Wampanoag's reservation plans slated for US Senate vote
10/14/12 · 7:28 am :: posted by CCToday
Mashpee Tribe's reservation plans, slated for U.S. Senate Vote
Obama Administration called the "most favorable in decades"
By Walter Brooks
The Mashpee Enterprise reports that "the prospects for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s land-into-trust application for properties in Taunton and Mashpee may receive a major boost by year’s end."
The proposed casino resort includes three hotels, a water park and several upscale shops and restaurants. Architect's rendering courtesy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
The Enterprise story said a “fix” to the Carcieri vs. Salazar ruling would reaffirm the secretary of the interior’s authority to place land into trust for all federally recognized Indian tribes, and could substantially accelerate the time it could take for the Mashpee to open its proposed $500 million destination resort casino in Taunton.
This would "fix" the 2009 Carcieri v. Salazar United States Supreme Court decision which said US Department of the Interior could not grant reservations for tribes that were not “under federal jurisdiction” prior to 1934.
The Obama administration has been the most supportive of Indian affairs in decades.
The tribe, however, was dealt a set back Friday when the Department of the Interior rejected the tribe's compact with the state. The DOI noted more than a dozen violations to the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The DOI also objected to the 21.5 percent of revenue the tribe promised to pay the state annually.
Read the Mashpee Enterprise here.
Read about the tribe's half-billion dollar resort-casino proposal here.
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