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Opinion: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wrong on casino outlook

Friday, December 14, 2012

"As I read Cedric Cromwell's letter ("Tribal casino will benefit everyone," Dec. 11 Your View), I became very concerned with some of his statements. Not surprised, but very concerned. He seems to either not understand the process he is involved in or is deliberately misleading the public as to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's pursuit of a casino.

Mr. Cromwell states "we place great value in our legally protected right to conduct gaming in our ancestral homeland." If he is referring to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, he is misquoting it. IGRA was enacted "to regulate the conduct of gaming on Indian lands." Indian lands is defined as "all lands within the limits of any Indian reservation; and any lands title to which is either held in trust by the United States for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or individual subject to restrictions by the United States against alienation and over which an Indian tribe exercises governmental power."

The Mashpee tribe has no such lands. Furthermore, the tribe lacks the ability to acquire those lands."

Get the Story:
Allin Frawley: Tribal chairman's comments fly in face of the facts (The New Bedford Standard-Times 12/14)

Also Today:
Gaming commission chair predicts slot parlor in Massachusetts in a year (WCVB 12/13) Related Stories:
Massachusetts gaming panel to consider other bids for casino (12/12)
Cedric Cromwell: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on casino path (12/10)