PHOTO COURTESY: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
MASHPEE – Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell has called on President Donald Trump to allow the tribe’s stalled casino project to move forward.
In a Thanksgiving address, Cromwell said Trump is not sticking to a recent pledge to support Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination. Trump made the remarks as part of proclamation recognizing Native American Heritage Month.
“Those words need to mean something,” Cromwell said.
The Tribe is trying to build a $1 billion resort casino in Taunton, but construction is currently on hold in the wake of legal challenges and a successful lawsuit by neighbors in federal court.
The Interior Department is in the process of deciding whether land in Taunton can be designated as a reservation. Federal law allows casinos to be built on tribal lands.
“Our rights as a federally recognized tribe have been denied to us and it’s time for our government to honor its responsibilities and commitment to the tribe that welcomed the first settles to the land we all call home,” Cromwell said.
“We are looking to bring massive economic development to one of the poorest regions of Massachusetts,” Cromwell added.
“I ask that you join me in our fight to hold this White House to its word and do right by its first people,” Cromwell said.
Recent reports have indicated that the Tribe is facing mounting debt that is creating the need to reduce expenses.
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