Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wants meeting for casino

Wednesday, January 6, 2010  

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) says he will meet with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to discuss gaming.

Patrick said he wasn't aware that the tribe wants to talk about Class III gaming and other gaming issues. "If the governor refuses to deal with us and distributes licenses to other casino operators, we won’t give the state a cent when we build a gaming facility in Southeastern Massachusetts,” Chairman Cedric Cromwell told The Boston Herald.

The tribe filed a land-into-trust application to build a casino in Middleboro. But the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar could halt the project because the tribe wasn't federally recognized until May 2007.

S.1703, which passed the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last month, would ensure that all tribes -- regardless of the date of federal recognition -- can follow the land-into-trust process.

Get the Story:
Tribe: Governor won’t enter talks over Middleboro casino Tribe warns governor: Don't deal us out (The Boston Herald 1/6)
Patrick says he will meet with Mashpee tribe (The Cape Cod Time 1/6)
U.S. Senate bill to reaffirm right to take Indian land into trust could advance Middleboro casino (The Brockton Enterprise 1/6)