Rhode Island’s congressional delegation has come out opposed to a bill proposed by Massachusetts delegation— the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reaffirmation Act— that would put land into 321 acres trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which wants to build a casino in Taunton, Massachusetts.
The bill would end the tribe’s problems that were caused when a federal judge ruled that the Department of the Interior erred when it put land into trust for them in Taunton and on Martha’s Vineyard. The problems multiplied when the Department of the Interior, taking its cue from the judge, withdrew its action putting the land into trust. This is considered the first time since the 1960s that the federal government has decertified a reservation.
The Ocean State delegation, led by Rep. David Cicilline, whose district includes the state’s gaming industry, sees the tribal casino as potentially harmful gaming competition for their two slots casinos. Rhode Island’s two U.S. Senators, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, have told the Providence Journal that they also oppose the bill.
