Kempthorne

I. Background

The Nooksack Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation in northwestern Washington State near the Canadian border. Beginning in the early 1990s, the Nooksacks sought to engage in tribal gaming. 8908 NORTH COUNTY v. SALAZAR IGRA requires Indian tribes to receive NIGC’s approval of a gaming ordinance before engaging in “class II” or “class III” gaming. 25 U.S.C. § 2710(b), (d). Class II gaming includes bingo and card games except for “banking” card games like baccarat, chemin de fer, and blackjack. Id. § 2703(7). Class III gaming includes banking card games and slot machines. Id. § 2703(8). The Nooksacks submitted a pro- posed gaming Ordinance to the NIGC, which the NIGC approved in 1993.

Since shortly after the approval of the Ordinance, the Nooksacks have operated a class III gaming facility on reser- vation land in Deming, Washington. That facility is not at issue.

The Ordinance does not identify any specific site or sites where gaming might take place. With respect to class II gam- ing, it provides only that the Nooksack Gaming Commission “shall issue a separate license to each place, facility, or loca- tion on Indian…