Mashpee tribe finds federal proposal encouraging
TAUNTON —
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe says it is encouraged by a new federal proposal to change procedures for processing land-in trust applications.
The proposed change specifically, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, addresses the Supreme Court’s 2012 Patchak decision. That court ruling expanded who has legal standing to challenge American Indian land decisions in court and effectively gave opponents a six-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit.
“The principal purpose of this proposed rule is to provide greater certainty to tribes in their ability to develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development,” Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn said in a statement. “For such acquisitions, the proposed rule will create a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace moment’ in the land-into-trust process.”
The Mashpee, who hope to build a tribal casino in Taunton but lack sovereign land, have a land-in-trust application pending with the BIA. The Mashpee insist they are on track to have land taken into trust and build a casino, named “Project First Light.” Many of their opponents, however, say the tribe does not meet the criteria to have its land application approved.
Washburn, who introduced the proposed changes on May 24, described the potential effects.
“If parties do not appeal the decision within the administrative appeal period, tribes will have the peace of mind to begin development without fear that the decision will be later overturned,” he said in a statement.
The rule changes would allow the federal government to take land in trust without a waiting period and place the burden on litigants to demonstrate harm, according to a BIA press release.
“We fully support the Obama administration’s plan to help tribes acquire land without the threat of delays or frivolous lawsuits,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement the tribe released Thursday.
“This change, once it is adopted, will speed up our land acquisition process and keep the development of Project First Light in Taunton on a very brisk pace so that we can create thousands of jobs for the southeastern Massachusetts region.”
The proposed rules will be available in the federal register at www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection. Public comments may be submitted to the Department of the Interior for 60 days following the proposed rule’s publication.
The proposed change specifically, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, addresses the Supreme Court’s 2012 Patchak decision. That court ruling expanded who has legal standing to challenge American Indian land decisions in court and effectively gave opponents a six-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit.
“The principal purpose of this proposed rule is to provide greater certainty to tribes in their ability to develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development,” Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn said in a statement. “For such acquisitions, the proposed rule will create a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace moment’ in the land-into-trust process.”
The Mashpee, who hope to build a tribal casino in Taunton but lack sovereign land, have a land-in-trust application pending with the BIA. The Mashpee insist they are on track to have land taken into trust and build a casino, named “Project First Light.” Many of their opponents, however, say the tribe does not meet the criteria to have its land application approved.
Washburn, who introduced the proposed changes on May 24, described the potential effects.
“If parties do not appeal the decision within the administrative appeal period, tribes will have the peace of mind to begin development without fear that the decision will be later overturned,” he said in a statement.
The rule changes would allow the federal government to take land in trust without a waiting period and place the burden on litigants to demonstrate harm, according to a BIA press release.
“We fully support the Obama administration’s plan to help tribes acquire land without the threat of delays or frivolous lawsuits,” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement the tribe released Thursday.
“This change, once it is adopted, will speed up our land acquisition process and keep the development of Project First Light in Taunton on a very brisk pace so that we can create thousands of jobs for the southeastern Massachusetts region.”
The proposed rules will be available in the federal register at www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection. Public comments may be submitted to the Department of the Interior for 60 days following the proposed rule’s publication.
Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/x776198522/Mashpee-tribe-finds-federal-proposal-encouraging#ixzz2UrUbPPsf
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Land trust rule change may aid tribe
By George Brennan
May 31, 2013
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe hopes a proposed rule change by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will speed up the process of land trust applications and limit the threat of lawsuits.
On May 24, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn filed the proposed change with the Federal Register, triggering a 30-day public comment period.
The proposal is in reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, known as the Patchak decision, which gives opponents to land decisions up to six years to file a lawsuit. Previously, the Bureau of Indian Affairs "self-stayed" its final decisions on taking land into trust to see if legal challenges would be filed.
The rule change requires that opponents exhaust remedies within the Department of the Interior, of which the Bureau of Indian Affairs is a part, before seeking judicial review, Washburn said in a press release.
"The principal purpose of this proposed rule is to provide greater certainty to tribes in their ability to develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development," he said. "For such acquisitions, the proposed rule will create a 'speak now or forever hold your peace moment' in the land into trust process."
The proposed rule clarifies that Washburn's decision on acquiring lands for Indian gaming is a final decision and allows him to take the land into trust with no waiting period. Because a simple change in ownership status itself is not an act that causes irreparable harm in many cases, it will place the burden on litigants to come forth and demonstrate such harm if they wish to prevent the trust acquisition from occurring, while not affecting the right to judicial review of the basic decision, the Bureau of Indian Affairs press release says.
The Mashpee tribe has applied to have 170 acres in Mashpee and 151 acres in Taunton taken into federal trust as an initial reservation. The land in Taunton would be used to build a $500 million casino.
Uncertainty surrounding that application prompted the Massachusetts Gaming Commission last month to open Southeastern Massachusetts to commercial casino bids, ending the tribe's exclusive rights in the region.
The tribe has said its application is on track to be completed by the end of this year or early in 2014, but opponents have said the hurdles are too great to overcome.
On Thursday, the gaming commission set a timeline to begin accepting applications for the first phase next week and set a deadline of Sept. 30 for them to be filed, spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. The first phase requires a $400,000 nonrefundable check, money that will be used to do criminal and financial background checks on the applicants, she said.
In a press release, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell praised the proposed rule change, saying it would "help tribes acquire land without the threat of delays or frivolous lawsuits."
Public comments on the rule change can be made online at www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.
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