Chairman Tobias Vanderhoop of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts. Photo from UNITY / Facebook
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is facing more court action over plans for a Class II gaming facility on the reservation. The tribe is already being sued by the state for merely proposing the casino. Oral arguments are scheduled for August 12. The town of Aquinnah now plans to ask a federal judge to prevent the tribe from moving forward with construction on the 6,000 square-foot facility. The tribe insists that the town lacks jurisdiction over the project and is ignoring a cease and desist order to stop work. “There is nothing new here,” the tribe said in a statement to The Vineyard Gazette. “The town has trumped up the ongoing work on the project to instruct the tribe to stand down. Now the town is arguing that some emergency action needs to be taken to stop the tribe.”
The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island
The tribe is converting an unfinished community center on the reservation into the casino. But local and state officials contend the tribe can't use the land for gaming due to in the Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987 that place the reservation under state law. 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 federal 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 reservation is located on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Get the Story:
Wampanoag Tribe Blasts Aquinnah Over Anticipated Court Filing (The Vineyard Gazette 7/14)
Martha’s Vineyard: Town Moves to Block Construction of Casino (AP 7/14) 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)
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