The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts has sought the right to build a casino since 2007, when it first achieved federal recognition.
At one time it looked as though the tribe was poised for success, when it purchased land in Taunton, which was put into trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and then began building its $1 billion First Light Resort and Casino under the auspices of the Genting Group.
Two years after breaking ground, the project ran headlong into a brick wall when opponents successfully sued, and a federal court overturned the land into trust decision. The court ruled that the federal logic for putting the land into trust was faulty, and gave it an opportunity to find a different path to the same result.
Taunton was in fact the tribe’s third choice. It had tried first in Middleborough, then in Fall River. Now the Taunton site is desolate and abandoned.
Now the tribe is hoping that an act of Congress filed last month will get the process moving again. Because Congress can declare the Taunton property trust land, and that will trump any federal judge’s ruling on the subject. The ramifications of putting the land into trust doesn’t begin and end with gaming. The tribe’s ability to self-govern is tied up completely in this decision. So is the tribe’s fiscal health. It is currently in hock to the Genting Group for about $250 million that was advanced to start the casino and which the tribe also used to fund its governmental functions. Many of those have been severely cut back now.
“It’s not forgiven, but we’re not paying it,” said Tribal Chairman Cromwell recently.
The only other hope relies on the Bureau of Indian Affairs coming up with an alternative to the process it used for putting the land into trust originally. Part of that would be to clarify the tribe’s sovereign rights. Complicating this is the fact that the Trump administration doesn’t lean as far towards favoring tribes as the Obama administration.
But an act of Congress could also make up for that. That’s the idea of Rep. Bill Keating, whose district includes Taunton. “We weren’t centered on the casino,” said Keating. “We were concerned they would change the status quo on them.”
Despite the appearances that this is a partisan issue, Keating, a Democrat, has bipartisan support, and that of most of the Bay State’s congressional delegation. Nevertheless, Keating is unsure whether he has enough votes.
The tribe’s casino is also of concern to Taunton Mayor Tom Hoye, an early supporter. Taunton is in such a depressed economic state that its city hall is an old school building.
Hoye told the Boston Globe, “That is the number one question I get. When is the casino coming?”
