Coeur d'Alene Casino: Tribal Sovereignty on the Highway

The Coeur d'Alene Casino sits on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation near Worley, Idaho, just off US Ninety-Five. It is owned and operated by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, whose people call themselves the Schitsu'umsh, meaning roughly 'those who are found here.' They have occupied this country around Lake Coeur d'Alene for at least eight thousand years.

The tribe opened its gaming operation in nineteen ninety-three under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of nineteen eighty-eight, which allows federally recognized tribes to operate casinos on sovereign lands. What looks from the highway like a resort hotel is also an expression of economic self-determination. Gaming revenue funds tribal health clinics, schools, and language preservation programs for the Schitsu'umsh. The casino employs hundreds of people, making it one of the largest employers in northern Idaho.