Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe asserts role in gaming talks in Massachusetts

Monday, January 28, 2019

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe wants to be at the table as regulators in Massachusetts address the future of gaming in the state.

In a letter to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais noted that her tribe is the only one in the state with trust lands. Further, the federal courts have confirmed that the tribe's reservation is the only one that can be used for gaming.

As a result, the tribe "must be considered in any discussion regarding gaming in the Commonwealth and Region C," Andrews-Maltais wrote in the January 22 letter.

Region C is one of the three areas in Massachusetts where the commission was authorized to award licenses for a casino. But the commission held off because the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was going to open a facility of its own in the region, which covers the southeastern portion of the state.

That project, however, has been placed in significant doubt due to ongoing litigation that could result in the tribe's reservation from being taken out of trust. In light of the uncertainty, the commission is debating what to do about Region C.

The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

The issue was going to be discussed at the commission's open meeting on January 24. But regulators decided to postpone talks in light of two issues -- the recent appointment of a new chair for the commission and the Aquinnah letter.

"This last comment has some interesting information so we look forward to incorporating that in the discussion," commissioner Gayle Cameron said in reference to the tribe's letter at the meeting in Boston.

In the letter, Chairwoman Andrews-Maltais noted that her tribe is objecting to H.R.312, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act. The bill would prevent the Mashpee Reservation from being taken out of trust by the federal government.

However, the legislation fails to include Aquinnah, Andrews-Maltais pointed out. The oversight is significant because a majority of her tribe's citizens live in the same territory as the Mashpee, and also because it happens to be the same area covered by Region C.

"In other words, if Congress is going to reaffirm the Mashpee Wampanoag right to have tribal trust land then they must also do so for the Aquinnah Wampanoag," Andrews-Maltais said in the letter. "We are simply requesting parity."

As introduced, H.R.312 confirms that "all" federal Indian laws apply to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe is not mentioned at all.

Casino-style gaming was legalized in 2011 by the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act. Since then, licenses have been issued for casinos in two regions of the state.

Of those, only MGM Springfield in Region B, in the western part of the state, is up and running. The facility debuted last August.

The Wynn Boston Harbor is under construction in Region A in the eastern part of the state but the facility is in limbo due to the commission's investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct against a former company executive. The investigatory report has not been made public as a result of pending litigation.

Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews Maltais of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe is among those celebrating the inauguration of Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland to the 116th Congress @rephaaland @sharicedavids @Deb4CongressNM pic.twitter.com/jNHMJwQ66o
— indianz.com (@indianz) January 3, 2019

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, meanwhile, is planning to open a gaming facility on its reservation this summer. Details are scarce but the facility will be located on trust land on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

The tribe is working with Global Gaming Solutions, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation, on the project. The facility will be limited to Class II games, such as bingo and electronic forms of bingo, because the state of Massachusetts has refused to negotiate a Class III gaming compact.

The state, however, did negotiate with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe but that agreement means little at the moment in light of the uncertainty surrounding its reservation.