Casino Stalker | Litigation

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe confident of casino bid despite lawsuit

Friday, February 5, 2016

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell speaks at a press conference in Mashpee, Massachusetts, on September 19, 2015. Photo from Facebook

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts remains confident of its casino plan even after opponents filed a lawsuit in federal court.

The complaint in Littlefield v. Department of the Interior raises the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. It argues that the Bureau of Indian Affairs can't place land in trust for the First Light Resort and Casino because the tribe wasn't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The tribe gained formal recognition in May 2007.

"This lawsuit presents an inconvenient truth: The Secretary of the Interior lacks the statutory authority to take lands into trust for the Mashpees, who were not a federally recognized tribe under federal jurisdiction in 1934 (they were first federally recognized in 2007), and thus are ineligible under the Supreme Court’s decision in Carcieri v Salazar," the document reads.

The land at the casino site is in trust so there appears to be little the plaintiffs can do immediately to prevent the tribe from moving forward with the project. Chairman Cedric Cromwell blamed the lawsuit on a non-Indian developer who wants to open a casino in the area.

"This is a desperate attempt by Neil Bluhm and his Chicago-based company to develop a casino in Brockton,” Cromwell said in a prepared statement, The Cape Cod Times reported. “Clearly, they are using this anti-tribe group to their own advantage. We are still very confident that the U.S. Department of Justice is prepared to defend the Obama administration’s decision.”

The tribe has not announced a groundbreaking for the $500 million facility in the city of Taunton but expects to start work soon.

Get the Story:
Lawsuit filed to block Mashpee tribe's casino (The Cape Cod Times 2/5)
Taunton citizens sue Interior Department for giving Mashpee tribe casino land (The Brockton Enterprise 2/5)
Taunton property owners sue to block tribal casino (The Boston Globe 2/5)

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

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