An artist’s rendering of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s proposed $500 million casino in Taunton. The tribe hopes to secure the state’s sole casino license for the Southeast Region. (Photo courtesy of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe)
MASHPEE – A lawsuit financed by a group looking to build a casino in Brockton has been filed that challenges the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s federal land into trust decision.
The suit questions whether the Secretary of the Interior has authority under the Indian Reorganization Act to place land into trust for the tribe.
It also challenges the tribe’s historical ties to the area in Taunton where they plan on building a casino resort, and whether there was sufficient environmental review.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Boston by a group of Taunton residents who have been critical of the Wampanoag’s casino plan.
They’re receiving financing for the lawsuit by Chicago-based developer Neil Bluhm, who wants the state gaming commission to approve his casino plan in Brockton.
A statement from Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said they will defend their interests in the “court of public opinion as well as the federal court in Boston.”
He called the lawsuit a “desperate attempt” by Bluhm to stop the Wampanoag Tribe from moving forward with their plan.
“They’re using an anti-tribe group as their pawns. From our concern, the suit is against the federal government and we’re confident the Justice Department will prevail,” Cromwell said.
The tribe’s land into trust application was approved by the federal government last year, transferring approximately 170 acres of land in Mashpee and 151 acres of land in Taunton into federal trust for the benefit of the tribe.
Federally recognized Native American tribes are allowed to build casinos on native land, or land that has been taken into federal trust.
A holdup for the Mashpee tribe had been a previous Supreme Court decision that put into limbo whether land could be taken into trust for tribes recognized after 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was ratified.
While the Wampanoags only won their federal recognition in 2007, other tribes who have proven they were under federal jurisdiction before 1934 have still been able to get land into trust.
The Mashpee tribe had always argued they had been under federal jurisdiction long before 1934.
Cromwell said the lawsuit won’t stop the progress on their casino plan. Site work is expected to begin later this year.
“We’re excited about our project, we’re going to build in the great City of Taunton. As you saw with the referendum in Taunton, we had great support. We’ve got the compact in place, we’ve got land into trust,” said Cromwell.
The 2011 law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts provided for a casino in eastern and western Massachusetts, a slots-only casino, and a casino set-aside for a federally recognized Native American tribe.
The state’s gaming commission has been considering the possibility of issuing another commercial casino license for southeastern Massachusetts in the event the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was unable to get federal recognition.
Bluhm’s Mass. Gaming and Entertainment proposal has been undergoing review by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
In its ruling last year, the government said the tribe’s origins in southeastern Massachusetts predate the arrival of Europeans.
Federal officials ruled that at the time of initial European contact, the tribe’s ancestors occupied all of modern-day Bristol, Barnstable, and Plymouth Counties. That would include the land in Taunton where the tribe wants to build the casino.
By MATT PITTA, CapeCod.com News Director
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