A Massachusetts lawmaker says the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe won't be able to open a casino even if the state approves a Class III gaming compact. The compact is finally seeing movement in the Legislature. But Rep. Robert Koczera (D), who voted against the deal at a committee meeting on Tuesday, said the bigger hurdle is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The court ruled that the land-into-trust process applies to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Mashpees didn't gain recognition until 2007. “The compact is inoperable if the land is not taken into trust, and the likelihood of the land being taken into trust is remote at best,” Koczera told State House News Service. The tribe supports a legislative fix to the decision that would resolve any uncertainties. But the Bureau of Indian Affairs could approve the land-into-trust application by looking at historical, legal and other issues specific to the Mashpees. Get the Story:
S.E. Mass. Rep calls on legislators to block the Tribe's compact just approved by committee (State House News Service 9/12)
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