Governor Slot Barns will leave a legacy of expensive lawsuits that will continue beyond his tenure, as the "Multiple Choice" Aquinnah Tribe pursues this matter in federal court.
16 Massachusetts Tribes have applied for federal recognition.
Patrick, Aquinnah clash over casino bid
THIS STORY APPEARED IN
The Boston Globe
April 26, 2012|By Mark Arsenault
Governor Deval Patrick will not negotiate with the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah over a tribal casino, dealing a blow to the tribe’s long pursuit of a gambling resort in Massachusetts.
In March, the tribe formally asked Patrick to enter negotiations, citing its rights in the law to pursue Indian gambling.
Patrick, in response, is citing a longstanding position among state officials that the Aquinnah surrendered their rights to pursue tribal gambling in a 1980s settlement of a land dispute on Martha’s Vineyard.
That longstanding position is likely to be tested in federal court. on Wednesday, the Aquinnah promised to sue.
The federally recognized Aquinnah tribe holds options to buy land in Lakeville, Freetown, and Fall River and is seeking to build a casino at one of those sites. The tribe has also talked about pursuing a casino on tribal land on the western edge of the Vineyard.
Patrick informed the tribe that he would not negotiate in a letter last Friday from Holland & Knight, his legal consultant on tribal gambling issues. A negotiated deal between the state and the tribe, known as a compact, is the first step toward winning approval under the federal law that governs tribal gambling, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The Aquinnah said yesterday that the tribe was disappointed, but still hoped to begin negotiations.
“If the governor refuses to negotiate,’’ Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the Aquinnah chairwoman, said in a statement, federal law “provides for specific remedies that we will pursue in federal court.’’
Federal law grants tribes the right to negotiate with states over the operating details for a tribal casino, such as how the casino would be regulated and how much of its revenue, if any, would go to the state.
Patrick is in compact negotiations with another tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, over a casino proposal in Taunton.
“The governor . . . is not interested in picking winners and losers’’ among the state’s Indian tribes, said Patrick’s spokesman, Brendan Ryan, but “it has been the Commonwealth’s position that the two tribes are in fundamentally different situations.’’
State officials have maintained for years that language in the Aquinnah’s settlement agreement from the 1980s subjects all of their land to state law, including state law that restricts casino gambling. The expanded state gambling law approved last November sets out a lengthy competitive process for the approval of a limited number of commercial casinos in Massachusetts.
Under the state’s position, the Aquinnah could conceivably pursue a commercial license like any other large landowner in Massachusetts, but their status as a tribe would provide no advantage.
In March, the tribe formally asked Patrick to enter negotiations, citing its rights in the law to pursue Indian gambling.
Patrick, in response, is citing a longstanding position among state officials that the Aquinnah surrendered their rights to pursue tribal gambling in a 1980s settlement of a land dispute on Martha’s Vineyard.
That longstanding position is likely to be tested in federal court. on Wednesday, the Aquinnah promised to sue.
The federally recognized Aquinnah tribe holds options to buy land in Lakeville, Freetown, and Fall River and is seeking to build a casino at one of those sites. The tribe has also talked about pursuing a casino on tribal land on the western edge of the Vineyard.
Patrick informed the tribe that he would not negotiate in a letter last Friday from Holland & Knight, his legal consultant on tribal gambling issues. A negotiated deal between the state and the tribe, known as a compact, is the first step toward winning approval under the federal law that governs tribal gambling, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The Aquinnah said yesterday that the tribe was disappointed, but still hoped to begin negotiations.
“If the governor refuses to negotiate,’’ Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the Aquinnah chairwoman, said in a statement, federal law “provides for specific remedies that we will pursue in federal court.’’
Federal law grants tribes the right to negotiate with states over the operating details for a tribal casino, such as how the casino would be regulated and how much of its revenue, if any, would go to the state.
Patrick is in compact negotiations with another tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, over a casino proposal in Taunton.
“The governor . . . is not interested in picking winners and losers’’ among the state’s Indian tribes, said Patrick’s spokesman, Brendan Ryan, but “it has been the Commonwealth’s position that the two tribes are in fundamentally different situations.’’
State officials have maintained for years that language in the Aquinnah’s settlement agreement from the 1980s subjects all of their land to state law, including state law that restricts casino gambling. The expanded state gambling law approved last November sets out a lengthy competitive process for the approval of a limited number of commercial casinos in Massachusetts.
Under the state’s position, the Aquinnah could conceivably pursue a commercial license like any other large landowner in Massachusetts, but their status as a tribe would provide no advantage.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment