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Editorial: Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe's wrong approach on casino

Thursday, July 9, 2015


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Massachusetts newspaper criticizes the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe for moving forward on a Class II gaming facility without informing the local community:
The tribe has every right to test the legal limits of the settlement act in the face of significant changes to the state’s gaming landscape. Perhaps the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does supersede the settlement act. That is for the lawyers to argue, and for a judge — or the nation’s highest court — to decide.

And it is understandable that members of the Wampanoag tribe who live on the mainland and formed the voting bloc in favor of turning the community center into a gaming hall might not give a hoot about what happens in the town of Aquinnah, as long as there is money to be made.

What is not understandable or acceptable is the tribal leadership’s indifference to its neighbors, the residents of Aquinnah, and the Martha’s Vineyard community at large.

The first inkling residents had that the tribe planned to proceed with plans for a gaming hall came in a news report published last week in the Vineyard Gazette, which reported that the tribe placed an online classified ad seeking licensed electricians and helpers for a 10-plus-week casino project, an ad it withdrew after two days.

Get the Story:
Editorial: ‘Far-fetched’ (The Martha's Vineyard Times 7/9) $P Relevant Documents:
Solicitor Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (August 23, 2013)
NIGC Letter to Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe (October 25, 2013)
Press Release: GSB Client Aquinnah Wampanoag to be First to Game in Massachusetts (November 12, 2013) Related Stories:
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe ignores order to stop working on casino (7/7)
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe told to stop working on gaming facility (7/6)
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe starts work on Class II gaming facility (7/3)
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe pushes for decision in casino litigation (06/08)
Editorial: Group fights Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe casino plan (03/12)
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe hails decision in gaming dispute (3/4)
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and state in court over casino plan (3/3)