Litigation | Openings & Closings

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe awaits word on role in casino lawsuit

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Artist's rendering of the First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton, Massachusetts. Image from Steelman Partners / Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Casino opponents don't want the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts to join their lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the case known as Littlefield v. Department of the Interior say the tribe waited too long to file a motion to join the case. They also say the federal government can adequately represent the tribe's interests.

"The tribe made a tactical decision to stay out of the litigation that they now regret," plaintiff Michelle Littlefield told The Cape Cod Times after her attorneys filed their opposition to the tribe's request to join the lawsuit.

On July 28, Judge William G. Young ruled that the Bureau of Indian Affairs should not have approved the land-into-trust application for the tribe's First Light Resort and Casino. He sent the matter back to the agency for further review but the Department of Justice has since filed motion to reconsider.

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

At issue is whether the tribe was "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934 even though its federal status wasn't formalized until 2007. Government attorneys say Young's decision conflicts with a recent ruling from a federal appeals court in a similar dispute.

The 1934 date is important because the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case known as Carcieri v. Salazar, said the BIA can only place land in trust for tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of that year.

In the case known as Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon v. Jewell, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that the Cowlitz Tribe of Washington was "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934 even though the tribe wasn't formally "recognized" at the time. The decision is the first one of its kind to come from an appellate court in the post-Carcieri era.

Read More on the Story:
Neighbors object to Mashpee tribe's attempt to join lawsuit (The Cape Cod Times 8/31)

Court Decisions:
District Court of Massachusetts: Littlefield v. Department of the Interior (July 28, 2016)
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon v. Jewell (July 29, 2016)

Supreme Court Decision in Carcieri v. Salazar:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

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