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Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe faces opposition to casino bid

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is facing opposition to its plan for a Class II gaming facility on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

The town of Aquinnah will pursue litigation if the tribe doesn't obtain local approval for the casino, a local leader said. The Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2004 ruled that the tribe is subject to state law.

“Our town lawyers have said unequivocally that the tribe would need permission from the town,” Selectman Spencer Booker, who is a tribal member, told Bloomberg News.

Gov. Deval Patrick (D) also contends the tribe can't engage in gaming without following state law. His office believes the restriction applies to the reservation and to any recently acquired lands.

"The Aquinnah's Land Claims Settlement Act, and the related settlement agreement, acknowledge, preserve and protect the commonwealth's authority to regulate gaming both on the Aquinnah's land in Gay Head and on any after-acquired land within Massachusetts," Kate Cook, Patrick's chief counsel, told The Cape Cod Times. "Therefore, the Aquinnah may operate a gaming facility only with a commercial gaming license."

The Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987 subjects the tribe to state law. But the National Indian Gaming Commission has determined that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 confirmed the tribe's jurisdiction over its recently acquired lands.

In a similar situation, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the gaming rights of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island. The Narragansetts, like the Aquinnah, are subject to a land claim settlement that was enacted prior to IGRA.

The same holding might apply to the Aquinnah since Massachusetts falls in the 1st Circuit. But the Narragansetts haven't been able to open a casino because Congress passed a rider that effectively overturned the court decision.

For now, the Aquinnah plan to move forward with the Class II facility. Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, however, confirmed that the tribe is still interested in pursuing Class III gaming at a site on the Massachusetts mainland.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is already pursuing a Class III casino on the mainland. The tribe, however, is not subject to any land restrictions except for the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The decision restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Mashpees didn't gain federal recognition until 2007.

The Aquinnah didn't gain recognition until 1987. But the land claim settlement authorizes additional trust land acquisitions so Carcieri doesn't appear to hinder the tribe.