In a first step of an appeal, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has asked federal Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to reconsider his ruling that the tribe may not operate a Class II casino in Aquinnah.
The judge wrote in a 40-page ruling that the tribe was bound by a 1987 land settlement agreement that it is signed where it agreed that it would obey state and local land use laws, including those related to gaming. That land settlement agreement was adopted by an act of Congress.
The 1,300-member tribe’s position was that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) later adopted by Congress superseded the earlier agreement.
The tribe is asking Saylor to look at the issue again and to hear new oral arguments. If the request is denied the tribe will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The tribe’s attorney Scott Crowell plans to base his arguments on a similar case involving two Texas tribes that wanted to operate casinos despite opposition by the state. Two months ago the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Indian Gaming Commission said that the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe have the right to operate a Class II facility.
Crowell will argue that this new decision ought to cause the judge to reverse himself.
Saylor’s November 13 decision was in favor of the town of Aquinnah, the Aquinnah Gay Head Community Association, and the state of Massachusetts, who had all sued to stop the tribe from converting a 6,500 square foot unfinished community center into a casino. The building was built from a government grant by Air Force reservists in 2004 and 2005.
Besides ruling that the tribe was bound by its agreement, the judge also wrote, “In summary, the tribe has not met its burden of demonstrating that it exercises sufficient ‘governmental power’ over the settlement lands, and therefore IGRA does not apply. Furthermore, and in any event, it is clear that IGRA did not repeal by implication the Massachusetts Settlement Act. Accordingly, the tribe cannot build a gaming facility on the settlement lands without complying with the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth and town.”
