Casino Stalker | Litigation | NIGC

Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and state in court over casino plan

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A screenshot of the Aquinnah Gaming website.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and the state of Massachusetts are still duking it out in federal court over plans for a casino on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

The tribe wants to open a Class II facility on its reservation. The state, however, claims the land can't be used for gaming due to a land claim settlement that subjects the reservation to state civil and criminal laws.

Judge Dennis Saylor has not issued a final decision on the matter but he has allowed the town of Aquinnah and the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association to join the case over the tribe's objections. Those parties, along with the state, object to the casino plan.

In a ruling issued last week, Saylor dismissed the tribe's claims against the state due to sovereign immunity. However, he said individual state officials -- including the governor -- will remain as defendants.

Saylor also said the case can proceed without the involvement of the National Indian Gaming Commission. The agency has determined that the reservation can be used for a casino.

That determination is not being litigated by the state at this point. 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. But the tribe believes that case -- which did not involve gaming -- was "wrongly decided."

The tribe also argues that Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has "repealed" any provisions in the settlement act that might have authorized state or local jurisdiction. Those claims remain alive in the case before Saylor.

Class III gaming is legal in Massachusetts. However, the state has refused to negotiate a compact with the tribe due to the land claim settlement.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Get the Story:
State Case Against Tribe Inches Along in Federal Court (The Martha's Vineyard Gazette 3/3)