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Wampanoag recognition to spark casino push
Decision on Wampanoag recognition pending today
By DAVID KIBBE, Standard-Times staff writer
BOSTON — The Mashpee Wampanoag will make a strong push for an off-Cape casino in Southeastern Massachusetts if they win tribal recognition from the Interior Department today.
"The tribe would look at every development opportunity that they are allowed under a potential compact with the state and under federal (Indian gaming) rules," the tribe's spokesman, Scott Ferson, said. "Everything is on the table."
Ferson said the options the tribe is considering are "wide-ranging."
"Housing, health care, alternative energy development and a destination casino," he said. "Their preference is not to look at anything less than a destination casino."
Tribal leaders, including tribal council Chairman Glenn Marshall, held a half-hour, introductory meeting with the staff of Gov. Deval Patrick at the Statehouse earlier this week.
Patrick briefly stepped into Monday's meeting to exchange greetings, but did not participate, Ferson said.
The tribe owns about 160 acres in Mashpee.
"The tribe will look to purchase or acquire land, more than it currently has under ownership now," Ferson said. "The tribe has also had discussions with the governor's office. We would seek to discuss with them the possibility of entering into a gaming compact for Class III gaming."
Patrick's press office referred comment on the meeting to his Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, which did not return phone calls late yesterday afternoon.
Ferson said the tribe is looking for a suitable location in an off-Cape community that welcomes a casino.
"Our hope and our expectation with the Patrick administration is that we would hope to do this cooperatively, in a way that would be best for the tribe, for the city or town and for the commonwealth," Ferson said.
The Mashpee Wampanoag would become the state's second federally recognized tribe. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha's Vineyard, which is also seeking an off-Cape casino, was recognized by the federal government in 1987. The Aquinnah tribe made a strong effort for a Southeastern Massachusetts casino in 1997 and again earlier this decade, but failed to sway the Legislature.
The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows federally recognized tribes to offer the same type of gambling that is allowed in the rest of the state.
Before the Mashpee Wampanoag could open a casino, they would have to overcome several hurdles: getting off-Cape land held in federal trust; winning approval from the state Legislature for Class III gaming like slot machines or casinos, and negotiating a compact with the governor.
Ferson said it would take at least one year for the tribe to purchase or acquire land to be held in trust by the federal government.
The tribe has not selected a location, but it could seek off-Cape property on what is deemed to be its traditional lands. Ferson said the tribe could expect to win approval for off-Cape land within 50 miles of its tribal headquarters in Mashpee.
Getting approval for casino gambling is another matter. Patrick, who is at least open to the idea, is preparing to name a task force to study the issue. The Senate approved up to 2,000 slot machines at each of the state's four race tracks last year, but the House defeated the proposal.
Ferson said if the state allows slot machines at the race tracks, it must also allow Indian casinos, since both are forms of Class III gaming under federal Indian gaming law. Race track proponents have argued that slots would not open the door to full-fledged casinos.
"The Legislature has made it clear that they intend to be heard on this issue, regardless of what legal challenges might come up," Ferson said. "What is clear, though, is that all the debates that have happened on gaming at the Statehouse change significantly with (Thursday's) decision. The landscape becomes completely different."
The tribe paid $120,000 last year to Quinn & Morris, a prominent Beacon Hill lobbying firm. Detroit casino developer Herbert Strather also says he has given $15 million to the tribe since 1999. Four tribal members are suing the leadership for information about the tribe's finances, including details on the $15 million.
Strather also donated the $500 maximum to Patrick's campaign last year.
Rep. Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams, who has successfully argued against casino gambling in the House for the past decade, agreed that the tribe would be entitled to a full casino if the Legislature approved slots.
He said today's announcement could cut both ways: energizing the casino debate while also giving opponents ammunition to use against expanded gaming.
"There are a few legislators saying we should do something for the tribes," Bosley said. "I think you have more people sitting back and saying now we have two tribes and four race tracks, plus the inevitable call for a western Massachusetts casino, and then it's, 'Katie, bar the door.' It makes it bigger."
Bosley said he will continue to argue that the social and economic impacts of casinos outweighed the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Sen. Joan M. Menard, D-Fall River, has filed legislation that would license one casino in Bristol County and another in Hampden County in western Massachusetts. If casinos are approved, she predicted, the two tribes would team up with private developers to put casinos in the two counties.
Menard said casino gambling is something "that Gov. Patrick is going to have to look at. ... It's a lot of additional revenue. I just think the pluses outweigh the negatives."
Gambling proponents argue that allowing just slot machines at the race tracks would generate $500 million a year for the state.
The New Bedford City Council has formed a special committee to lobby for a casino in New Bedford. The council is seeking a meeting with the Martha's Vineyard tribe to discuss casino gambling. Councilors are also open to speaking with the Mashpee Wampanoag if they win recognition today.
Regardless of the gaming issue, Bosley said the residents of Massachusetts should applaud the tribe's recognition as a sovereign nation.
"They are to be congratulated," Bosley said. "It's one of the oldest civilizations in the world. We can take pride in the fact that they are part of Massachusetts history and part of our culture." |
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