State asks feds to put land into trust for Wampanoag casino
The tribe seeks to have 170 acres in Mashpee and 146 acres in Taunton taken into federal trust. The property in Taunton, located within the Liberty and Union Industrial Park is the site of the tribe’s proposed $500 million casino.
The state’s support of the trust application was promised as a concession in the tribal-state compact negotiated between Gov. Deval Patrick and Wampanoag leaders. Late last week, Patrick sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior asking that the deal struck between the state and tribe be approved within the next 45 days.
That is by no means guaranteed. Indian gaming experts have told the Times that the compact will likely be heavily scrutinized because it calls for the state to receive 21.5 percent of gross gambling revenues, a figure that makes it the most lucrative compact for a state in the nation. In exchange, the state has agreed to support the trust application, help the tribe secure aboriginal fishing and hunting rights and assist in the tribe’s land claims in and around Mashpee.
The state had previously objected to the tribe’s application in 2008 when it was seeking to build a casino in Middleboro, but that was before the two sides negotiated the tribal-state compact. “Most of those concerns have been addressed in the compact and the (tribe’s agreement with Taunton),” The letter from the state to the BIA states.
Tribe leaders could not be immediately reached for comment.
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