A federal judge is being asked to decide in a dispute between Massachusetts and the town of Aquinnah and the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe on whether the tribe can build a small Class II casino on Martha’s Vineyard.
The tribe has about 485 acres where it wants to transform an unfinished tribal hall into a bingo hall. The tribe contends that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows it to offer gaming, while the state contends that the tribe signed away its right to do that when it accepted a federal land deal in the 1980s. At that time, says the state, the tribe agreed to abide by state and local regulations. Massachusetts and Congress then approved the agreement.
The tribe contends that was before the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which altered the rules. According to the tribe’s filing, “This court cannot properly conclude that the Commonwealth has jurisdiction over the (tribe’s) lands.” It adds, “The court should also afford substantial deference to the thorough and well-reasoned opinions of the United State Department of the Interior and the Indian Gaming Commission that reach these same conclusions.” The tribe previously asked for legal opinions supporting its position from both the Interior Department and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).
The 1,200-member tribe itself is divided over the issue, with some tribal members opposing the casino. Curiously, the tribal members who live on the island are generally opposed, but are outnumbered by members who live on the mainland, but support the casino.
The federal judge will hold a hearing on the case August 12 in Boston.
The other Wampanoag tribe, the Mashpee, continue to wait to hear from the BIA on their request to put land into trust for a casino in Taunton. The request has been with the BIA for three years.
The tribe was initially virtually promised the southeastern casino zone license by the 2011—as long as the tribe met several conditions. It met all of them but one, getting the land put into trust.
Since it has hit that stumbling block, the Commission decided to opening the bidding to commercial developers, of which there are now two, one for Brockton and the other for New Bedford.
Chairman Steve Crosby recently addressed this issue when he commented, “I think it’s pretty obvious to everybody that the uncertainty about the tribe’s status contributes to a lack of decisiveness on the part of the interested parties, on the part of the gaming commission and on the part of the legislature when they drafted the bill in the first place.” He added, “It’s a real conundrum.”
The tribe, as it has been saying for several years now, is making progress. Tribal attorney Arlinda Locklear, quoted by the Taunton Daily Gazette, said last week, “We have good reason to believe significant portions of this document are under final review,” adding, “I am pretty confident it will be this year.”
Kevin Washburn, the assistant Interior secretary who heads the BIA, recently commented, “There is an ongoing legal analysis.”
It is generally acknowledged that the main sticking point in putting the land into trust is the Supreme Court’s Carcieri v. Salazar opinion that held that tribes recognized after 1934 can’t put land into trust. The tribe was recognized in 2007.
The BIA has continued to take some land into trust for tribes that were recognized after 1934, despite the ruling. Its justification is that the ruling left some gray areas that need clarification.
According to Washburn, interviewed by the Gazette, “I don’t think it is any secret that one of the things we have been working on is whether the Carcieri decision directly affects the Mashpee’s ability to put land into trust.”
Voters in Taunton several years ago approved of the casino, so the town government supports it. Mayor Thomas Hoyle Jr. told the Gazette, “We were told from the beginning that it would be a lengthy process. The wait is frustrating, but the tribe has continued with plan designs of not only the structure itself, but also the engineering portion of the infrastructure improvements to the area. I am hopeful to have a decision, one way or another, in the near future and I am cautiously optimistic that the project will move forward.”
