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Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe told to stop working on gaming facility

Monday, July 6, 2015

Chairman Tobias Vanderhoop of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts. Photo from UNITY / Facebook

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is being told to stop working on a Class II gaming facility on its reservation.

The tribe plans to convert an unfinished community center into a 6,000 square-foot casino. Officials in the town of Aquinnah contend the facility is illegal and they are sending a cease and desist letter to the tribe, The Vineyard Gazette reported.

“We’re trying to develop a better relationship by communication and regular meetings and I have heard little to nothing," Julianne Vanderhoop, a local town leader who is also a tribal member, told the paper.

The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Even though Class II and Class III gaming are legal in Massachusetts, the state claims the tribe can't use its reservation for a casino due to restrictions in the Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987. Arguments will be heard next month in a lawsuit in federal court.

The Interior Department and the National Indian Gaming Commission, on the other hand, have concluded that the tribe can follow the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which became law a year after the settlement act. The agencies are not involved in the state's lawsuit.

In 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the law subjects the tribe to state jurisdiction. The case, however, did not involve gaming.

The tribe's reservation is located on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

Get the Story:
Aquinnah Issues Cease and Desist Order to Tribe to Halt Work on Casino (The Vineyard Gazette 7/6)
Aquinnah tribe pushes forward with gaming plans (The Cape Cod Times 7/5)

Relevant Documents:
Solicitor Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (August 23, 2013)
NIGC Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (October 25, 2013)
Press Release: GSB Client Aquinnah Wampanoag to be First to Game in Massachusetts (November 12, 2013)