Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe not worried about casino site lawsuit

Thursday, March 17, 2016

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

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The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe isn't worried about a lawsuit that challenges the trust status of its gaming site, attorney Arlinda Locklear told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The complaint in Littlefield v. Department of the Interior is largely based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The February 2009 ruling stated that the Bureau of Indian Affairs 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 casino opponents don't believe the tribe qualifies. But the BIA based its approval of the land-into-trust application on a different provision of the Indian Reorganization Act that wasn't addressed at all in Carcieri.

That provision is not ambiguous, Locklear told the commission at a public meeting on the tribe's reservation on Tuesday. As a result, she believes the BIA's decision will be entitled to deference in the federal courts.

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

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"Well, I will agree with you that all of us were surprised by the 2009 decision,” Locklear said, The Brockton Enterprise reported. “The Supreme Court in that case did reverse 75 years of administrative practice. But the question, we think, is a little different as it applies to Mashpee.”

Locklear added that the tribe likely cannot be prevented from starting work on the casino while the litigation proceeds, the paper said. The tribe is not a defendant and cannot be sued without its consent due to sovereign immunity.

The tribe plans to break ground early next month and open the first phase of the First Light Resort and Casino in the summer of 2017.

Get the Story:
Gaming commission questions Mashpee tribe on strength of land in trust decision (The Brockton Enterprise 3/17)
Anti-casino flier misrepresents Enterprise's position (The Brockton Enterprise 3/17)
Decision on Southeast casino(s) looms for gaming commisssion (Statehouse News Service 3/17) $P 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