Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe changes casino land-into-trust

Friday, March 9, 2012  

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts updated its casino land-into-trust application.

The tribe withdrew 539 acres in of Middleboro after withdrawing from a casino deal with the town. The tribe substituted 53 acres in Taunton, its new site.

The tribe submitted the application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in August 2007. That was before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

The tribe gained federal recognition in May 2007.

Get the Story:
Mashpee tribe drops Middleboro from federal casino application (The Cape Cod Times 3/9)
Mashpee Wampanoag tribe reactivates federal land-into-trust application to include the East Taunton property (The Taunton Daily Gazette 3/9)
No More Middleborough Reservation For Mashpee Tribe (The Falmouth Enterprise 3/9)