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Feds update Mashpee tribe on land application
Taunton —
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe could soon get answers to the lingering questions surrounding land sovereignty in its quest to open a resort casino in Taunton.
The federal government, according to a Dec. 31 letter from Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, expects to determine early this year whether it has the authority to take land in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, and anticipates deciding by the end of the month whether the tribe is eligible to operate a gambling facility under the “initial reservation exception” in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
“After an initial review of the Tribe’s application and other applicable documents in the record, we will be directing the Eastern Regional Director to begin processing the Tribe’s application pursuant to this exception,” Washburn wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Cromwell. “The Office of Indian Gaming will complete its final analysis of the applicability of the initial reservation exception in January 2013.”
The letter adds that the BIA is continuing to review whether the Secretary of Interior has the authority to take land in trust for the Mashpee under the federal Indian Reorganization Act.
“It’s so important that this letter came out because it shows we’re going to have some very important decisions to help us measure in a realistic approach when this is going to happen,” Cromwell said.
In order to operate a tribal casino under federal law, a tribe must be federally recognized; be located in a state that allows casino gaming; have sovereign land held in trust by the federal government; and have a compact with the state.
The Mashpee, who were federally recognized in 2007, had the Department of the Interior reject the compact they reached with Massachusetts last year.
“We’re back at the table,” Cromwell said. “We’ve had meetings with the Department of the Interior to look at the compact. We’re back at the table together with the tribe’s team, the governor’s team.”
Without a compact in place, the tribe could still open a Class II gambling facility, but not a full-scale casino, provided it had land in trust. Such a facility could have slot machines and certain table games, Cromwell said.
The tribal chairman said he views the feedback from the BIA as a positive indication regarding land in trust.
“I think the letter was very powerful, pointful [Which is more offensive, a poorly educated 'Tribal spokesperson' using a non-existent word or a reporter including it?] and telling of how real and sincere our application for land in trust is,” Cromwell said.
The federal government, according to a Dec. 31 letter from Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, expects to determine early this year whether it has the authority to take land in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, and anticipates deciding by the end of the month whether the tribe is eligible to operate a gambling facility under the “initial reservation exception” in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
“After an initial review of the Tribe’s application and other applicable documents in the record, we will be directing the Eastern Regional Director to begin processing the Tribe’s application pursuant to this exception,” Washburn wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Cromwell. “The Office of Indian Gaming will complete its final analysis of the applicability of the initial reservation exception in January 2013.”
The letter adds that the BIA is continuing to review whether the Secretary of Interior has the authority to take land in trust for the Mashpee under the federal Indian Reorganization Act.
“It’s so important that this letter came out because it shows we’re going to have some very important decisions to help us measure in a realistic approach when this is going to happen,” Cromwell said.
In order to operate a tribal casino under federal law, a tribe must be federally recognized; be located in a state that allows casino gaming; have sovereign land held in trust by the federal government; and have a compact with the state.
The Mashpee, who were federally recognized in 2007, had the Department of the Interior reject the compact they reached with Massachusetts last year.
“We’re back at the table,” Cromwell said. “We’ve had meetings with the Department of the Interior to look at the compact. We’re back at the table together with the tribe’s team, the governor’s team.”
Without a compact in place, the tribe could still open a Class II gambling facility, but not a full-scale casino, provided it had land in trust. Such a facility could have slot machines and certain table games, Cromwell said.
The tribal chairman said he views the feedback from the BIA as a positive indication regarding land in trust.
“I think the letter was very powerful, pointful [Which is more offensive, a poorly educated 'Tribal spokesperson' using a non-existent word or a reporter including it?] and telling of how real and sincere our application for land in trust is,” Cromwell said.
Supreme Court decisions in recent years, however, may cloud the outlook.
In 2009, the court ruled on a dispute between former Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri and the Narragansett tribe, declaring that the Department of the Interior could only take land into trust for tribes under federal jurisdiction at the time of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.
Cromwell said the tribe has added supplemental information to its pending land-in-trust application to demonstrate historical ties to the land in Taunton and Mashpee on which it seeks to establish its reservation. Included in that documentation, he said, is information showing “that we have had a government- to government relationship pre-1934.”
“It comes down to relationships between the tribe and the federal government,” he said. “There was federal jurisdiction and there was a relationship before the creation of the country, through the creation of the country and to the modern day … The BIA has that information, is processing it, and this is a very, very exciting time for the tribe and the city of Taunton.”
Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/x65626244/Feds-update-Mashpee-tribe-on-land-application#ixzz2HxFXUVjL
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