opened will provide more than 1,100 jobs for members of the tribe and other Sonoma County residents.
According to Tribal Chairman Darin Beltran, gaming revenue will enable the tribal government to become economically independent, providing a long-term income source to support current and future generations of tribal citizens.
The Koi Nation’s tribal reservation was terminated and sold by the federal government in 1956, and only restored in the year 2000. Despite regaining federal recognition in 2000, the Koi Nation only won the right to pursue gaming following a positive ruling in a federal district court in 2019.
“The Koi Nation has had to struggle harder than almost any other Tribe in California to re-establish our sovereignty,” Beltran said. “Despite this treatment, however, we have endured. It is time to exercise our rights as a federally recognized Tribe to have our own land and to control our own destiny.”
“This region, the historic home of our people, today has one of the highest costs of living in the world, meaning that 90% of our citizens are part of what are considered low-income households,” Beltran said. “By exercising our rights under the (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988), we can build prosperity for our tribe and make a real difference for our people today as well as for our children and the generations yet to come.”
