Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe asks 1st Circuit to hear gaming case

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The clay cliffs in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, the home of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. Photo by Jens Dahlin / Flickr

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The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts won't give up on plans for a casino despite a loss in federal court.

Last November, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV issued a 40-page decision that said the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 does not apply to the reservation. He issued an injunction in January that prevents the tribe from building a Class II facility on its own lands.

The tribe is now asking the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case. A notice was filed on Monday, The Martha's Vineyard Times reported.

The filing came after the tribal council decided to complete work on a community center that was slated to house the casino. The decision means the tribe won't owe money to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for not following through with the original purpose of a federal grant.

If the tribe succeeds with its appeal to the 1st Circuit, the gaming plan could be revived, Chairman Tobias Vanderhoop told The Vineyard Gazette last week.