Department of Interior Delays Land Into Trust Decision

MASHPEE – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will wait another week before the Department of the Interior issues a land into trust decision.

The department was expected to make a ruling on the tribe’s revised record of decision on Monday but has pushed back its timeline to June 27, according to a tribe spokesman.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Taunton residents who challenged the department’s land into trust decision, putting plans for the tribe’s $1 billion First Light Casino on hold.

The tribe’s appeal of the judge’s ruling has been delayed pending the Department of Interior’s decision.

In a statement, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said, “We continue to work closely with the Department of Interior toward a decision that benefits the future of the tribe.”

The Wampanoags are looking to build a casino resort in Taunton and have been wrapped up in a legal challenge after the Interior Department placed more than 170 acres into trust in both Taunton and Mashpee in 2015.

In April, the tribe said a court decision involving a Washington State tribe was a positive development for their plans to build the resort casino.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear a challenge to the Cowlitz tribe’s casino project, upholding a lower court’s decision allowing the Interior Department to place land-into-trust on the tribe’s behalf.

With the land-into-trust designation now secure, that tribe can now pursue their casino efforts.

Mashpee Chairman Cedric Cromwell said the Cowlitz decision paves the way forward for their $1 billion First Light Casino.

Selectmen in Mashpee recently restated their support for the Mashpee Wampanoag’s continued effort for getting land into trust.

Selectmen sent a letter to the Department of Interior expressing their support for the federal government’s remand application.

About a decade ago the town signed an agreement with the tribe to pledge support for the tribe’s efforts to get land into trust.

Selectman Andrew Gottlieb said having the land into trust in Mashpee is important for the tribe economically and emotionally.