The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island is hoping to acquire 260 acres of surplus U.S. Navy property.

The tribe sees the property on Aquidneck Island as a way improve its future. The land could be used for housing, retail and other development.

"This is a real opportunity for them to move ahead with economic development on solid footing — not gaming, not cigarette taxes," Douglas Luckerman, the tribe's attorney, told the Associated Press.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has requested the land on behalf of the tribe. But there might be a snag due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The decision said the tribe could not follow the land-into-trust process because it wasn't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The tribe wasn't formally recognized until 1983.

Get the Story:
RI Indians Want Valuable Navy Property In Newport (AP 3/25)

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