A screenshot of the Aquinnah Gaming website.
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts will be in court on Friday to seek the dismissal of a gaming lawsuit. The tribe wants to open a Class II facility on its reservation on the island of Martha's Vineyard. But the state claims the tribe cannot use its land for gaming. The tribe has laid out numerous arguments in its bid to have the case dismissed. One brief says the lawsuit cannot proceed without the involvement of the National Indian Gaming Commission. The agency has determined that the tribe can use its land for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The state, however, has not sued the federal government. The state is instead claiming that the tribe gave up its gaming rights under the Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1987. In 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the law subjects the tribe to state jurisdiction. The tribe believes that case -- which did not involve gaming -- was "wrongly decided." The tribe also argues that IGRA "repealed" any provisions in the settlement act that might have authorized state or local jurisdiction. The hearing on Friday takes place at 3pm before Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV at the federal courthouse in Boston. Get the Story:
Federal court hearing could determine fate of Aquinnah casino (The Cape Cod Times 1/6)
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