Tribes fight at Ninth Circuit for land development rights

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria argued before the Ninth Circuit that the Interior Department's 2025 decision to place a 69-acre Sonoma County parcel into trust for the Koi Nation should be redone entirely, after a district judge found the original approval was signed by an official who lacked legal authority. The Koi Nation wants the trust status to stand so it can build a casino complex on the site, free of county and municipal restrictions.

Attorneys sparred over whether tribal sovereign immunity should shield the decision from judicial review entirely, with Federated Indians' counsel warning that a ruling for Koi would let federal agencies strip tribes of rights with no oversight. The Justice Department urged the appeals court not to let every trust decision become subject to veto by tribes left out of the process.

The case sits alongside a similar lawsuit from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who challenged the Interior Department's finding that Koi Nation had a significant historical connection to the site. The Shiloh site currently sits outside trust status pending the litigation.

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