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Massachusetts tribe blasts land-into-trust ruling
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Filed Under: Law | Trust

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts blasted the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Carcieri v. Salazar as an "assault" on sovereignty.

The tribe gained federal recognition in May 2007, long after the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. That means the tribe may not quality for the land-into-trust process as a result of the decision.

"This decision is yet another assault on native sovereignty," said Chairman Cedric Cromwell, according to news reports.

The tribe has two land-into-trust applications pending at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and will likely have to show that it was under "federal jurisdiction" in 1934 in order to benefit. But tribal leaders said they will pass the test.

“We don’t see this as having any effect on us,” Vice Chairman Aaron Tobey said. “Keep in mind, we have a deed to 16,000 acres in Mashpee dated before 1934 ... we have deeds dating to the 1600s.”

Get the Story:
Cape tribe's casino plans in peril (The Cape Cod Times 2/25)
Mashpee Wampanoags label Supreme Court decision hurting Middleboro casino effort ‘insulting’ (The Brockton Enterprise 2/25)
Ruling puts tribe hope for casino in doubt (The Boston Globe 2/25)
U.S. Supreme Court ruling deals blow to Massachusetts tribes’ casino plans (The Providence Journal 2/25)
Tribe blasts, opponents hail court land trust decision (Cape Cod Today 2/24)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Briefs

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