Opinion

Opinion: Don't break promise to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Friday, November 27, 2015

A banner promises benefits from the First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton, Massachusetts. Photo from Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe / Facebook

Religious leaders call on the state of Massachusetts to honor its word and allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to open a casino in the southeastern part of the state:

It has been said in many variants that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
On Thanksgiving week, it is ironic that we should be talking about the cycle of history. Once again, Native Americans are being subjected to the bait and switch: now you see it, now you don’t — the breaking of another treaty.
The cycle this time applies to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Southeastern “Region C.” The state’s enabling legislation clearly states that only three casino licenses can be awarded in Massachusetts and that in Region C, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe gets the first opportunity. Gaming licenses now are moving forward in Springfield and Everett.
While the U.S. Department of Interior officially has taken Taunton land in federal trust for the tribe, completing the sale and paving the way for a Native American resort casino, the Gaming Commission appears to be throwing snake eyes at them, suggesting that a second Region C casino might be granted in gritty Brockton, just 18 miles north off congested Route 24, more convenience gambling than a resort. This raises the specter of four casinos in Massachusetts, in addition to the slot machines at Plainridge Park Casino in nearby Plainville. And if two casinos are licensed in Region C, the law lays out, the state would receive no tax revenue from the tribal casino.

Get the Story:
Pastor Richard Reid, Rev. Dr. Mark Oliver, Rev. Dr. Abraham Waya,Pastor J. Roderick Cherry, and Rev. Joseph K. Raeke: Will another treaty be broken with Native Americans on Taunton casino? (The Taunton Daily Gazette 11/27)

Relevant Documents:
Chairman Cedric Cromwell Announcement | Mashpee Wampanoag Trbe Press Release | Bureau of Indian Affairs Press Release | Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn Letter to Chairman Cedric Cromwell | Record of Decision | Attachment I - Legal Descriptions | Attachment II - Maps | Attachment III - Mitigation Monitoring and Enforcement Plan | Attachment IV - Response to Comments on the Final Environmental Impact Statement

Federal Register Notices:
Land Acquisitions; Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (September 25, 2015)
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer of Property and Subsequent Development of a Resort/Hotel and Ancillary Facilities in the City of Taunton, MA and Tribal Government Facilities in the Town of Mashpee, MA by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (September 5, 2014)
Land Acquisitions: Appeals of Land Acquisition Decisions (November 13, 2013)

DOI Solicitor Opinion:
M-37029: The Meaning of "Under Federal Jurisdiction" for Purposes of the Indian Reorganization Act (March 12, 2014)