Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe adds new site to land-into-trust bid

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts will amend its pending land-into-trust application to include a new gaming site, The Brockton Enterprise reports.

The tribe filed the application in August 2007. It proposed 540 acres in the town of Middleboro for a casino and another 140 acres for non-gaming purposes in the town of Mashpee.

The tribe has since pulled out of Middleboro and wants to open a casino in the city of Fall River. Chairman Cedric Cromwell said the application will be amended to refer to a 300-acre site in the city.

The move likely means the Bureau of Indian Affairs will have to restart the process for the new site. The agency had been working on an environmental impact statement for Middleboro but it was never released due to questions about the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The decision limits the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Mashpees didn't gain formal recognition until May 2007.

A bill to fix the decision has stalled in Congress so the Obama administration said it will develop regulations to address the issue. The BIA also plans to move forward on pending land-into-trust applications like the one filed by the Mashpee.

Get the Story:
Middleboro sends letter critical of Mashpee tribe to federal bureau (The Brockton Enterprise 7/13)

Relevant Documents:
Secretary Salazar Memo on Gaming Land Applications | Press Release: Interior Details Path Forward on Indian Gaming Policy

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