The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe says a poll shows support for its proposed casino in the city of Fall River, Massachusetts.
According to the poll, 59 percent of respondents support the casino. Another 35 percent said they opposed it. "These are very strong numbers for a host community,” Joe Ganley, a tribal spokesperson, told The Fall River Herald News. The tribe announced plans to work with Fall River after dropping plans for a casino in the town of Middleboro. The tribe already started the land-into-trust process in Middleboro. The Bureau of Indian Affairs held public hearings on the application but hasn't issued an environmental impact statement. The inaction is most likely due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Mashpees didn't gain formal recognition until May 2007. Get the Story: