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Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe foes remain confident as casino moves forward

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

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

Can a lawsuit in federal court prevent the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts from opening a casino?

Something like that has never happened in the history of Indian gaming but opponents think they will succeed even as the tribe plans a groundbreaking for the long-awaited First Light Resort and Casino next month. They hope to prove that the Bureau of Indian Affairs lacked the authority to place land into trust for the project.

"If courts hold you can’t have a casino, there will be no casino. And all of that money is going to be lost," Neil Bluhm, a billionaire developer who is financing the lawsuit and is proposing a rival casino in the area, told The Brockton Enterprise.

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

The complaint in Littlefield v. Department of the Interior is largely focused on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. That ruling stated that the BIA can only place land in trust for tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

The Mashpees didn't gain formal recognition until May 2007 so opponents don't believe the tribe qualifies. But the BIA based its approval of the land-into-trust application on a different part of the Indian Reorganization Act that wasn't addressed at all in Carcieri.

The apparently novel interpretation could certainly be tested in court. But no tribe has ever been blocked from using its own reservation for a casino and the BIA hasn't lost a Carcieri-related lawsuit since the decision was handed down in February 2009.

Get the Story:
Opponents of Taunton casino cast doubt on groundbreaking plans (The Brockton Enterprise 3/9)
Mashpee Wampanoag tribe hopes to break ground next month for Taunton casino (The Attleboro Sun Chronicle 3/9)

An Opinion:
Our View: All in on Taunton tribal casino (The Taunton Daily Gazette 3/9)

Federal Register Notices:
Proclaiming Certain Lands as Reservation for the Mashpee Wampanoag (January 8, 2016)
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)

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)