Opinion

Opinion: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe can't get land for casino

Friday, January 18, 2013

' As we are all aware, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has been publicly stating that the tribe is actively in the process of petitioning the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to have land within the city of Taunton taken into federal trust as a federal Indian reservation. As of this writing, their petition to the BIA is incomplete, in that it is still lacking the required historical narrative proving, as required by federal regulations, that the tribe maintained a ”significant historical presence” in southeastern Massachusetts. Thus, the Mashpee’s persistent claims to the contrary, BIA’s consideration of their petition to have lands taken into federal trust cannot proceed without this essential information.

Additionally, the tribe is faced with the legal barrier placed before it to have land taken into federal trust by virtue of the 2009 U.S. Supreme Court Decision in the matter of Carcieri v. Salazar. In this decision the Court decided that Indian tribes not “under federal jurisdiction” prior to the 1934 enactment of the Indian Reorganization Act could not have lands taken into trust after that date.

I would be the first to agree that from the outside the matter of “under federal jurisdiction” is confusing. What is this concept or status? The Mashpee have argued that they were under federal jurisdiction prior to 1934 citing the on-going litigation concerning the Cowlitz tribe of Washington State and their interpretation of “under federal jurisdiction” made in their quest to also have land taken into federal trust as an Indian reservation for gaming purposes. This issue is currently in federal appellate court."

Get the Story:
James P. Lynch: Is Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe 'under federal jurisdiction?' (The Taunton Daily Gazette 1/18)