An Indigenous student group is calling for a boycott against the Dutch Bros coffee-chain starting tomorrow. The protest is over the company founder’s plans for his Grants Pass resort.
Six tribes have written to the governor’s office and the legislature over Travis Boersma’s plan to put 225 historic horse racing machines (HHRs) – into his Flying Lark resort. Critics says the HHRs will essentially create a private casino, which would siphon millions of dollars from tribes’ casinos and hurt their economies.
Choctaw tribal member Ashley Younger heads the University of Oregon’s Native American Student Union (UO NASU). She said it’s troubling that Boersma has applied for the HHRs, which is an affront to the tribes’ economic well-being.
“It is supposed to be a right for Natives in Oregon to own and operate casinos,” she told KLCC. “And this is supposed to be a privilege that’s not extended past those reservations and past those tribes.”
Dutch Bros did not comment for this story. A spokesperson for the Flying Lark told Willamette Week that the HHRs would not create a casino. The Oregon Racing Commission is reviewing Boersma’s application for the machines.
The UO NASU’s Younger says they’ll call for a boycott against Dutch Bros. indefinitely, until Boersma “stops this treaty violation.”
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